A Christmas Carol
Before the story starts, it is important to know that Marley was dead. There was no doubt about it. Everyone knew this as well. The clergyman, the clerk, and the chief mourner were all witnesses to Marley’s burial.
It is essential you understand that Marley was dead; otherwise, nothing can come from the story I am going to tell you. He was as dead as the Roman empire. Mind you, I am not actually sure what is dead about the Roman empire as its traditions still echo in the glorious city of London. However, its structure is gone and therefore, you will allow me to distinctly state that Marley was as dead as the Roman empire.
Scrooge, Marley’s business partner, could not have been less affected by his death. Despite the fact that they were good work acquaintances, Scrooge did not even give Marley the satisfaction of attending the funeral. Let it be perfectly clear, one last time, that Marley was dead.
Oh, Scrooge! He is a mean old man. He has no joy in life due to his own choices. He doesn’t care for anything other than money. Money is the most important thing in the world for Scrooge. If you are not rich like him, he will not do as much as look you in the eyes. The coldness inside him wrinkled his cheek, coloured his eyes red and his small narrow lips blue, and forced him to speak with his croaky, raspy voice.
If you must know another thing about Scrooge, you must know that he hated Christmas with whatever humanity was left in him. It was not any different than other days for him in his defence. No matter what day of the year it is, no one stops to ask him how he is; but he did this to himself.
On one Christmas eve, Scrooge was miserably working away when his young nephew appeared.
“Merry Christmas Uncle! Isn’t it just a wonderful day?”
Scrooge begrudgingly replied, “Why are you happy? Afterall, you’re poor aren’t you?”
His nephew was not afraid of Scrooge and his mean words. He said, “Why are you so depressed, you’re rich enough, aren’t you?”
“Humbug!” Scrooge said. This is what Scrooge normally says when he is angry; you will hear it a lot throughout this story. Scrooge said one last thing to his nephew before walking away: “Are there no workhouses for you to go to?”
Reflection
Charles Dickens, author of A Christmas Carol, was able to use a third person, omniscient style narrative with a biased, conversational tone, imagery, and many direct addresses to portray his desired messages in this children’s book. His main themes were the divide between poor and wealthy and his biased views on the new poor law. Similarly, I used the same structural narration features to bring forth identical themes. My entire excerpt is in the third person with multiple examples of direct addresses. For example, “It is essential you understand that Marley was dead; otherwise, nothing can come from the story I am going to tell you.” This helps create the conversational tone Dickens was able to use to make the read more persuasive for the target audience. It also makes the story more relatable for a young audience. The divide between the rich and poor was also shown in my writing. For instance,
Scrooge begrudgingly replied, “Why are you happy? Afterall, you’re poor aren’t you?”
His nephew was not afraid of Scrooge and his mean words. He said, “Why are you so depressed, you’re rich enough aren’t you?”
Although Scrooge and his nephew are family, the divide money creates is too strong, which forces even family members to despise each other.
Furthermore, Scrooge is meant to be an unlikable character and represent the government, with no regard for poor children being forced to live in workhouses. This is portrayed when Scrooge says, “Scrooge said one last thing to his nephew before walking away: “Are there no workhouses for you to go to?” Lastly, the imagery Dickens employs in his writing adds to his themes. I also tried to use the same amount of descriptive imagery. One example was when I was describing Scrooge, I tried to use imagery to make the reader see him as mean, old and careless: “The coldness inside him wrinkled his cheek, coloured his eyes red and his small narrow lips blue, and forced him to speak with his croaky, raspy voice.” It was also evident in Dickens’ writing that the narrator was biased. I added this to my writing when discussing my opinion on Scrooge. For example, “Oh, Scrooge! He is a mean old man.”
Dickens also filled his writing with similes and metaphors. I embodied this style as seen when I said, “Marley was as dead as the roman empire.”
Although A Christmas Carol was meant for a young audience, Dickens still added an important message that needed to be heard through the distinctive narrative style, imagery, direct addresses, symbolism, and a conversational tone.
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