A Christmas Carol narrates the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a despicable, mean-spirited, man, the kind of person who always complains and finding fault with everyone. The story begins at Victorian London on Christmas Eve. All around the snow-covered city people are rushing home to be with their respective families except one man, Ebenezer Scrooge. He is a wealthy old miser whose only happiness in life is money. His love for money has isolated him from society and made him a bitter recluse. Scrooge decides instead to spend the evening counting his cash, rejecting seasonal goodwill with his well-practiced cries of ‘Bah! Humbug!’
But this Christmas Eve has some surprises in store for old Scrooge. While his poor employee Bob Cratchit prepares the most beautiful family feast with the little his paltry wages can buy, Scrooge’s sleep is disturbed by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future. In one short night, they make known to him about his real character than he has ever realized. Each ghost aims to change the hollow blackness of Scrooge’s cruel and selfish spirit by showing him what will become of his riches, and ultimately his life if he continues to maltreat people.
The first ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Past, which reveals that Ebenezer Scrooge was not always a mean person from the beginning. He use to have respect for others, liked and enjoyed Christmas, but the problem was that he had a tough childhood and that made him to often be alone. He use to have a fiance, and they vowed to marry each other, but Scrooge quest to be extremely wealthy changed his priorities, so the woman walked away from his life. When the first ghost takes him back to his past, Scrooge sees how happy his former fiance is with her family. This begins a transformation. At least he hasn’t lost his humanity, just that it was buried deep inside. The ghost also recaps how miserable and poor he was from the beginning.
The next ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge sees how happy his friends and nephew are with their respective lives despite their poor condition. He also sees Bob Cratchit and his family. For the little they have, they appreciate each other and are grateful because each other’s presence is what matters the most. Despite the hatred of Bob’s family on Scrooge, Cratchit still toasts his employer because he is grateful for being employed.
The third ghost is the Ghost of Christmas which reveals Scrooge’s death, and how no one in the community mourns his passing, instead their attention was on his possessions. With each of his encounters, Scrooge is transformed into a more generous, compassionate, and caring person, so by the third encounter, Scrooge repents and begs for a second chance, which he is given.
Christmas is the perfect time to open up a classic holiday story that you’ve meant to read for what seems like centuries. The moral of this book is to be generous at Christmas and spend time with friends and family. A Christmas Carol is a story that reminds us that no one is all bad and that we are capable of changing our wicked ways and habits. Majority of us are given second chances, but only a few take advantage of it. The Christmas season is here again, this book is an excellent reminder that we should be our brother’s keeper.
Ebenezer Scrooge utilized the second chance presented to him and changed his ways. He later bought a turkey for the Cratchit family, went for Christmas dinner at Freds’ and also promises to make a donation to one of the portly men he encountered.
This book is still famous today because we are still very much obsessed with Christmas and the joy that goes with it. This book also makes every reader stop and think about how they could make a difference in their society. Furthermore, the words that were used in the book are words that even the youngest of people will recognize. This also makes the book more interesting because it does not seem as old or as outdated, which in most cases is a good thing.
“A Christmas Carol” is one of my favorites and it’s always a joy to re-read. The message of redemption and kindness is always timely, no matter the year. Merry Christmas!
Great rundown of this classic book. I can’t believe some people haven’t read it, however. A Christmas Carol is extremely popular!
I remember reading this book in the seventh grade. A weird choice for public school but I ended up really liking the book and ended up seeing some play versions of it as well. What a great story!
I remember having to read this book for a class I took in high school but I’m not sure I actually read it. Just didn’t have the time or motivation back then! I think I’m going to pick it up again and try it out. Thank for reminding me of it!
I love this book so much! One of my favorite memories is of my mother reading this aloud to us at Christmastime. For some reason it’s always been one of my favorites, even when adapted into movies. I’m very fond of the Patrick Stewart version of the movie, although Muppet Christmas Carol tops the list as well.