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A Christmas Carol By: Charles Dickens 1). This story takes place in London, England.

The time is winter and it starts the day before Christmas, also known as Christmas Eve. The settings of the book include Scrooge's Counting House, Scrooge's Home, Bob Cratchit's home, assorted places throughout Scrooges childhood like the schoolhouse and the Fizziwig's pl ace where Scrooge was an apprentice, this is where a Christmas party took place and he met the one love of his life. Then it skips to Scrooge's love of his life when she is married and they speaks about Scrooge and how he is now in a world of his money. Also it shows the exchange, homeless people under a bridge, and a cemetery. 2.) The four main characters in the book are Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cr atchit, and Ebenezer Scrooge's nephew, Fred. First, lets examine Ebenezer Scrooge, since he is the main character of the story, All 3 ghosts visit him. Through him, the lesson of the story is to be le arned. In the book, he is made out to be Anti-Christmas and he is constantly com mented about by characters in the book, some feeling pity, others feeling hostil ity. "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, n o wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he...Nobody ever stopped in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are yo u? When will you come to see me?'. No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, n o children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his l ife inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge." (Dickens 14). Next there is Tiny Tim, he seems to be a symbol of hope in this story even though he has to use a crutch to walk and he is very small. Despite his disabili ty, he constantly keeps the spirit up and tries to maintain it in all his brothe rs, sisters, and parents, even though they are poor. He is the epitome of the Ch ristmas spirit, that which should inhibit all of us. " He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him because he was a cripple, and it might be pleas ant to them to remember, upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blin d men see." (125). This quote just shows how thoughtful he is, and how much he c ares for others. Tiny Tim's father Bob Cratchit is next on my list. He is an employee of Scr ooge and he is the only one in the Cratchit family to thank him genuinely for th e job and the pay that he has given him to support his family and keep food in t heir stomachs. "...and in came little Bob, the father, with at least three feet of comforter, exclusive on the fringe, hanging down before him, and his threadba re clothes all darned up to look seasonable, and Tiny Tim upon his shoulder."(12 1). The father's love for his family bleed through the fact that they are poor a nd Scrooge sees this in the way they act. The last but not least major character is Scrooge's nephew, Fred. He seems to be the only individual who comes to converse with Scrooge and offer him anyth ing. In this case, Fred offered him an invitation to his house for Christmas din ner. Fred is convinced at the beginning of the story that Scrooge doesn't really mean "Bah!...Humbug!" (18) no matter how many times he says it. Fred is presen ted cheerful and in high spirits. "He had so heated himself with rapid walking i n the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his fa ce ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again." (18). As I said before, Fred is one of the few that feels pity for Scrooge. 3.) The book starts off talking about Jacob Marley, Scrooge's former business pa rtner. It basically says that he "was dead as a door-nail" (11). Then it moves t o Scrooges counting house where he converses with Fred. Then two men come in to ask for a donation and Scrooge shoos them away quickly enough. Then Bob Cratchit come in for a days work and Scrooge is stingy about putting coal on the fire. A t this point in the book, Scrooge is not made out to be a nice, caring, giving m an. When Scrooge goes home, he is confronted by the ghost of Marley who tells hi

m that he will be haunted by three spirits over the course of the next three day s, each at One O'clock. The first spirit that comes is the Ghost of Christmas Pa st. This spirit takes Scrooge back to his childhood where he sees a very lonely boy engulfed in his books without a friend. Then they skip ahead in time and see when Scrooge was an apprentice to Mr. Fizziwig. This episode shows the Christma s party that Old Fizziwig threw and here is where he met the love of his life. O nce again the ghost skips ahead to a time when Scrooge and the woman are speakin g. She says that she has been replaced by a golden idol and there is not any roo m for her anymore. After this, the first Ghost leaves. The next ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Present as come to show him how his hostility toward others affect the way people live. The majority of the trip takes place at the Cratchits home . Here, Scrooge sees Tiny Tim's hope and the togetherness of the family. I perso nally think this scene is one of the most important in convincing Scrooge to cha nge. Then Scrooge is transported to his nephew Fred's house where he is having h is Christmas party. He then sees that even his nephew mocks him. Then the ghost takes him to what would be considered the bad part of town, under a bridge. Ther e he sees a truly poor family, this one without a home. Even here the family sta ys together and refuses to be broken up, despite their disposition. The Ghost of Christmas Present leaves and then he encounters the Ghost of Christmas Yet to C ome. This ghost is very mysterious, never talking. It merely points with it's lo ng, narrow fingers. The scene again is the Cratchits, this time sorrow instead o f joy. Tiny Tim has died and the family mourns his pasing. Bob just returned fro m the cemetery and comments about how beautiful it is. Next the ghost shows how the people of the town react to a man's death. No one seems to care about the lo ss of this wretched human being. Even some people steal his belongings out from under his dead body in his own bed. Scrooge does not realize they are all talkin g about him until the ghost takes him to the cemetery when Scrooge sees his own gravestone. From this point on Scrooge begs the ghost to let him change his life style and try to change it for the better. When Scrooge wakes up he realizes tha t it is Christmas Day. He starts his new life of good will by buying a prize goo se for the Cratchits. Then he makes a donation to the men that he shooed away th e day before and he joins his nephew Fred for his Christmas dinner and Tiny Tim lives! 4). The first ghost, The Ghost of Christmas Past- This apparition comes to Scro oge to show him where his pain is coming from and when he turned his life toward the direction of money. The spirit was "...like a child; yet not so like a chil d as like an old man , viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him t he appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child's proportion. It's hair...was white, as if with age; and yet the face had not wri nkled...It wore a tunic of purest white; and round it's waist was bound a lustro us belt, the sheen of which was beautiful." (63). The second ghost, The Ghost of Christmas Present- This ghost shows how Scrooge's lifestyle has affected the pe ople who he has contact with. Every man and woman that knows him or knows of him have a set idea of him. A mean, old, stickler. The spirit was "...clothed in on e simple, deep-green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur."(107). He had a h olly wreath, a scabbard without a sword, and dark-brown curls. The third ghost, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come- This third ghost was very mysterious, Scroog e made most of the conclusions during this time himself, although very self-expl anatory. I personally think that this apparition carried the most weight in chan ging Scrooge. It made him greatly sorry for his sinful behavior of his past and vowed to change his life. Not much was said about the spirit except that it was dressed darkly and did not speak, only pointed. 5). The message that Dickens is trying to get across is one of happiness. If you live your life in seclusion, only speaking to those who you must and always bei ng nasty, you can never be truly happy. Dickens uses Scrooge as the epitome of s elfishness and we are suppose to realize this and contrast it with Tiny Tim's at titude of caring and sharing. He is the epitome of joy and hope. He is the perso n in the book with who we are suppose to learn from. The ghost are the conduit f rom which we are to understand the past, present, and future of an unhappy man. 6.) Life in the 1800's was one of simplicity, everyone seemed to know each othe

r in their area. People lived and worked in their neighborhood, which brought a greater sense of community and family values. Some Christmas customs were hangi ng candles from a tree instead of ornaments. Holidays always seemed to be a gath ering of people to celebrate the occasion. The dress in the time period seemed t o be top hats, slacks, vest, and a coat. From the movie that we watched, the st yle seemed very formal. When speaking to another person, it was speaking in prop er English, never a 'Yo' or a 'Whaz up'. This is because of the time period and the slang we use now had developed with our generation. Although very different, it is very ,much alike. A Christmas Carol was a very good book and a lesson to be learned by all, and in the words of Tiny Tim, "God Bless Us, every one" (130) ! Merry Christmas! Matt Toback English 2 Period 3 December 20, 1996

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