How is the theme of redemption presented in A Christmas Carol?
Dickens utilises Scrooge in order to illustrate how self-centred, insensitive people
can be converted into liberal, compassionate and socially conscious individuals.
Benevolence and generosity overcome Scrooge’s hostile apathy as he realises his
responsibility to look after the less fortunate. At first, Scrooge is delineated as the
worst man in London to show that even those with the most negative personas are
capable of flourishing into better individuals. Dickens does this to show the
bourgeoisie of his Victorian audience that they too need to seek redemption by
supporting the proletariat and completing more charitable deeds as this simple
change could have a rippling effect in society.
At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is presented as a cold-hearted miser. This
is evident when it says, “Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone,
Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old
sinner!” The narrative ,“oh”, suggests that even the narrator is overwhelmed by how
unpleasant he is. The adjectives are all linked semantically by a link with the hand -
this shows how tightly he held onto things. In his single-minded focus on acquiring
wealth, Scrooge represents the opposite of generosity in every way imaginable. In
his business dealings, he constantly tries to squeeze money out of people, grasps
and scrapes for more benefits for himself, and covets what he does not yet have.
The negative verbs all have an onomatopoeic feel associated with lacking liberty;
they have a guttural quality and are harsh and unpleasant in their sound - like
Scrooge. The list emphasises Scrooge’s negative qualities to the point where he
becomes a caricature of greed. In addition, the utilisation of exclamation marks could
amplify our disgust at him. Alternatively, it is quite conspicuous that there are seven
verbs listed. Perhaps, they could be symbolic of the seven deadly sins - avarice in
particular. Dickens has done this to show the reader that Scrooge is in desperate
need for a transformation in order to stop him from being condemned in the afterlife.
He may have presented Scrooge as such in order to shock readers out of their
inertia - it isn’t enough to just read passively, but it’s important for Dickens to have an
impact for change to occur in society.
Towards the middle of the novella, Scrooge is starting to transform as he realises his
wrongdoings. This is seen when it says, “Are there no prisons? Are there no
workhouses?” The spirit reminds Scrooge of his own words at the start of the
novella. Dickens is showing us that Scrooge has already begun to change as he is
ashamed of having said it. This could also make the readers regret their stubborn
views too. At first, Scrooge was seen as a supporter of Thomas Malthus - he was an
economist who argued that poverty was the inevitable result of overpopulation. He
believed that the increase in population would overtake the development of sufficient
land for crops and diminish the ability of the world to feed itself. However, Dickens
believed that these ideologies were wrong and that there was plenty of food to go
around but only if the rich were more generous. He thought it was wrong that the
poor should suffer because the rich were too selfish to share. Now that Scrooge is
able to see his mistakes, he will change his views and become more magnanimous.
Dickens highlights the importance of generosity and charity as the Industrial
Revolution created a society in which the gap between the rich and poor had
Dickens utilises Scrooge in order to illustrate how self-centred, insensitive people
can be converted into liberal, compassionate and socially conscious individuals.
Benevolence and generosity overcome Scrooge’s hostile apathy as he realises his
responsibility to look after the less fortunate. At first, Scrooge is delineated as the
worst man in London to show that even those with the most negative personas are
capable of flourishing into better individuals. Dickens does this to show the
bourgeoisie of his Victorian audience that they too need to seek redemption by
supporting the proletariat and completing more charitable deeds as this simple
change could have a rippling effect in society.
At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is presented as a cold-hearted miser. This
is evident when it says, “Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone,
Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old
sinner!” The narrative ,“oh”, suggests that even the narrator is overwhelmed by how
unpleasant he is. The adjectives are all linked semantically by a link with the hand -
this shows how tightly he held onto things. In his single-minded focus on acquiring
wealth, Scrooge represents the opposite of generosity in every way imaginable. In
his business dealings, he constantly tries to squeeze money out of people, grasps
and scrapes for more benefits for himself, and covets what he does not yet have.
The negative verbs all have an onomatopoeic feel associated with lacking liberty;
they have a guttural quality and are harsh and unpleasant in their sound - like
Scrooge. The list emphasises Scrooge’s negative qualities to the point where he
becomes a caricature of greed. In addition, the utilisation of exclamation marks could
amplify our disgust at him. Alternatively, it is quite conspicuous that there are seven
verbs listed. Perhaps, they could be symbolic of the seven deadly sins - avarice in
particular. Dickens has done this to show the reader that Scrooge is in desperate
need for a transformation in order to stop him from being condemned in the afterlife.
He may have presented Scrooge as such in order to shock readers out of their
inertia - it isn’t enough to just read passively, but it’s important for Dickens to have an
impact for change to occur in society.
Towards the middle of the novella, Scrooge is starting to transform as he realises his
wrongdoings. This is seen when it says, “Are there no prisons? Are there no
workhouses?” The spirit reminds Scrooge of his own words at the start of the
novella. Dickens is showing us that Scrooge has already begun to change as he is
ashamed of having said it. This could also make the readers regret their stubborn
views too. At first, Scrooge was seen as a supporter of Thomas Malthus - he was an
economist who argued that poverty was the inevitable result of overpopulation. He
believed that the increase in population would overtake the development of sufficient
land for crops and diminish the ability of the world to feed itself. However, Dickens
believed that these ideologies were wrong and that there was plenty of food to go
around but only if the rich were more generous. He thought it was wrong that the
poor should suffer because the rich were too selfish to share. Now that Scrooge is
able to see his mistakes, he will change his views and become more magnanimous.
Dickens highlights the importance of generosity and charity as the Industrial
Revolution created a society in which the gap between the rich and poor had
