essay on family in a christmas carol

A Christmas Carol

Charles dickens, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The entrance of Scrooge ’s nephew Fred at the beginning of the story introduces another side to the miser. Scrooge is not unfortunate in the way of relatives – he has a family awaiting his presence, asking him to dinner, wanting to celebrate the season with him, yet he refuses. This is one of the important moral moments in the story that helps predict Scrooge’s coming downfall. It shows how Scrooge makes choices to prolong his own misery. He chooses to live alone and in darkness while even poor Cratchit is rich in family. Scrooge’s distaste for Fred’s happiness is not just annoyance at the sight of merriness and excess, it is also motivated by bitterness towards marriage based on Scrooge’s own lost love Belle, who left him long ago.

In the story, cold and loneliness are set up in opposition to the warmth of family. Symbols of coldness such as Scrooge’s empty hearth, refusal to provide heat for Cratchit, and keeping his own house dark to save money show Scrooge’s cruelty and lack of connection. But family provides the antidote to this coldness. When Fred enters, the counting house suddenly warms up. Further, Cratchit’s warmth, despite his lack of coal, and the togetherness and energy of his large family, show him to be one of the most fortunate men in the story.

Scrooge does have a kind of family in his partner Marley , who is described at the beginning of the novella as fulfilling many roles for Scrooge before his death. The inseparability of their names above the firm’s entrance shows how close they are—at least in business terms—and though they are bachelors they share their lives, and the suite of rooms is passed down like a family legacy from Marley to Scrooge. Ultimately, from Marley’s warning and the visions provided by the ghosts, Scrooge does learn to appreciate and connect with Fred and the rest of his family, and to even extend that family to include the Cratchits.

Family ThemeTracker

Family Quotes in A Christmas Carol

Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

'A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!' cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach. 'Bah!' said Scrooge, 'Humbug!'

'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'

'The school is not quite deserted,' said the Ghost. 'A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.' Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed.

The sight of these poor revellers appeared to interest the Spirit very much, for he stood with Scrooge beside him in a baker's doorway, and taking off the covers as their bearers passed, sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch.

Oh, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage. […]Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so.

'God bless us every one!'

'Now, I'll tell you what, my friend,' said Scrooge, 'I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. And therefore,' he continued, leaping from his stool, and giving Bob such a dig in the waistcoat that he staggered back into the Tank again; 'and therefore I am about to raise your salary!'

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A Christmas Carol

Portraying the importance of family in ‘a christmas carol’ anonymous 10th grade.

‘A Christmas Carol’ is a novella written by Charles Dickens in 1843, the novella follows the journey of a stingy protagonist -Scrooge- and his many epiphanies that lead him to eventually understand the paramount role of family, joy and social responsibility in life. In both the novella and the extract presented, the idea of family and close relationships is portrayed to be of utmost importance and a bringer of much joy regardless of circumstances; readers are also encouraged to reflect and contemplate their personal family life and whether or not it requires change. In the presented extract describing the joyous and energetic festivities of the Cratchit family, Dickens emphasises the power of family and its ability to overcome all negative exterior circumstances through the use of listing and anaphora.

For example, Dickens lists the many struggles the Cratchit family face, including their “scanty” clothes. This highlights the poor living conditions and the harsh socio-economical challenges they face on a day to day basis, drawing a contrast between their tough yet positive lifestyle and Scrooge’s wealthy -but unhappy- one. Their optimistic attitude can be seen through the juxtaposition of the previous description with a series...

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Miss Huttlestone's GCSE English

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A Model Top Band Essay on ‘ACC’ and Family

Throughout Dickens’ allegorical novella, the importance of family is carefully highlighted in each stave as Scrooge starts to realise that profit and gain is not the true way of maintaining happiness.

Primarily in Stave 1, Scrooge’s last-living family member, Fred, invites him round for Christmas dinner, (every year, after continuously getting declined) expressing just how ‘merry’ and morally-inclined Fred is over his Uncle, who is supposedly the influence upon Fred, making it ironic that the younger, less-economically inclined protagonist exhibits a higher moral compass than his own Uncle, this suggests past events that have molded Scrooge into the parsimonious old man he is now. Dickens uses Fred as a mouthpiece to the contemporary audience (as he embodies the Christmas Spirit and the upper-middle class) to communicate money doesn’t buy morals and family and love, so be grateful for what and who you have around you, and help those who need it the most. Scrooge’s lack of love and simple acts of kindness is shown through the way he treats and speaks to his own family, asking them, “what right have you to be merry? You’re poor enough” The dehumanizing interrogative belittles Fred, stripping him of his human “right” to be “merry” which portrays just how stagnant and immoral he is at the beginning of the novella, clearly family means nothing to Scrooge. Here the modern audience finds it comical, how ignorant and narcissistic Scrooge is towards his own family member.

Primarily, within the selected extract, Dickens starts off by using an excessive amount of derogatory language and an abundance of negations to communicate the true, ‘dirty’ ramifications that the lower working class were forced to live in. This is the moment where Scrooge is “appalled” and “starts aback” at the unhealthy living conditions his employee, Bob, lives under and starts to notice just how horrific the living conditions really were, all because he refused to pay Bob anything ‘more nor less than the minimum wage’. This is also where the audience is told that Peter, Bob’s eldest son, also works in order to gain some more income for the family’s welfare. Peter’s loss of youth clearly reminds Scrooge of his lonely childhood as we (as readers) can see a glimmer of hope within Scrooge’s future transformation. Here, Scrooge can see that no matter how poor this family is, nothing will ever change the love they possess for one another as they are described as “happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time…” This communicates and foreshadows Scrooge’s possible want for change in the lower working class’ treatment and wages etc, as in Victorian England, anyone born into the lower working class was instantly assumed to be lazy as according to the upper and middle class, it was their fault for being in that situation and it was “punishment” for not working hard enough – although they probably worked just as much as the other working classes, if not more. Dickens went into such detail with The Cratchits living conditions as he wanted to raise awareness to the contemporary audience that societal norms needed to change in order to progress as a country.

Moreover, the importance of family is also shown through Belle’s happiness with her new family and husband. This is where we see slight guilt in Scrooge’s past actions as he “yells, ‘get me out of this place’”. The use of verb “yells” explains how there could be a glimmer of jealousy within Belle’s find for a new love for others and the loss of love she once maintained with Scrooge. In the Victorian Era, it was almost a necessity and classed as a life’s purpose to have a family to carry on future working development and to pass on the family name and so Scrooge has failed at learning to love and care about other people since he “replaced” everyone with a “golden” material. Dickens clearly wanted to make the society of the Victorian Era understand the sheer importance of having a family and not remaining lonely like Scrooge as happiness is spawned within family and laughter. The reader would realise just how much their family should mean to them as the average age of the Victorian Era was 29 years old which- to this day- is very young and they should appreciate who they have around them.

Finally, within the selected extract, The Cratchits are presented as economically disinclined but “happy, grateful, pleased…” and that is all they need to survive. Scrooge decides to have “his eye upon… Tiny Tim until the last” and this could be he doesn’t want to accept the fact that he declined Bob with a higher wage to help his ‘youngest son’ (Tiny Tim) gain the medication he needs in order to cure his illness. The use of lexical choice ‘upon’ shows how Scrooge is aware that this family needs and wants help economically but refuses to realise that its HIS fault for keeping him paid on the lowest wage. This could mirror a possible future where Tiny Tim was the ‘last’ one born, but the first to die, as in the Victorian Era, contraception didn’t exist and so families (usually of the lower class) had up to 7 kids, also because 1/6 of the born children would die before the age of 1 and 1/5 would die before the age of 5 due to the lack of health care and unsanitary living conditions. Scrooge clearly realised that he would have to live with the fact that he was the reason why Tiny Tim dies (when The Ghost of Yet to Come) takes him to the scene of his death. Here the reader can see that The Cratchits truly love and appreciate each other, and they possess something Scrooge becomes envious of- which is love and Dickens did this in the hope of more appreciation and acceptance of everyone, no matter what social class etc and that if things didn’t change in their societal norms, then regression would certainly take place.

Ultimately, through the ideals of family, Dickens seeks to illuminate its great value, encouraging greater benevolence and sense of community for readers of all contexts.

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A Summary and Analysis of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol  in six weeks during October and November 1843, and the novella (technically, it is not counted among his novels) appeared just in time for Christmas, on 19 December. The book’s effect was immediate.

The Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle went straight out and bought himself a turkey after reading  A Christmas Carol, and the novelist Margaret Oliphant said that it ‘moved us all in those days as if it had been a new gospel’. Even Dickens’s rival, William Makepeace Thackeray, called the book ‘a national benefit’.

Both ‘Scrooge’ and ‘Bah! Humbug’ are known to people who have never read Dickens’s book, or even seen one of the countless film, TV, and theatre adaptations. But what is A Christmas Carol really about, and is there more to this tale of charity and goodwill than meets the eye? Before we offer an analysis of A Christmas Carol , it might be worth briefly summarising the plot of the novella.

The novella is divided into five chapters or ‘staves’. In the first stave, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge rejects his nephew Fred’s invitation to dine with him and his family for Christmas. He reluctantly allows his clerk, Bob Cratchit, to have Christmas Day off work. On Christmas night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley.

Marley, bound in chains, warns Scrooge that a similar fate awaits him when he dies unless he mends his ways; he also tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits.

The second, third, and fourth staves of A Christmas Carol are devoted to each of the three spirits of Christmas. First, the Ghost of Christmas Past visits Scrooge and reminds him of his lonely childhood at boarding school, and the kindness shown to the young Scrooge by his first employer, Mr Fezziwig (whom we see at a Christmas ball).

Scrooge is also shown a vision recalling his relationship with Belle, a young woman who broke off their engagement because of the young Scrooge’s love of money. The Ghost of Christmas Past then shows Scrooge that Belle subsequently married another man and raised a family with him.

The third stave details the visit from the second spirit: the Ghost of Christmas Present. This spirit shows Scrooge his nephew Fred’s Christmas party as well as Christmas Day at the Cratchits. Bob Cratchit’s youngest son, Tiny Tim, is severely ill, and the Ghost tells Scrooge that the boy will die if things don’t change. He then shows Scrooge two poor, starving children, named Ignorance and Want.

The fourth stave features the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who shows Scrooge his own funeral taking place in the future. It is sparsely attended by a few of Scrooge’s fellow businessmen only. The only two people who express any emotion over Scrooge’s passing are a young couple who owed him money, and who are happy that he’s dead.

Scrooge is then shown a very different scene: Bob Cratchit and his family mourning Tiny Tim’s death. Scrooge is shown his own neglected gravestone, and vows to mend his ways.

The fifth and final stave sees Scrooge waking on Christmas morning a changed man. He sends Bob Cratchit a large turkey for Christmas dinner, and goes to his nephew’s house that afternoon to spend Christmas with Fred’s family. The next day he gives Bob Cratchit a pay rise, and generally treats everyone with kindness and generosity.

A Christmas Carol wasn’t the first Christmas ghost story Dickens wrote. He’d already written ‘ The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton ’, featuring the miserly Gabriel Grub. This was featured as an inset tale in Dickens’s first ever published novel,  The Pickwick Papers (1836-7).

The tale shares many of the narrative features which would turn up a few years later in  A Christmas Carol : the misanthropic villain, the Christmas Eve setting, the presence of the supernatural (goblins/ghosts), the use of visions which the main character is forced to witness, the focus on poverty and family, and, most importantly, the reforming of the villain into a better person at the close of the story.

But the fact that Dickens had already developed the loose ‘formula’ for the story that would become, in many ways, his best-known work does nothing to detract from its power as a piece of storytelling.

Like a handful of other books of the nineteenth century – Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde spring to mind – A Christmas Carol has attained the force of a modern myth, an archetypal tale about the value of helping those in need, in the name of Christian charity and general human altruism. Oliphant’s description of the novella as like a new gospel neatly captures both its Christian flavour (though its message is far broader in its applications than this) and its mythic qualities.

But there is also something of the fairy tale – another form that was attaining new-found popularity in 1840s Britain thanks to the vogue for pantomimes based upon old French tales and the appearance of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales in English – in the story’s patterning of three (three spirits visiting Scrooges), its supernatural elements, and the (spiritual or moral) transformation of its central character.

Indeed, it has almost become something of an origin-myth for many Christmas traditions and associations, and was published at a time when many things now considered typically Christmassy were coming into vogue: Prince Albert’s championing of Christmas trees at the royal court, for instance, and even the practice of sending Christmas cards (the first one was sent in 1843, the same year that A Christmas Carol was published). No wonder many people, when they hear talk of ‘the spirit of Christmas’, tend to think of goodwill to all men, charity, and benevolence.

Dickens invented none of these associations, but his novella helped to cement them in the popular consciousness for good. Even the association of Christmas with snowy weather may have partly been down to Dickens: there are a dozen references to snow in A Christmas Carol , and it’s been argued that Dickens associated snow with Christmas time because of a series of white Christmases in the 1810s, when he was a small child: memories which stayed with him into adulthood.

As with his previous novels, especially Oliver Twist , one of Dickens’s chief aims in A Christmas Carol , along with entertaining his readers, is to highlight to his predominantly middle-class readers the state of poverty and ‘want’ that afflicted millions of their fellow Britons. One of the most telling details in the novella is the revelation, following Scrooge’s conversion, that he will take on the role of father figure to Tiny Tim.

Since Tiny Tim already has a father, the point is perhaps not as clear to modern readers as it would have been to Dickens’s contemporaries: namely that the children of the poor were the responsibility of all of Britain, and if their own parents could not provide for them, then charity and generosity from the well-off was required.

Scrooge ensures this not only by improving Bob Cratchit’s financial situation (giving him a pay rise) but by becoming a friend to the family: money is needed to help fix the problem, Dickens argues, but it’s more valuable if accompanied by genuine companionship and communion between rich and poor, haves and have-nots, and if society works together to help each other.

On a stylistic note, the remarkable thing about A Christmas Carol is that it is entirely representative of Dickens’s work, even while it lacks many of the qualities that make him so popular.

In reflecting Dickens’s strong social conscience and his exposure of the plight of the poor and the callousness of those who refuse to play their part in making things better, it is emblematic of Dickens’s work as a champion of the poor. Its focus on money – and the dangers to those who place too much faith in money and not enough in their fellow human beings – it is also a wholly representative work.

But there are none of the wonderfully drawn comic characters at which he excelled and which, arguably, make his work so distinctively ‘Dickensian’. As a rule, the shorter the Dickens book, the less Dickensian it is, at least in this sense: Hard Times , A Tale of Two Cities , and the five Christmas books all lack those supporting comic characters which make his large, sprawling novels, whatever their shortcomings in plot structure, his most successful books.

But what it lacks in Fat Boys, Sam Wellers, Major Bagstocks, or Mr Micawbers, it more than makes up for in its concentrated plot structure and heart-warming portrayal of a man who learns to use his wealth, but also his sense of social duty, to help those who need it most.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — A Christmas Carol

Essays on A Christmas Carol

Prompt examples for "a christmas carol" essays, redemption and transformation.

Discuss the theme of redemption and transformation in "A Christmas Carol." How does Ebenezer Scrooge's journey from a miserly and cold-hearted man to a generous and compassionate one illustrate the possibility of change and personal growth?

The Impact of the Ghosts

Analyze the roles and symbolism of the three spirits—Past, Present, and Future—in the novella. How do they influence Scrooge's understanding of his own life and the consequences of his actions? Discuss the lessons imparted by each ghost.

Social Critique and Poverty

Examine Charles Dickens' critique of social inequality and poverty in Victorian England. How does the novella shed light on the hardships faced by the poor and the indifference of the wealthy? Discuss the contrast between Scrooge's wealth and the Cratchit family's poverty.

The Symbolism of Christmas

Discuss the symbolism of Christmas in the novella. How does the holiday represent themes of joy, love, and goodwill, and how is it contrasted with Scrooge's initial disdain for it? Analyze the significance of the Cratchits' celebration.

Scrooge's Character Development

Analyze the growth and development of Ebenezer Scrooge as a character. How do his experiences with the spirits and the visions of his past, present, and future shape his personality and actions? Discuss the factors that lead to his transformation.

The Role of Tiny Tim

Explore the significance of the character Tiny Tim in the novella. How does his vulnerability and need for assistance highlight the importance of compassion and social responsibility? Discuss the impact of Tiny Tim on Scrooge's transformation.

Hook Examples for "A Christmas Carol" Essays

Anecdotal hook.

"As I delved into the heartwarming tale of Scrooge's redemption and transformation, I couldn't help but reflect on the timeless message of generosity, compassion, and the power of second chances."

Rhetorical Question Hook

"What does it take for a miserly old man to undergo a profound change of heart and rediscover the true spirit of Christmas? Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' invites us to explore themes of redemption and the human capacity for change."

Startling Quote Hook

"'I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.' Ebenezer Scrooge's vow serves as a poignant reminder of the novella's enduring message of goodwill and transformation."

Historical Hook

"Set in Victorian London during a period of social and economic upheaval, 'A Christmas Carol' provides a window into the challenges and inequalities of the time. Exploring this historical context adds depth to the narrative."

Narrative Hook

"Join Ebenezer Scrooge on his extraordinary journey through the past, present, and future as he confronts his own life choices. This narrative captures the essence of Charles Dickens' storytelling."

Character Transformation Hook

"Witness Scrooge's remarkable transformation from a cold-hearted miser to a benevolent soul. Analyzing the character arc adds depth to the narrative."

Moral Lessons Hook

"What moral lessons can we learn from the experiences of Scrooge and the spirits? Exploring the ethical dimensions of the novella prompts reflection on our own values and actions."

Christmas Spirit Hook

"How does 'A Christmas Carol' capture the essence of the holiday spirit? Delving into the themes of generosity, family, and community sheds light on the novella's enduring appeal."

Social Commentary Hook

"In a time marked by social disparities, 'A Christmas Carol' serves as a commentary on the plight of the poor and the responsibilities of the wealthy. Examining the novella's social impact offers valuable insights."

Dickens' Literary Legacy Hook

"How does 'A Christmas Carol' contribute to Charles Dickens' literary legacy? Exploring the novella's place in Dickens' body of work reveals its enduring significance in literature and culture."

Future Ghost in a Christmas Carol

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A christmas carol as a moral maxim, the episodes of christmas as highlighted in "a christmas carol", exploring dickens’ views on money in a christmas carol, a study of the personality of scrooge in charles dickens’ book the christmas carol, how religion and secular practises became part of christmas, an analysis of the use of tone in a christmas carol, a book by charles dickens, a detailed look at the role of emotions in "a christmas carol", the perfect christmas from the perspective of "a christmas carol", charles dickens' terrible childhood, scrooge's transformation in "a christmas carol", generosity theme in "a christmas carol", theme of redemption in "a christmas carol", how does scrooge change throughout the novel, how is fred presented in "a christmas carol", comparing and contrasting "a christmas carol" book and movie adaptation.

19 December 1843, Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas

Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley, The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Fred, Fezziwig, Belle, Peter Cratchit, Martha Cratchit, Fan, The Portly Gentlemen, Mrs. Cratchit

1. Jaffe, A. (1994). Spectacular sympathy: visuality and ideology in Dickens's A Christmas Carol. PMLA, 109(2), 254-265. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/pmla/article/abs/spectacular-sympathy-visuality-and-ideology-in-dickenss-a-christmas-carol/5B6363CBCC63BF021719079F3B1269BB) 2. Davis, P. (1990). Literary History: Retelling A Christmas Carol: Text and Culture-Text. The American Scholar, 59(1), 109-115. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/41211762) 3. Butterworth, R. D. (1993). 'A Christmas Carol'and the masque. Studies in short fiction, 30(1), 63-70. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA14085617&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00393789&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E3330b394) 4. Rossetti, C. G. (1887). A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Hobby horse, x-xi. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/b179c1c578656647/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=14714) 5. Ferrari, A., Signoroni, S., Silva, M., Gaggiotti, P., Veneroni, L., Magni, C., ... & Massimino, M. (2017). “Christmas Balls”: a Christmas carol by the adolescent cancer patients of the Milan Youth Project. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.5301/tj.5000597?journalCode=tmja) 6. Hancock, P. (2016). A Christmas carol: A reflection on organization, society, and the socioeconomics of the festive season. (https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amr.2016.0038?journalCode=amr) 7. Hancher, M. (2008). Grafting A Christmas Carol. SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 48(4), 813-827. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/254074/summary) 8. Burleson, D. R. (1992). Dickens's a Christmas Carol. The Explicator, 50(4), 211-212. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144940.1992.9935321?journalCode=vexp20) 9. Preston, S. (2012). Existential Scrooge: A Kierkegaardian Reading of A Christmas Carol. Literature Compass, 9(11), 743-751. (https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1741-4113.2012.00909.x)

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A Christmas Carol by Dickens Essay

A Christmas Carol by Dickens was first published on December 19, 1843. Since its publication, this book, arguably one of his most famous works, has made its mark on American culture and literature. It is difficult to underestimate the significance of A Christmas Carol , which was made into numerous TV and stage versions. Some would even argue that this Dickens’s work invented or rather reinvented Christmas, while others underline the importance of his work for the development of the new forms of literature. This essay aims to discuss the theme and the characters of the book. It starts with a summary of the plot, then examines the main characters and the themes and concludes with the personal opinion on the novella.

Dickens offers a story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy and selfish older man living alone in his London house, whose only concern is money. Scrooge hates Christmas and is indifferent to other people’s suffering, including his workers. However, on Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of his business partner and by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. The first ghost takes him on a journey through his past Christmases: one of a miserable and lonely little boy and others of a young man, more interested in gold than in his fiancé. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge his clerk’s family Christmas, a Christmas evening of a poor, but loving family, and his nephew’s celebrations, where guests mock him for his unfriendliness and greediness. Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Future shows him his own death, which would bring more joy to people who knew him than grief. The terror of this night magically transforms Ebenezer Scrooge into a generous and good-hearted man, kind to his neighbors and eager to help those in need.

The main hero of the book, Ebenezer Scrooge, is characterized mainly by his greediness and by the fear that he creates among people who know him. Charles Dickens describes (1843, 4) him as such: “No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o’clock, no man […] inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge”. Even his clerk is terrified of him and barely dares to speak in his presence.

According to Thompson (2017, 269), the descriptions of Scrooge’s personality allude to the Old Testament figure of King Belshazzar, the ruler who loves wealth and who is punished by God for his greed and pride. However, unlike Belshazzar, Scrooge takes advantage of the warning delivered by the Christmas ghosts and changes, fearing the dreadful end that is awaiting him. He accepts to change and declares: “I will not shut out the lessons that they [the Spirits of the Past, the Present and the Future] teach” (Dickens 1843, 57). Thus, he is a sinner, but the night that he goes through makes hem find the strength to change. This magical and radical overnight transformation becomes central to the figure of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Other central figures are the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first ghost to visit Scrooge; he is quite and rather compassionate towards Scrooge, to whom he shows the pictures of his childhood. The Ghost of Christmas Present is a joyful and vibrant character, wearing a green robe and symbolizing joy and happiness. The third Ghost is the most fearsome one; he wears a black cloak and remains silent during their journey. Although the ghosts have distinct personalities, their common characteristic is their role as the messengers. Their figures also reflect Dickens’ interest in “the narrative possibilities of the communication between the living and the dead” (Wood 2018, 412). Dickens’s interest in the supernatural urges him to experiment with the forms of expression and create the figures of these Spirits to deliver the message to Scrooge.

Another prominent figure is Tiny Tim, who is the most significant figure of childhood in the book. He is a son of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s clerk. He has a disability, but is full of cheer and love and brings a lot of joy to his family. His words – “God bless us every one!” – mark the end of the novella (Dickens 1843, 92). The figure of Tiny Tim reflects the conception of childhood as the stage of innocence, although it is not the only way children are represented in the novella (Robinson 2016, 8). For instance, the readers observe frightening figures of children clinging to the clothes of the Ghost of Christmas Present. Contrary to this image of “figures which are a product of a fallen world (Robinson 2016, 2), Tim is a constant reminder to everyone of the courage in the face of difficulties.

The characters of A Christmas Carol serve to express Dickens’s Christian humanistic views and attitudes. According to Newey (2016, 12), A Christmas Carol is one of the most important works of Charles Dickens in a sense that it “brings into focus many of Dickens’s core concerns and attitudes of mind.” Dickens demonstrates the transformation of a greedy lender with no sympathy to others, which symbolizes capitalist and rationalist values, into the embodiment of Christianity and humanism.

The contrast between Dickens’s characters furthers strengthens the differences between two ideologies, the humanistic and the capitalist one. The family of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s clerk, is a model of a loving family, poor in money but rich in heart, while Scrooge himself reflects utilitarian, purely rationalist values. The values of family loyalty, humanism, kindness, are confronted with the rationalism and greediness of the protagonist.

Another theme of the novella is the relationship between the supernatural and the living. As stated above, Dickens’s works have significantly contributed to the development of the Victorian ghost story. His fascination with the supernatural makes him create the powerful figures of the Ghost of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future, who communicate with the protagonist and act as the messengers of the divine. This communication between the living and the supernatural is central to the plot. This theme reoccurs in Dickens’s works, for instance, in “The Signalman,” although in total, it is present in about 18 Dickens’s stories. The critical result of the supernatural intervention is that it leads to change and transforms the protagonist.

Although often presented as a children’s story, Dickens’s novella A Christmas Carol tells a reader a lot about Dickens’s attitudes and views about the world. This novella promotes the humanistic ideology based on Christian values: love, empathy, and generosity. Moreover, the author experiments with literary forms and contributes to the development of the ghost story. The supernatural plays a central role in the transformation of the main hero. However, the idea that the protagonist needs supernatural intervention in order to change might be problematic for the humanistic perspective that is centered on the agency of human beings. The humanistic perspective stresses the inherently good qualities of human nature, which is contradictory to the idea that supernatural intervention is necessary in order to bring change.

Newey, Vincent. 2016. The Scriptures of Charles Dickens: Novels of Ideology, Novels of the Self. New York: Routledge.

Robinson, David E. 2016. “Redemption and the Imagination of Childhood: Dickens’s Representation of Children in A Christmas Carol.” Literator 37 (1): 1-8. Web.

Thompson, Terry W. 2017. “The Belshazzar Allusion in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.” The Explicator 75 (4): 268-270. Web.

Wood, Claire. 2018. “Playful Spirits: Charles Dickens and the Ghost Story.” In The Routledge Handbook to the Ghost Story, edited by Scott Brewster and Luke Thurston, 87-96. New York: Routledge.

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Model Full Essays - A Christmas Carol - GCSE English Literature Grade 9 8 7 6 5

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

27 January 2024

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3 full model essays on the theme of family in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens demonstrating quality and essay structure at level 4, 5 and 6 of the markscheme, covering grades 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (including full marks.)

Based on a real past exam question.

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Each essay is accompanied by a short commentary highlighting the characteristics of an essay at that grade/level.

Relevant to all GCSE English specifications. I have taught for both AQA and Edexcel exams.

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You might also like: A Christmas Carol Whoosh! Drama activity - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12620412 A Christmas Carol Revision - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12168720 Romeo and Juliet Revision - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12168723 Romeo and Juliet Comprehension Worksheets - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12168722 Macbeth Comprehension Worksheets - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12625174

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