A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens | In-Depth Summary & Analysis

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Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth analysis of the plot, characters, symbols, and themes of Charles Dickens's novella A Christmas Carol.

Download the free study guide and infographic for A Christmas Carol here: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/A-Chri...

In Charles Dickens's classic novella A Christmas Carol, impoverished clerk Bob Cratchit works for miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who has little time for anything but money.

On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is confronted by a series of ghosts who take him on a tour of Christmases past, present and future.

Scrooge is shown how his lack of compassion affects those around him. His stingy wages condemn his employee and his family to a life of penury, but they still find joy in the holiday season.

Visions of Christmas yet to come show Scrooge that he will not be mourned upon his passing. The scales lifted from his eyes, he resolves to live a life of kindness and generosity.

Charles Dickens's classic novella A Christmas Carol is among his most beloved tales. Like much of his work, it highlights economic inequality and human foibles in amusing but profound ways. While it is in some ways a simplistic parable, the story nonetheless illuminates the value of such virtues—and perhaps evokes sympathy for a character who has turned away from them.

Beloved English author Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843. As an appreciator of Christmas festivities, Dickens was inspired to write A Christmas Carol after witnessing children in extreme poverty in London. His goal was to encourage those with resources to help and educate those without.

The novella A Christmas Carol contains many enduring themes including redemption, as Scrooge starts out as a greedy, miserable man but becomes a loving, generous friend; wealth vs. poverty, as Scrooge represents the rich in society, while Bob Cratchit represents the poor; and time, as Scrooge must fight against time—his own and Tiny Tim's—to make a difference before it's too late. Important symbols include Marley’s chain and Tiny Tim.

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