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G9 Essay on family/community in 'A Christmas Carol'
G9 Essay on how Dickens explores the theme of family/community/connection in 'A Christmas Carol'
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ACC : Family, Community, ConnectionIn A Christmas Carol, Dickens presents the theme of family as central to sustaining human
fulfilment. By using Scrooge as a caricature and personification of capitalism, he critiques
Victorian society's lean on Malthusin by prioritising wealth, and personal gain over
community and connection. His transformation reflects the need for Victorian society to
change into a true Christian society. Dickens's didactic message for his Victorian audience is
to develop a paternalistic role for the more vulnerable, give to charity, accept social
responsibility and prioritise family values by abandoning greed.
In the beginning, the theme of family is consistently dismissed by Scrooge as he rejects
Fred's “cheery” dinner proposal. Using Fred as a foil, Scrooge’s miserliness is emphasised
as he is “solitary as an oyster”. The simile immediately demonises him as he is trapped in his
greed, highlighting the magnitude of his isolation and unwillingness to change. But, "oyster”
is symbolic of how the goodness in Scrooge is hidden because of the corruption of society
and his childhood of poverty. “Oyster” could represent the innocence of Scrooge as he is a
product of his poverty-ridden childhood or perhaps his inner child and the man he truly is at
heart. This is because Scrooge’s relationship with his family, namely his father, was
damaging to his mind as children learn from their parents. The ghost of Christmas past
shows Scrooge the innocence of his childhood as in “boarding school” he is sat reading
“Ali-baba”, immersing himself in a fantastical book which is a form of escapism from his
wretched life and his isolation from family - he couldn’t even visit during Christmas. It is his
traumatic childhood that leads him to become a victim of a capitalist, utilitarian society where
he is forced to prioritise finance as it is what he has been taught.
However, Scrooge’s exposure to the communal and family aspects of the Cratchits force him
to reflect on his greed and his own Christian views. The Cratchit's annual Christmas
festivities idealise the poor, as they display compassion, and gratitude and are the epitome
of a good Christian family. Their holiday food “nobody said or thought it was at all a small
pudding for a large family. “ has a paradoxical nature. The pudding is tangibly small
(symbolic of the scarcity of food) juxtaposing their compassion and connection to each other
making it an abundance. This demonstrates what family truly is, which teaches not only
Scrooge but also Dickens's Victorian audience about human connection and forming
relationships. Perhaps, Dickens wants to not only dispel the stereotype of the poor being
criminals, and amoral but also critique the industrialisation of religion and Christianity in
Victorian society. Tiny Tim’s repeated “God bless us, everyone” further reinforces this
redefinition of Christmas as instead of money, family is central to the holiday. Dickens writes
this novella for the employers to force them to reflect and adopt morals by using the stark
contrast between the miser Scrooge and the Christian Cratchit family. But also, to
emphasise the importance of family values not just during Christmas but how it sustains life.
By the end of the play, Scrooge learns to break the patterns of attachment as he rejects the
role his father played and becomes a second father to Tiny Tim which reflects how Dickens
wants Victorian society to break the pattern of exploitation. Scrooge’s concern for Tiny Tim is
encapsulated in his plea "Tell me, Spirit, will Tiny Tim live?". He feels empathy for Tiny Tim’s
helplessness due to his disabilities but also to some extent, he relates to him as he too was
brought up in poverty, with restricted opportunities for education. He realises the importance
of family and becomes a paternalistic member of society. Scrooge whispers “I'll send it to
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