This essay focuses on the Importance of Christmas, as one of the central themes of the novella and its effect on characters such as Scrooge. This essay was given a Grade 9 and was written for Eduqas exam board but can be adapted for any!
Introduction: A Christmas Carol was written by Dickens in th...
• Write about how Dickens presents the importance of Christmas in his novel
• In your response you should:
• Refer to the extract and the novel as a whole
• Show your understanding of characters and events in the novel
• Refer to the contexts of the novel (40 marks)
A Christmas Carol was written by Dickens in the 19 th century, and the Importance
of Christmas is one of the principal themes of the story, and one of the main
messages of the Ghosts. Dickens presents Christmas as a unifying force within
Victorian society; something which Queen Victoria would have played a primary
role in at the time. She actively supported the revival of Christmas traditions,
introducing giving gifts, and Christmas Dinner.
In the extract, Scrooge is visited by his nephew Fred who invites Scrooge
to dinner and they discuss their contrasting view on Christmas. Fred greets
Scrooge with, ‘A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!’ 5Dickens here
emphasises the importance of Christmas by putting it alongside the phrase ‘God
save you!’ The verb ‘save’ connotes to the religious views of Christmas, and
demonstrates how it can be seen as a something that can help someone against
falling into harm, therefore implying the significance of Christmas as a saviour of
the old traditions and ‘saves’ perhaps the wealthy business men like that of
Scrooge from forgetting to be charitable.
Dickens successfully presents the importance of Christmas in the role it
plays in shaping the character of a person. 5Scrooge then states: ‘What’s
Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money?’ The use of the
pronouns ‘you’ emphasises how Scrooge excludes himself from the rest of the
town, including his nephew. However, this can also be said to represent the
unifying power of Christmas and how it brings everyone in the town as one body
as they celebrate Christmas. Therefore, this demonstrates how Scrooge is now
isolated as a result of him dismissing and failing to appreciate the importance of
Christmas. The noun ‘bills’ conveys how Scrooge can only see the financial side
of everything, as Christmas was also the same time of year when Victorians had
to pay their bills. Fred then comments that Christmas is a ‘good time, a kind,
forgiving, charitable, pleasant time...when men and women seem by one consent
to open their shut-up hearts freely.’ Dickens here uses an asyndetic list to
symbolise the importance of Christmas, and the noun ‘forgiving’ demonstrates
again the unity that Christmas brings, perhaps foreshadowing Scrooge’s
redemption. The noun ‘consent’ illustrates that Christmas gives permission for
people to be charitable and kind to each other creating the image that without
Christmas people wouldn’t open up or remember to be kind or pleasant. Dickens
uses the adverb ‘freely’ to imply that only on Christmas can people be happy
without restraint and give generously, demonstrating that Christmas is an
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