a Christmas carol essay? feedback?
please can anyone give me feedback on this essay I attempted to do and give an estimate on what it would be out of 30?
In Dickens political diatribe, “A Christmas Carol” the character Scrooge is constructed to portray how loneliness can arise from capitalism and misanthropic behaviour. Although Scrooge was not necessarily ostracised from society, he isolated himself through his self-inflicted loneliness. Dickens constructs Scrooge in this way to criticise the capitalist upper class men in the Victorian era and to emphasise on the dangers that miserly behaviour can lead to. This is due to Dickens yearning for a more compassionate, egalitarian society, reflecting his socialist ideologies.
At the start of the novella Scrooge is described as “secret and self- contained and solitary as an oyster”. Here, Dickens emphasises on Scrooge’s complete isolation through the use of sibilance. The repeated “s” sound imitates the sound of a snake, suggesting a sinister tone. This reveals Dickens' opinion on isolation being deadly, perhaps because he once was very alone when he was forced into a workhouse due to his father’s debt. It is likely that he would have been “neglected” whilst in the workhouse as children were forced to work in terrible conditions, thus, Dickens constructs Scrooge to reflect the dark, lonely times in his childhood. However, the use of sibilance also alludes to biblical allusion such as the snake seducing Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, which further exemplifies this sinister tone. Additionally, Dickens uses polysyndetic listing to make each adjective more powerful and give the reader a deeper understanding of who the character of Scrooge really is. Dickens also employs a semantic field of loneliness through the repetition of these adjectives describing loneliness to clearly emphasise on the consequences of misanthropic, self interested behaviour. An alternative view of this extended, hyperbolic description of Scrooge could be that it was used to present Scrooge as a caricature of a lonely upper-class man as although “A Christmas Carol” presents important themes and messages that Dickens wanted to get across to his audience, this novella would be performed in theatres which families would watch, therefore it was crucial to have an element of unseriousness. This is also seen through the asyndetic list “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”, which adds comedic effect to the novella.
Further on in the novella, Scrooge’s isolation is shown through his lack of social interactions. In the Victorian era, people were usually very cordial with each other, often greeting each other in the street. However, “nobody ever stopped him in the street to say my dear Mr Scrooge, how are you?”, which presents how Scrooge’s self isolation is mirrored back with the people around him. The fact that nobody attempted to greet him shows the extent of which he has isolated himself. Dickens is demonstrating the effects that loneliness has on social life and relationships, leaving Scrooge with nothing but a “melancholy” life.
Scrooge’s loneliness is further made explicit through the emphasis on the room that Scrooge presumably spent most of his time in which is described as “melancholy”, “bare” and there not being a “squeak or scuffle”. This semantic field of loneliness evokes raw emotion in Scrooge which further exemplifies his pent up emotions about his childhood. The use of sibilance mimics the hushed sound of the room, consisting of a lonely young boy Ebenezer Scrooge.
However, Scrooge undergoes a transformation which Dickens uses to display how we all deserve a second chance and that nobody should be left “neglected” and “solitary as an oyster”. While, in the beginning “external heat and cold had no influence on him”, we see him reveal his emotional side as the Ghosts release him from the chains of capitalism. Scrooge finally shows his true, vulnerable self as he “sobbed” and “wept to see his poor forgotten self”, while the Ghost takes him back to his young school boy days. This use of emotive language helps us to see the major impact loneliness has had on scrooge, suggesting that beneath that hard shell of an “oyster”, is an emotional, neglected man who was indoctrinated to believe that profit and “business” was the way to achieve a good life.
To conclude, through Scrooge, Dickens demonstrates how anyone should have the chance of reformation, and the negative impact that loneliness can have on a person such as the ruining of relationships in order to criticise capitalist ideologies which states that a man should only be concerned with himself. Dickens is suggesting that capitalism is what leads to loneliness, and that we should move towards a more socialist society which allows for togetherness, kindness and prioritises everyone's well being.
In Dickens political diatribe, “A Christmas Carol” the character Scrooge is constructed to portray how loneliness can arise from capitalism and misanthropic behaviour. Although Scrooge was not necessarily ostracised from society, he isolated himself through his self-inflicted loneliness. Dickens constructs Scrooge in this way to criticise the capitalist upper class men in the Victorian era and to emphasise on the dangers that miserly behaviour can lead to. This is due to Dickens yearning for a more compassionate, egalitarian society, reflecting his socialist ideologies.
At the start of the novella Scrooge is described as “secret and self- contained and solitary as an oyster”. Here, Dickens emphasises on Scrooge’s complete isolation through the use of sibilance. The repeated “s” sound imitates the sound of a snake, suggesting a sinister tone. This reveals Dickens' opinion on isolation being deadly, perhaps because he once was very alone when he was forced into a workhouse due to his father’s debt. It is likely that he would have been “neglected” whilst in the workhouse as children were forced to work in terrible conditions, thus, Dickens constructs Scrooge to reflect the dark, lonely times in his childhood. However, the use of sibilance also alludes to biblical allusion such as the snake seducing Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, which further exemplifies this sinister tone. Additionally, Dickens uses polysyndetic listing to make each adjective more powerful and give the reader a deeper understanding of who the character of Scrooge really is. Dickens also employs a semantic field of loneliness through the repetition of these adjectives describing loneliness to clearly emphasise on the consequences of misanthropic, self interested behaviour. An alternative view of this extended, hyperbolic description of Scrooge could be that it was used to present Scrooge as a caricature of a lonely upper-class man as although “A Christmas Carol” presents important themes and messages that Dickens wanted to get across to his audience, this novella would be performed in theatres which families would watch, therefore it was crucial to have an element of unseriousness. This is also seen through the asyndetic list “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”, which adds comedic effect to the novella.
Further on in the novella, Scrooge’s isolation is shown through his lack of social interactions. In the Victorian era, people were usually very cordial with each other, often greeting each other in the street. However, “nobody ever stopped him in the street to say my dear Mr Scrooge, how are you?”, which presents how Scrooge’s self isolation is mirrored back with the people around him. The fact that nobody attempted to greet him shows the extent of which he has isolated himself. Dickens is demonstrating the effects that loneliness has on social life and relationships, leaving Scrooge with nothing but a “melancholy” life.
Scrooge’s loneliness is further made explicit through the emphasis on the room that Scrooge presumably spent most of his time in which is described as “melancholy”, “bare” and there not being a “squeak or scuffle”. This semantic field of loneliness evokes raw emotion in Scrooge which further exemplifies his pent up emotions about his childhood. The use of sibilance mimics the hushed sound of the room, consisting of a lonely young boy Ebenezer Scrooge.
However, Scrooge undergoes a transformation which Dickens uses to display how we all deserve a second chance and that nobody should be left “neglected” and “solitary as an oyster”. While, in the beginning “external heat and cold had no influence on him”, we see him reveal his emotional side as the Ghosts release him from the chains of capitalism. Scrooge finally shows his true, vulnerable self as he “sobbed” and “wept to see his poor forgotten self”, while the Ghost takes him back to his young school boy days. This use of emotive language helps us to see the major impact loneliness has had on scrooge, suggesting that beneath that hard shell of an “oyster”, is an emotional, neglected man who was indoctrinated to believe that profit and “business” was the way to achieve a good life.
To conclude, through Scrooge, Dickens demonstrates how anyone should have the chance of reformation, and the negative impact that loneliness can have on a person such as the ruining of relationships in order to criticise capitalist ideologies which states that a man should only be concerned with himself. Dickens is suggesting that capitalism is what leads to loneliness, and that we should move towards a more socialist society which allows for togetherness, kindness and prioritises everyone's well being.
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