What Is "A Christmas Carol" About?

A Christmas Carol is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was published in 1843 and was an instant success. The story has since become extremely popular, with many film and television adaptations being released.

The story centres around Ebeneezer Scrooge, a bitter, old man who values money over love and friendship. He does not care about Christmas and refuses an invitation from his nephew on Christmas Eve to have Christmas dinner. His famous reaction to Christmas is "Bah! Humbug!", which indicates that he believes Christmas is a fraud.

On Christmas Eve, Scrooge and his clerk Bob Cratchit are working. As they are about to leave, Scrooge reluctantly gives Cratchit a paid holiday for just Christmas Day and tells him that he must be in the day after or else he will cut Cratchit’s wages.

Later that night, Scrooge is in his room, where he begins to experience a few strange happenings. He is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, his business partner, who died seven years earlier. Marley warns Scrooge that if he does not alter his ways, he will end up dead or even worse, exist after death and be made to see the suffering that he could have prevented. Marley offers Scrooge the chance to be redeemed by sending three spirits to visit him and help him to change his ways.

The first ghost to visit is the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange spirit that appears to be both young and old and has the appearance of both male and female. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to several past events in his life. First he sees his sister, who helped him to escape a lonely boarding school when he was younger. Scrooge begins to feel guilty for earlier refusing to have Christmas dinner with his nephew, his sister’s son. The ghost then takes him back to another past event, a Christmas party. The party causes Scrooge to feel bad about his behaviour towards Bob Cratchit after he witnesses how kindly his own apprentice-master treated him. Finally the ghost forces Scrooge to witness how he lost his first love, Belle, as a result of his love for money. Unhappy at being reminded of this event in his life, Scrooge attempts to get rid of the ghost, but instead ends up waking up in his own bed.

Later, Scrooge is visited by a second ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost is a man dressed in a green coat. The ghost takes Scrooge to the home of Bob Cratchit, where he witnesses Cratchit and his family enjoying a happy Christmas morning together despite their poor living situation. Scrooge sees Cratchit’s son, Tiny Tim, and the ghost informs Scrooge that the child will very likely die if things do not change. Scrooge begins to feel sad about the situation and wishes to do something to help. The ghost then shows Scrooge what others think of him. He watches as the Cratchits toast him and is then taken to the home where his nephew lives. He watches as his nephew, his nephew’s wife and friends mock him, but sees that his nephew believes that Scrooge can change his ways. Scrooge finds himself enjoying the celebrations. The ghost takes Scrooge to other celebrations, where he watches as people enjoy Christmas. As time passes, the ghost gets older and finally makes Scrooge witness two children, who are suffering as a result of "ignorance" and "want". The ghost then disappears.

The third ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, appears and is in the form of a grim spectre. The ghost does not speak, instead using one hand to point. Scrooge is forced to witness what Christmas would be like for the Cratchit’s without Tiny Tim and how his own death would not sadden anyone as a result of his ignorance towards love and friendship. He cries and wishes to do something to prevent these events from happening. He then awakens and discovers that the three spirits visited him on the same night, meaning that it is now Christmas morning.

The experience causes Scrooge to change completely and he starts off by ordering a turkey for the Cratchits. He then donates a large amount of money to some charity workers who he had sent away the day before and has Christmas dinner with his nephew. When Cratchit is late the following day, Scrooge pretends to be angry but then shows Cratchit that he has changed. His new kind-hearted nature results in him becoming Tiny Tim’s adopted uncle and he becomes remembered as a kind and generous man.