Friday Book Whimsy: A Christmas Carol

Following is a guest review of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, provided by Rebecca Borman. Rebecca was a teacher for 32 years, and taught English at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia, for 26 years. She taught her students this book each year.

A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is its full title. Dickens wrote it at a time when he was struggling financially. It was immediately popular, although his publisher didn’t think it would be and, consequently, refused to publish it. So Dickens put up the money himself. Good call! Readers of all social classes loved it, and some well-known people were significantly affected by it. An American industrialist was moved to close his factory for Christmas day (which was not a common practice either in the US or England); Robert Louis Stevenson vowed to help the unfortunate by giving of himself as well as his money. Historian Thomas Carlyle “sent out for a turkey and asked two friends to dine.” And, the Queen of Norway sent toys to children in London hospitals in the name of Tiny Tim. Seriously. His novel had that impact on his readers.

But, on to my thoughts. One of the aspects I love about the novel is its length. It is short and tightly woven, a book one can read in a few hours. Dickens establishes his theme, and it is apparent from beginning to end. Scrooge was a good businessman, and that was ok. But, his old partner Marley, his first spirit visitor, sets the moral of the story early on: “Mankind was my business…The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.” Marley tells Scrooge that you can be a businessman without cutting yourself off from all personal connection. And, throughout the novel, Scrooge is shown the results of his isolationist attitude.

I also love the way Dickens portrays each of the three spirits. Christmas Past’s appearance is constantly changing, the way our memories of past events can be colored by later experiences. Christmas Present is big and bold, just as our “present” should be for us. And Christmas Yet to Come is dark and scary. He doesn’t speak or show his face, because the future is unknown. I always enjoyed teaching Dickens because he wasn’t too tricky with his symbolism…he wanted his reader to get it!

Finally, I like that Dickens doesn’t keep the reader hanging as to whether Scrooge is open to transformation. As early as Scrooge’s visit to his past, he feels remorse that he didn’t give a little something to a caroler. By the time the last of the spirits arrives, Scrooge is anxious to get on with it, because he knows time is short. And, when he wakes up on Christmas morning, he doesn’t overthink. He immediately dresses and begins changing his life…and others’.