ASSIGNMENT 1.10A.

THEME ESSAY

Do you feel that a character is able to change throughout a story? In a Christmas Carol by
Charles Dickens, the author wants us, the readers, to ask ourselves this question. From my
point of view, the central theme of A Christmas Carol is that a character can develop and
grow throughout the story, and he can turn out to be a completely renewed person because
of the events occurring in the novel (In this case that would be the Ghosts).

To begin with, in Stave One we are able to witness a miserly and bad-mannered character,
who prefers to see the world as an atrocious place. By the author’s tone, we are able to
determine that he is not a benevolent person, which causes a certain mood in us. In
addition, when two gentlemen access his shop and cordially ask him to give some money to
the poor and he refuses, the readers can perceive that he has disdain for the poor.
Moreover, we can perceive that he treats very poorly his employee, Bob Cratchit, so we
know he doesn’t treat well others. In the last excerpt, the ghost of Jacob Marley, who has
been dead for seven years, suddenly appears to pay him a visit and warn him about the
consequences his actions will have. In this stave, Dickens introduces us to the character,
and it makes us see him as how he primarily was.

In contrast, in Stave Two Scrooge is tormented after the visit and he doesn’t want to end up
like him, which, according to the Ghost, will happen if he doesn’t change his actions. In the
reading, Marley’s Ghost says ‘’ I wear the chain I forged in life’’. By this phrase, the character
means that, when Marley was still alive, he made the chain by himself, and he didn’t even
realize it until he passed away and was forced to live with it for the rest of his afterlife.
Furthermore, he tells Scrooge that he is running out of time and he is carrying a really
ponderous chain. Therefore, in this stave Dickens goes deepens into Marley’s Ghost point of
view, and Ebenezer comprehends that he needs to transform himself in order to be free
afterlife.

In Stave Three, Ebenezer Scrooge realizes how he is able to change in the moment, and the
Ghost of Christmas Present tells him that Tiny Tim (Bob Cratchit’s son) will die. He cares
about Tim, and, stated like him ‘’is overcome with penitence and grief’’. In this precise
moment, readers can see that Scrooge has transformed into a new individual. Additionally,
before the Ghost of Christmas Present disappears, he introduces Scrooge to two
impoverished children: Ignorance and Want.They symbolize the poor in Victorian society and
they are Man’s. This is the first time readers can perceive a change affected by the Ghost of
Christmas Present and foreshadowing is a part of it as well.

At the end of the story, the Ghost of Christmas Future emerges, and Scrooge fears him the
most. He is willing to do good and be another man from what he was and sees the
opportunity to change for the better, even though it might be too late. Finally, in Stave Five
Scrooge awakens as a new man and says ‘’They are here—I am here—the shadows of the
things that would have been, may be dispelled. They will be. I know they will!’’ This quote
means that all the things that could have happened, didn’t happen, so they will disappear
forever. Lastly, I want to say that his spectral visions made him realize his erratic behavior,
and he developed as a character, and what’s even more important, as a person.
In conclusion, characters can change throughout a story for the better, and they can
represent humans too. Dickens created Ebenezer Scrooge to make a social impact, he used
him as a ‘’speaker’’ to change their community and view of the world. The writer wants to
demonstrate how we are able to become a better version of ourselves, and he created the
Ghosts to make Ebenezer realize the consequences of his actions. To conclude, do you,
readers, think you are still able to change your actions even though it might be too late?