Elements Explained from "A Christmas Carol" | Teen Ink

Elements Explained from "A Christmas Carol"

October 28, 2012
By Confused_scheherazade ELITE, Brooklyn, New York, New York
Confused_scheherazade ELITE, Brooklyn, New York, New York
132 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
I know nothing, but of miracles.


Past Tense

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was pivotally an allegory based on the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge, as he learned from mundane paradigms on goodwill, benevolence, and sympathy. Initially, Scrooge was a callous, miserly old man who lived in social seclusion from the world, his only objectives in life materialism and parsimony. Ironically, Scrooge was his most rancorous at Christmas, a jovial time of amicable benevolence, which he only regarded as a hedonistic holiday. Divine intervention was the pivotal element that allowed Scrooge perspicacity, into his behavior and his perception from others. The Ghost of Christmas Past had carried Scrooge into his history, to a time when he was a lonely boy in his school and his sister, Fan, had still been alive. Scrooge’s observation of his memory influenced him, as it reminded him of the jubilation he and his sister shared for Christmas and the loving self he used to be, for whom he could emulate again later. Furthermore, in the present at his kin’s holiday party, his nephew, Fred, who unlike the other patrons of his holiday party had not censured Scrooge, but waxed optimistic about his uncle’s ability to change, and having given a toast to him, a statement that had touched even jaded Scrooge.

Present Tense

Through the eloquence of his writing, Charles Dickens proves himself competent of rhetoric language, drawing elements of pathos and empathy to entice his readers into loving the characters and the story. Dickens reflects on acknowledged elements of society that are prevalent in any era: holiday spirit, kinship, redemption, and compassion. A paradigm that evokes sentimentally is the Crachit family, emphasizing on two members, Mr. Crachit and his enabled son, Tiny Tim. Mr. Crachit is calls forth commiseration, as he toils to earn money to support his large family, earning him the credibility of the common man. Nevertheless, he is the embodiment of familial love, as he demonstrates in a scene where even in the depths of adversity Crachit is heaping affection and gifts for his family, an anecdote that can even arouse familiarity today. Additionally, in his narrative Charles draws Tiny Tim, though not inadvertently, evokes the sympathy of the upper and middle classes of his time, and even compassion from readers today. Thus, the heartwarming convergence of these themes and characters, which saves the callous Scrooge from an eternal longevity of loneliness and sorrow, persuades the audience into appreciating this jovial story.

Future Tense

In regards to reading A Christmas Carol, the audience will be kept wondering if the rancorous Scrooge will transcend past the depravity of his ways and learn the meaning of humanity and Christmas. In the forthcoming encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge will be led anachronistically back into his childhood, where he will reflect on the predecessor of his previous, lonely self in which reveals the ability to love, that could be possible in his current self. Consequently, the apparition will also reveal the degradation of Scrooge’s character, and how his heart will become malicious from the avidness that envenoms his heart. Accordingly, the resplendent Ghost of Christmas Present will follow, disclosing the warm environment of the Crachit household and the pitiable state of the marred Tiny Tim, for whom Scrooge will express unwonted remorse. Finally, the opaque Ghost of Christmas Future will morosely descend, and will bring Scrooge to his future, a grave in which he will die alone and unloved. Thus, the clairvoyant Ghost of Christmas will allow Scrooge to comprehend what his conditional future shall be, if he does not rectify his deleterious nature. Therefore, from learning from the didactic spirits and their doctrines, Scrooge will be revitalized as a benevolent philanthropist, where he will enjoy a new vigor for the holidays and sympathy for his fellow congregation.


The author's comments:
Tenses exercise for SAT class. Read the book.

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