Jacob Marley Essay

A Christmas Carol’ is a Victorian tale that is loved by millions worldwide. It was written by Charles Dickens in 1843 and combines the harsh reality of poverty in Victorian times with the joy of Christmas and ghosts. The reason why we celebrate at Christmas is due to Charles Dickens himself, with food, parties and the festive spirit. The story also has a moral to it. It focuses around one man Ebenezer Scrooge and his greed for money, his hate for Christmas and a journey through past, present and future. Throughout the novel Charles Dickens uses a number of techniques to get across the message of poverty and differences in class and he aims to stimulate the reader’s social conscience and draw attention to the plight of the poor in Victorian London. One of the main techniques that Dickens uses is to set the story around Christmas. Christmas is a time of happiness and celebration and Dickens emphasizes the merriness of this festive time by describing it as a ‘joyous occasion’. Dickens goes into great detail when describing the feast that is had at Christmas using phrases like its ‘tenderness and flavor’ and ‘there never was such a goose’. But the main reason for the story to be set at Christmas is that Scrooge is the exact opposite of a festive person. He refers to Christmas as ‘a time for paying bills without money’ and whenever and wherever it’s mentioned the famous mutter of ‘Bah Humbug’ is stubbornly given as a reply. In the story Charles Dickens’ nephew plays a major part in trying to persuade his uncle Scrooge that Christmas time is a ‘kind, forgivable, charitable, and pleasant time’. The word ‘charitable’ though, has no meaning whatsoever to Scrooge as when he is approached by two charity collectors and asked whether he would donate some money, his immediate reply was to say ‘are there no prisons, are there no workhouses? ‘ and that judgment shows his utter lack of Christmas spirit, but I bet he wish he never said that as that line comes back to ‘haunt him’. ‘Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as a flint , from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire ; secret and self contained, and solitary as an oyster’. Another of Dickens techniques used is his detailed character exaggeration of Scrooge. The way in which Scrooge is described and the words used are so ‘Dickens like’, as sentence after sentence of in depth words and phrases are used. In his school days, he was very serious and was more interested in his education than Christmas. Later in his life he had a fianci e and he used to enjoy the festivities. Money then took over his life and he has rejected everyone ever since and because of this, even though he is financially richer, his life is much poorer. Scrooge’s house isn’t his; it is the late Marley’s. He just hasn’t changed the name. As described in the book; ‘he keeps the house quite neat’. He checks each room, and from his description he keeps the house in pristine condition. In a sense his house reflects his personality. The way Dickens conveys the message, the house is quite dull. Scrooge is an accountant and manages his own business. Accountancy can sometimes be seen as quite dull and boring; again the occupation could reflect the person within. He treats his employees in a mean way. He gives them small wages and when it is bitterly cold, he won’t let them have coal for the fire. The firm is a cold dark place at any time of the year. The whole business is cold and described using words of that nature. Scrooge really believes that his business is very successful and he is undoubtedly wealthy because of its success. Surely though he has neglected the social side of life and must not be very rich emotionally. One way to describe this portrayal is by use of the weather to reflect the character’s mood. At the beginning, cold words are used to Describe Scrooge, such as ‘froze’ and ‘foul weather’, giving the impression to the reader of his coldness as a character. At the end of the novella, in contrast, he is described with warm words, for example, ‘golden sunlight’ and ‘smoked’. This gives the impression to the reader that Scrooge has under gone and complete transformation from being a cold, stubborn character into a warm, caring, compassionate person. Everything he now does is in direct opposition to his actions at the beginning of the story. Another technique Dickens uses is his account of the ghosts and the metaphors he uses when describing them. The first supernatural being to visit Scrooge is the ghost of Jacob Marley – Scrooge’s deceased working partner. The appearance of this spirit is directly similar to what Marley wore in his first life when he was a slave to money – exactly like Scrooge. These same working clothes show how he is still chained down by the burden of money and that his afterlife has been made rather painful by being a slave to work. Marley’s ghost is warning Scrooge that if he doesn’t change his character, he will too be burdened in his afterlife. The spirit also foretells the appearance of three more ghosts. The chains ‘clasped about his middle’ and all the different items that are wrought to the chain all symbolize money and greed of the spirit. The cash-boxes and the keys all represent the hiding away of money and keeping the wealth to themselves and not sharing the abundance of money. The imagery of heavy objects such as the ‘padlocks’ and ‘steel purses’ show how laden the ghost is with the weight of the money. The ‘ledgers’ and ‘deeds’ show the detailed accounts of money and proper ownership and this is a symbol that everything has to be accounted for, no money can pass by the scrutiny of the accountant which is so true to Scrooge’s life. Apart from being immensely weighted down by his possessions of greed which held back his life, Marley was transparent. This was so obvious that Scrooge could see the two buttons on the back of his coat. This transparency conveys the sense that this person was never a normal human; he was a chilling figure who lacked some human qualities that most usual persons have. This is a ghost which freezes the presence around him with his ‘death cold eyes’ and his ‘chilling influence’, he is cold, like his life. He has no real substance and the only apparent clear images Scrooge can see of this spirit are the symbols of hoarding, selfishness and greed.