A Christmas Carol Meaning

Don Higinson
Professor C. Gordon
AMST-3020-004
10 April 2017

A Christmas Carol Analysis

The version of the movie I viewed for this assignment was the Disney version from 2009. I chose this version because Jim Carrey does a great voice-over job throughout the entire movie and it is relatively easy to find. A Christmas Carol is about how one man changed his life for the better over the course of one Christmas Eve. On that meaningful night, Scrooge undergoes change after he encountered several figures of Marley’s ghost and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. He learned that life is not worth living if all you care about is your possessions. After his experiences subside and he is back in his bedroom, he becomes immersed with
For example, “In the novel, Scrooge represents all the values that are opposed to the idea of Christmas--greed, selfishness, and a lack of goodwill toward one's fellow man” (Spark Notes Editors). The Ghost of Christmas Past helps Scrooge remember times of joy, which symbolizes the power of the mind and memory. The Ghost of Christmas Present helps Scrooge regain the joy of the Christmas spirit and the act of giving and generosity through empathy. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come teaches Scrooge about death and the fear of moral reckoning. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the Cratchits at the dinner table and Tiny Tim when he says, “God bless us!...... Everyone!” (A Christmas Carol 2009). This scene is the first time where Scrooge is showing true emotion. He was generally concerned about Tiny Tim after learning about his condition, but the Cratchits were still happy even though they were poor. The Ghost of Christmas Present made Scrooge realize that he was most exuberant when he was poor. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come made Scrooge realize that his biggest fear of all was death. He would die a selfish old man. Scrooge realized that he had been sabotaging any human connections with other people and hurting them in ways he did not know and the events that continued after Jacob Marley’s visit help him realize what he had been
These concepts that Dickens’ talked about included several Gothic elements related to Halloween. Traditionally, Gothic elements aren’t seen during Christmas, however they seemed to be more prevalent in the 20th century. Julia Briggs states, "the ghost of old Marley clanking its chains is deliberately stereotypical, quaintly comic, whereas the specters of Want and Ignorance were as terrible then as they are today" (The Ghost Story). A Christmas Carol portrays several Gothic elements that you don't notice until you make the connection between the movie and Halloween. When Scrooge is about to go to bed and the four ghosts come in overnight, the landscape turns foggy and dreary and he gets scared because he believes he is being haunted by ghosts. The story also spells out several accounts of rudeness, poverty, and greed. It seemed to be typical of 'rich folk' of that time to look down on the less wealthy. Mr. Scrooge was a horrible and selfish man that turned good because of a few dreams he had. In A Christmas Carol, Gothic elements fit well within the confounds of the story and make the story more interesting. Normally, I would not include Gothic elements within a Christmas scene because they ruin the spirit of Christmas. However, they add suspense to the movie, which makes it more