Themes in “A Christmas Carol”
Choices
The overall theme in the book “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol is a Christmas ghost story with many interesting themes. The theme featured in this article is choices. It is mainly shown through the symbolism of the chains on Jacob Marley’s ghost and the bell tolls. This article will show how the symbolization of chains and bell tolls lead to the overall theme of choices.
For instance, Jacob Marley was Ebenezer Scrooge’s business partner and he had died seven years before this story took place. Seven years after he died Ebenezer Scrooge went home on Christmas Eve and was sitting by the fire when Jacob Marley’s Ghost appeared, covered in chains. The story states, “…the chain he drew clasped around his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail…” (Dickens 19). Also, the author wrote, “...it was made of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.” (Dickens 20). This evidence is a good example because it illustrates that this symbolizes that the chains Marley is wearing are the chains he wrought in life. The topic, choices, is evident because the chains represent how …show more content…
The author says, “He spoke before the hour bell sounded, which it now did with a deep, dull, hollow, melancholy ONE” (Dickens 28). Also, the story states, “The bell struck twelve.” (Dickens 68). These excerpts show how the author uses the bell tolls to symbolize the countdown to Ebenezer Scrooge’s choice to change his ways or stay the same. This shows the theme of choices because Ebenezer Scrooge has made decisions in his life that have hurt others and the bell tolls represent the countdown until his choice to stop forging his chains or not. To conclude, this evidence clearly shows that it contributes to the main theme of
Choices
The overall theme in the book “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol is a Christmas ghost story with many interesting themes. The theme featured in this article is choices. It is mainly shown through the symbolism of the chains on Jacob Marley’s ghost and the bell tolls. This article will show how the symbolization of chains and bell tolls lead to the overall theme of choices.
For instance, Jacob Marley was Ebenezer Scrooge’s business partner and he had died seven years before this story took place. Seven years after he died Ebenezer Scrooge went home on Christmas Eve and was sitting by the fire when Jacob Marley’s Ghost appeared, covered in chains. The story states, “…the chain he drew clasped around his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail…” (Dickens 19). Also, the author wrote, “...it was made of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.” (Dickens 20). This evidence is a good example because it illustrates that this symbolizes that the chains Marley is wearing are the chains he wrought in life. The topic, choices, is evident because the chains represent how …show more content…
The author says, “He spoke before the hour bell sounded, which it now did with a deep, dull, hollow, melancholy ONE” (Dickens 28). Also, the story states, “The bell struck twelve.” (Dickens 68). These excerpts show how the author uses the bell tolls to symbolize the countdown to Ebenezer Scrooge’s choice to change his ways or stay the same. This shows the theme of choices because Ebenezer Scrooge has made decisions in his life that have hurt others and the bell tolls represent the countdown until his choice to stop forging his chains or not. To conclude, this evidence clearly shows that it contributes to the main theme of