A Christmas Carol Symbolism Essay

The Victorian Age was the most important time period in the history of England. The time period was filled with extraordinary inventions, cultural changes, and the development of literature. New inventions helped boost the economy, and along with cultural changes, separated social classes even more. During the Victorian Age, the rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. Greed was at a resounding high, and poverty was at an appalling low. Evidence of these social classes can be found in the time period’s literature. Many writers made it their purpose to enlighten others of the cruelty that was going on. An example of a piece of literature that exposes the greed of the Victorian Age is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens was known for his very real and unbiased view of society. “Charles Dickens was the most popular novelist of his century” (Damrosch, Dettmar and Baswell). Dickens was well known for his use of symbolism in order to relay a message to his intended audience. In A Christmas Carol, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is visited by a spirit and three ghosts. The spirit symbolizes what Scrooge may become, while the ghosts symbolize Scrooge’s past, present, and future. All of these supernatural beings help Scrooge to realize he must change his hard heart. On the night of Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge and Marley owned a firm together before the death of the latter. Both of them are known to be strict businessmen. The remaining business partner is so greedy that he refuses to help the poor during the Christmas holiday. Scrooge’s hard …show more content…
His attitude is completely turned around compared to the beginning of the story. Scrooge gives Bob Cratchit a raise, he repairs his relationship with Fred, and he becomes like another father to Tiny Tim. Scrooge turns away from his greedy ways by helping the poor and Tiny