Charles Dickens, author of "A Christmas Carol", illustrates that kindness is in everyone's heart

A Christmas Carol Essay

Charles Dickens, author of "A Christmas Carol", illustrates that kindness is in everyone's heart. He proves this by using the character Ebeneser Scrooge. To begin with, Scrooge is an arrogant, old man who is extremely selfish. However, as time passes, he develops into a kind, giving individual. To glimpse at the transformation of Scrooge is to understand how any person, now matter how mean-spirited, can undergo a change of heart.

First, Scrooge starts off as a cold, unlikable man who only cares about himself. Scrooge does not comprehend how someone can enjoy a time like Christmas, "If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart" (Page 222). Scrooge abhors the holiday season. He can not stand to see less fortunate people cheerful.

Scrooge's third visitor, from Charles Dickens: A C...

Scrooge, from Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol. ...

A Christmas Carol - Scrooge Extinguishes the First...

He does not give to charity although he is wealthy and would rather see needy people go hungry. Scrooge is a spiritless man who has no feelings for anyone except for himself. Another example of how Scrooge conveys his aversion toward Christmas is when he shows no sorrow for poor people, "I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry" (Page 224). Even though Christmas is a time of benevolence, Scrooge can not find the compassion to help people less fortunate. He believes that his fortune belongs to himself and that the poor should attempt to make a living independently. He can not face the reality that Christmas is a time to give and be joyful.

However, Scrooge soon begins to see that Christmas is a time of happiness and transforms from a bitter, selfish old man into a...