themes

• Christmas

  • The story takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
  • Christmas is a Christian celebration of the birth of christ
  • Traditions include gifts and feasting
  • Scrooge’s miserly character contrasts with the traditional spirit of generosity
  • Tiny Tim symbolises the importance of family and love
• Redemption

  • Scrooge starts the novella as a miserly, tight-fisted man
  • By the end of the novella he has changed his ways
  • The ghosts show him how his behaviour has led to his unhappiness
  • He sees what he is missing in the scenes of family celebration
  • He finds redemption in his willingness to change
• Social injustice

  • Dickens believed that Victorians treated the poor members of society unfairly
  • The wealthy could enjoy feasting and comfort
  • Poor children were made to live in the dread conditions of workhouses
  • Scrooge refuses to give money to the poor
  • He is disturbed by the characters ‘ignorance’ and ‘want’ , which the Ghost of Christmas Present reveals