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Christmas carol is an interesting play written by Charles Dickens a published in the year 1843. This was one of the popular Christmas stories and has been adapted to film, opera, theatre, television and radio numerous times. This story is about an old man called Ebenezer Scrooge, who is a miser. He is very stingy and does not believe in Christmas and the holiness of celebrating it. His only regard is accumulation of wealth as nothing in the world mattered to him as money. Scrooge’s business partner’s name was Jacob Marley and he passed away on the eve of Christmas some years ago. But Scrooge never stopped working even on that day. Scrooge’s nephew, Fred who had come to wish Christmas to Scrooge was driven away, and to avoid talking to him scrooge closed his business that day and walked home.
Scrooge entered his room and was shocked to see the ghost of Jacob Marley, his dead partner. Jacob cautions Scrooge to change his attitude and to show some contempt for others. He advises him to give up his miserliness and also warns him that scrooge would become a ghost walking on the earth for all his wrong deeds. He also informs him that he will be visited by another three ghosts and this would be the last hope of escapism from his brutal fate. Scrooge ignores this incident and goes to sleep thinking it to be a hallucination.
At midnight, as informed scrooge confronts the first spirit who takes him to the past and scrooge witnesses some happy and sad moments such as death of his sister and mistreatment by his father, etc. Scrooge visualizes and comes back to his bed and falls asleep. At one in the night, Scrooge is visited by another spirit who takes him to a house where Christmas is being celebrated with happiness. This family is a poignant family as they expect an early death of their crippled son and this scene moves Scrooges heart. The third spirit visits him and Scrooge witnesses that this spirit is ugly and black. This make s him realize that he may also face a lonely death and promises to change his attitude. He becomes generous and a kind hearted soul that he was, before the death of his sister. All the three spirits introduced him to the past, present and future Christmas and the mistakes he was committing without thinking of the consequences. |
