A Christmas Carol (Puffin Classics)

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone,” (Dickens 144) the once miserly, old Scrooge pledges desperately to the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come as they stand over Scrooge’s future grave, following their witnessing of the nightmarish images of his own forthcoming death and its pitiable consequences. Charles Dickens’ charming and clever classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his change of heart has touched a countless number of people over generations. This five-star novel’s utterly moving message and immense genius will touch many more to come, and urge others to make the pledge to “honor Christmas in [their own hearts], and try to keep it all the year,” (Dickens 144), as Scrooge so thoroughly did himself that one Christmas night.Originally published in the year of 1843, A Christmas Carol summons us to Victorian London, contemporary to the year the story was published. The selfish, stingy, miserly, and miserable, old Ebenezer Scrooge broods in his hatred for the Christmas Season, as Scrooge greatly detests happiness, generosity, love, and family. Christmas Eve night, he is haunted by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, who appears to Scrooge with a long, heavy chain made from all of the terrible things that Marley pursued in life. Marley warns Scrooge that he is doomed to Marley’s same, terrible fate unless he changes the way he lives his life. So he tells Scrooge that three more Spirits will haunt him during the course of the night. We all know the story: the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet To Come visit Scrooge and show him moments in his lifetime in order to instill in Scrooge the idea to stop being so dreadful and instead to become compassionate. Throughout Scrooge’s tale, Charles Dickens introduces to us three different methods (one for each of the three spirits) as the tools for a person, such as Scrooge, to change one’s life. A very prominent theme portrayed in A Christmas Carol, is how the application of these three methods will change someone’s heart.The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first of the three to appear to Scrooge and the first to apply one of Dickens’ methods to change Scrooge’s heart. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back to his childhood and early years to show him all of the people he has loved. He sees his beloved, younger sister, Fan, the mother of his ever-encouraging nephew, Fred; he sees the jolly man to whom he was once apprenticed, Fezziwig, and the jovial love he showed to all his family and friends; and Scrooge also sees his former fiancée, reliving not only the scene of when she left him due to his growing greed, but also the images of the happy life she led after she left him. Seeing these people in his past renews Scrooge’s spark of love for his family and friends. Dickens’ first step to a change of heart— love.The jolly Ghost of Christmas Present succeeds the Ghost of Christmas Past and leads Scrooge through the existing world to see all those who were currently celebrating Christmas. He shows Scrooge the Cratchits, the family of Scrooge’s clerk Bob Cratchit, demonstrating to Scrooge how his habit of penny-pinching and ill behavior toward Bob Cratchit is affecting the poor, struggling family, in particular Bob Cratchit’s crippled son, Tiny Tim. This helps Scrooge feel regret for the decisions he has made and become more generous to those in need. The second method to the changing of Scrooge’s heart was the feeling of regret.Then the wraithlike Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears to Scrooge and shows him scenes from the future. At first, these scenes meant nothing to Scrooge as he saw the people of London’s disgraceful response to a terrible man’s death until Scrooge realized that this terrible man was Scrooge himself. This sudden realization at the setting of Scrooge’s own future grave was the sign of his complete conversion to kindheartedness. He felt absolute fear of the images he saw, and wanted nothing more than to reverse them. Hence, The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come applied the final method of transformation— fear for the future’s terrible consequences.So there are the keys to Scrooge’s conversion— love, regret, and fear for the future. The theme of how the application of these three methods is the key to changing someone’s frame of mind I believe is both valid and properly conveyed. With the help of the three spirits that fateful, Christmas Eve night, Ebenezer Scrooge realized that he must always have, “the Spirits of all Three… strive within [him, and] not shut out the lessons that they teach,” because if he went back to not loving, not feeling regret and guilt, and not being wary or fearful of future consequences, Scrooge would return to the greedy, wicked state in which he had found himself the night before. But that theme isn’t the most prominent in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The most prominent theme is the happiness one feels when one shows more benevolence, and I think that Dickens displayed this intent more than thoroughly by the end of his tale. And how true that is. Scrooge would’ve gone on living his rotten life with no lasting legacy when he died if it were not for the spirits’ visits. Instead, he spent the rest of his years becoming “as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world,” (Dickens 158).In Charles Dickens’ flawlessly written tale of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge learns that happiness can come to us if we will forget self and worldly gain, concentrating instead on helping others and learning to embrace the love of family and friends. Dickens’ clear, concise, and beautiful depiction of the world’s most beloved Christmas story second only to Christmas’ inspiration is one that everyone would benefit from reading. And may those who read it, remember themselves to “honor Christmas in [their hearts], and try to keep it all the year,” (Dickens 144).

Superbly written, it appeals to the believer and non believer as well/This will always be THE Christams story

My favorite Donna Summer song, and there are many from which to choose, is “Last Dance.” When I hear it, I visualize a school dance where most of the kids are dancing. However, there are a few boys standing on one side of the gym and a few girls standing on the opposite side, each wanting to find a dance partner, and reaching the point of the evening when there is one last dance. I can hear Donna Summer singing.“Last dance,Last chance for love.Yes, it's my last chance,For romance tonight.”For Scrooge, the last chance is not for romance. It is a last chance to redeem his life. That is how I view the visit to Scrooge of Marley’s ghost.In stave one of the book, Marley’s ghost tells Scrooge that, upon his death, he, Marley, learned a lesson too late.“it is required of every man … that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world … and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!”Then, Marley’s ghost tells Scrooge that he, Scrooge, can avoid that doom.“I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer.”In death, Jacob Marley is a good friend to his old business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge, giving him one last chance.Almost all know the rest of the story. As Marley’s ghost departs, Scrooge is told that he will be visited by three spirits. For those who have not yet read A Christmas Carol, I will provide no details other than to say that, after these visits, Scrooge has his promised last chance on Christmas Day.A Christmas Carol is not just a story about Christmas. It is a story of recognizing the eventual end of life. I believe that the saying “it is never too late” is often a lie. However, it is possible that some good can be done even at an old age. It is a matter of recognizing that opportunity and acting upon it.Charles Dickens is my favorite author. I read Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities in high school. I have read A Christmas Carol multiple times, including the edition I now review. The story is so well written and so descriptive that you almost see the story portrayed before you as you read it. I doubt that there is anyone who has read it and doesn’t recognize its greatness.Some people have already read A Christmas Carol. Others may have seen it presented as a movie or a play but have never read the book. And there may be a few who know nothing about A Christmas Carol other than the title. To all of you, I suggest that you read the novella, even if you have read it once, twice, or many times before. It is a wonderfully written lesson that should be learned over and over again.

Produto bem embalado, recebimento no prazo.

The media could not be loaded.  Nice book loved it 🤗

Non avevo mai letto integralmente (e in inglese) il canto di Natale di Dickens, mi ero sempre limitata ai brani in lingua originale proposti nei libri di letteratura inglese. Devo dire che è stata una piacevolissima lettura per accompagnare l'attesa al Natale, sempre molto attuale. Sono presenti delle illustrazioni in bianco e nero e l'edizione è quella lingua originale integrale (non aspettatevi quindi un inglese "semplificato" o "modernizatto"). Non avendone una copia nella mia libreria, ho voluto acquistare un'edizione che fosse anche esteticamente bella. La copertina è rigida, rivista di rosso e con dettagli dorati, che rendono il libricino molto instagrammabile. Molto carino anche da tenere sopra un tavolino nel periodo natalizio. Unica pecca: speravo fossero incluse anche le "Other Christmas Stories", che in questo libro invece non so presenti.

I love this story so much! And what a beautiful edition!