The Literary Essay:

What you think about a text and how you interpret it are at the heart of the 1,200- to 2,500-word literary essay that first- and second-year English instructors will assign you on plays, novels, and short stories. You must do much more than write “I think this book is about . . . .” You must develop a thesis statement and support it with textual references that relate to your thesis. You must provide a reference list or bibliography in Modern Language Association (MLA) Style and must use parenthetical citations when you quote. All these features of the freshman literary essay are present in the following paper.

The Scroogian Epiphany and the Power of Second Chances

In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843)       

        Charles Dickens, contends Robert L. Patten, in Dickens, Death, and Christmas (Oxford U. P., 2023) was not so much concerned with striking a literary “blow for the poor” or musing upon “The Condition of England” in the Carol. Rather, like the interpolated Pickwick tale “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” (Chapter XXIX), A Christmas Carol is a meditation on how death, particularly the untimely death of children, makes us value life more dearly, and even attain a fresh understanding of ourselves and our relationship with the rest of humanity — a Scroogian epiphany.

        Certainly, in its reaffirmation of the interdenominational Christian message, A Christmas Carol is indeed a paean to the middle-class and urban spirit of Christmas. According to Patten, we may better understand the novella’s complex meanings if we view it in the context of Dickens’s attitudes towards — and obsessions with — such institutions as the Paris Morgue, an account of which in his “Prologue” (vi-ix) Patten emphasizes when considering Dickens’s fascination with death and the dead two decades after the publication of the Christmas Books.

On one night at the end of the year 1867, among the viewers jostling for space and better sight lines was a tall gentleman — 5′ 9″, about 3″ taller than the average male of the period —, bearded, wearing fashionable clothing and a top hat, who described himself in several writings as a frequent visitor. He was Charles Dickens, and it was Christmas week. [Patten, viii]

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Stave One: Marley’s Ghost

Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to.

Redemption and the Power of Second Chances

        Ultimately, A Christmas Carol is a story of redemption and the possibility of change, even in the face of death. Dickens makes Scrooge’s redemption possible by giving him second chances, principally through the supernatural mechanism of the ghost of Jacob Marley and the three Spirits of Christmas. Since they effect their visions in a single night, they Scrooge ample opportunity to mend his ways before it is too late—that is, before he is dead and unable to operate for the better in life. By embracing the true meaning of Christmas and extending kindness and goodwill to others, notably his nephew and the Cratchits, Scrooge not only redeems himself but also finds joy and fulfillment in making personal connections with his fellow human beings. Thus, in the novella Dickens highlights the transformative power of redemption and the importance of seizing the opportunity to change for the better.

“A merry Christmas, Bob!” said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. “A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you, for many a year! I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the fires and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!” (Stave Five)

        Through encounters with the supernatural and moments of self-reflection, Scrooge learns the true value of life and the importance of human connection. Ultimately, the novella serves as a timeless reminder of the inevitability of death and the call to redemption, challenging readers to reflect on their own lives and embrace the opportunity for positive change. Through moments of engagement with the living and under the tutelage of his spirit guides, Scrooge learns that life is not the solitary existence of an oyster, but an experience shared with others from the cradle to the grave.

References

Allingham, Philip V. “Scrooge and Bob Cratchit by Charles Green.” The Victorian Web. https://victorianweb.org/art/illustration/green/71.html. 14 March 2020.

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.

Patten, Robert L. Dickens, Death, and Christmas. London: Oxford U. P., 2023.

Conclusion

You will have noticed a literary rather than a conversational style in this evidence-based discussion of a short novel. Notice, too, that such an essay addresses a very specific aspect of the story and does not attempt some sort of biographical explanation: do not worry about the author’s life, just the text itself.

Notice how this example employs parenthetical citations, block quotations, a reference list, and transitions between paragraphs while avoiding the passive voice and simple sentences. OUYA International can help you with all these issues after you have written a first draft.

Featured image by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash