Religion, Poverty & the role of Christmas in A Christmas Carol. - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Religion, Poverty & the role of Christmas in A Christmas Carol.

“

Dickens manipulates the readers through religious sensibilities, real life examples of Victorian attitudes to poverty and using a Christian time of celebration to create a long-standing and relevant message about humanity

.”Slide2

Dickens

’ intentions

Dickens couldn’t have made it clearer (to his Victorian audience) that he wanted people to look inside themselves and reflect on whether they were living a good Christian life, or whether they were indeed ‘Scrooge’.

Dickens would have recognised that his readership would have been mostly wealthy.

So, Dickens intentions could therefore be allegorical: he wants the rich to recognise that their behaviour is incredibly damaging to humanity itself, furthermore religion, by turning a blind eye to the corruption in the actions of the wealthy, are therefore complicit in this damaging treatment of people.Slide3

The Structure of the novella and the use of Staves

Religion

is repeated in the novel through the use of staves to name the chapters of the book. The staves are a musical representation “Stave is the name for the five parallel, equally-spaced, horizontal lines which hold one or more part of the music”. Dickens chooses deliberately to hold his novella together in 5 staves, which

in turn hold

together the allegorical meaning of the book. A Carol is a piece of music that you sing in church (hence one reason for the religious link) and which brings people together; irrespective of social class, wealth or any other consideration.

Therefore, Dickens may be implying that the church is responsible for holding the moral

fibre

of society together and that he in particular finds the church to be failing in this responsibility.Slide4

Symbolism in the name A Christmas Carol

A

Christmas Carol’s name symbolically can also represent; festivity, joy and celebration as not only a family, but as a family in the blessing of God and further as a part of the whole of humanity. In the eyes of God we are all the same and allegorically this could be part of Dickens message and the reason he uses wealth and poverty as key underpinning themes in the novel to reinforce this Christian message and the fact that God had sent Jesus to save us and even this unselfish act had little to no impact. Slide5

The significance of Christmas Day

Christmas as a traditional day of

celebration, is

the day when Jesus was born and Christians around the world celebrate this on the 25

th

of December. However, the story is set on Christmas Eve; the night

before Jesus (who

was sent by God to save

mankind) was

born, implying that Christmas Eve also holds symbolic significance. As we

know, Mary

and Joseph travelled from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to pay their taxes. They had nowhere to stay and the inn keeper took pity on them, allowing them to pass the night in his barn with the animals and so it came to pass that the baby Jesus was born surrounded by animals and in an extremely humble dwelling, suggesting that all men are equal in the eyes of God.

Parallels

here with Scrooge are significant, as he too takes a journey on Christmas Eve, in fact he takes 3 journeys; into The Past, a look at The Present and a journey into the bleak and unforgiving Future and perhaps this is why it is so significant that his epiphany and

transformation into a more altruistic human being happens

on Christmas morning a time when traditionally we celebrate equally with all men and forget our differences. Slide6

What is purgatory?

The

Catholic church believe that purgatory is a state taken by people who have recently died but are not ‘pure enough’ to go straight to heaven. Essentially this means that purgatory is a sort of temporary ‘purifying’ punishment which is typically thought of as a ‘cleansing’ of the soul

.Marley’s Ghost is symbolic of the terrible life on earth he lived and foreshadows the fate of Scrooge if he chooses not to be redeemed. Slide7

Purgatory is implied with the use of Marley’s ghost – the waiting room between heaven and hell. By using the metaphor “These

are

the

chains I forged in life” we are immediately struck by the sense of judgement. Marley has been judged, as a result of his actions in life, but he can’t move forward, he has to repent his sins in some way and many Christians believe in this three tier system: heaven – a place for the righteous, hell – a place for the sinners and purgatory – a place for the cleansing of sin. Purgatory, in ‘A Christmas Carol’ is presented as an unpleasant, woeful and depressing state, where the ghosts are doomed to wander aimlessly, feeling unhappy, abandoned and impotent

.

Purgatory is also the fate of Scrooge who has yet to repent his sins.

How can you link purgatory to ‘A Christmas Carol’?Slide8

Religious imagery at Scrooge’s fireplace

Stave

one

presents us with Scrooge’s home. The building

has

many

gothic

features

and

his fireplace is described in some detail.

A fireplace has connotations of warmth, comfort and log fires crackling invitingly, but also the chimney is where Father Christmas arrives on Christmas Eve. Fires could also representative of hell and evil, so using the fire surround could symbolise the containment of Scrooge’s own personal hell at this moment with the biblical allusions symbolising different moral tales. Slide9

Page 16 “

It

was a very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night. He was obliged to sit close to it; and brood over it, before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel. The fire-place was an old one, built by some Dutch merchant long ago, and paved all round with quaint Dutch tiles, designed to illustrate the Scriptures. There were

Cains

and

Abels

, Pharaohs’ daughters, Queens of Sheba, Angelic messengers descending through the air on clouds like feather-beds, Abrahams,

Belshazzars

, Apostles putting off to sea in butter-boats, hundreds of figures to attract his thoughts; and yet that face of Marley, seven years dead, came like the ancient Prophet’s rod, and swallowed up the whole

.

"Slide10

‘

Cain

and Abel’

Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis. They didn’t always get along but they worked together and ultimately loved each other because they were brothers. God told Adam, Eve and their sons that they should sacrifice a lamb to repent for their sins. Abel suggested giving their best lamb and Cain thought this was silly; God didn’t specify which lamb to slaughter.

During the sacrifice, Abel’s lamb burnt better than Cain’s straw so Cain was overcome with jealousy and thought that God preferred Abel.

Cain asked Abel to go for a walk with him, and while he was still angry, Cain struck Abel to the ground and killed him.

When Cain

realised

what he'd done, he was more concerned that someone might have seen what he'd done than he was sorry for his brother's death. He looked around and sighed a breath of relief that no one was nearby.

Finally, he felt the horror of what he'd done. And he had to live with that feeling and the knowledge that he'd murdered his little brother for the rest of his life

.

This biblical reference could symbolise Scrooge’s realisation of his own wrongdoing’s on earth – he abuses his position in society contributing to the deaths of the poor and has to live with this recognition of his own shortcomings. Slide11

‘Pharaoh’s daughters’

Solomon was (according to Hebrew scriptures), the third King of Israel. He was thought to be the ‘wisest man in the world’.

Solomon's downfall began when he married the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh to seal a political alliance. He could not control his lust. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, which angered God. The inevitable happened: They lured King Solomon away from Yahweh into worship of false gods and idols.

This reinforces Scrooge’s idolisation of money instead of looking to humanity – Belle “a golden idol has replaced me” Slide12

‘Queens of Sheba’

The Queen of Sheba is a figure found in the Bible and the Quran.

Accompanied by many attendants and camels, the Queen of Sheba brings a large quantity of spices, gold and precious stones with her. She is drawn to Jerusalem because of Solomon’s fame, and she tests the king with hard questions. Solomon is able to answer them all.

The Queen of Sheba said “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard."

Symbolically, Scrooge’s miserly behaviour where he initially rejects the ‘Two Portly Gentlemen, despite having money to help. Slide13

‘Angelic messengers’

Angels are presented as messengers between heaven and earth; messengers between humans and God.

Other roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings, and carrying out God's tasks.

The Ghosts can be representative of Angelic messengers.

Each has a different message to foretell:

Marley – foreshadows what Scrooge will become

Ghost of the Past – illustrates the goodness Scrooge once had

Ghost of the Present – symbolises kindness and an altruistic nature – something that Scrooge has forgotten

Ghost Yet to Come – Represents death and the failings of humanity Slide14

‘Abrahams’

Abraham/Abram is an old testament figure from the Bible. He and his wife Sarah were promised children when God spoke to them but they did not believe him because they were very elderly.

According to scripture, a year later God gave them a child and made several good promises to them if they followed God.  He promised that a great nation will come from Abraham and he promised that Abram’s name will be ‘great among the Earth, and that all people will be blessed through Abram.’

Scrooge prior to his transformation is disbelieving of Marley and the

other ghosts and finds it hard to believe the messages he is being shown.Slide15

‘Belshazzars’

The character of Belshazzar appears in classic Jewish literature. He was one of three Kings of Babylon who are often referred to as tyrants who oppressed Israel.

Belshazzar was paranoid that somebody may enter his castle to murder him so he had guards by his bedroom every night and he told them to behead anybody who may force entry.

The King himself became ill during the night and left through a back door. Upon his return his guardsmen kept their promise and beheaded the King.

The death of Scrooge in the Ghost Yet to Come Stave 4 could symbolically reinforce what happens to you when you have no-one around you and you have lost faith and trust in other people. Scrooge dies miserable and alone in this stave as a direct result of his lack of compassion. Mrs

Dilber

and the others in the pawnshop could be likened to the guards. Slide16

‘

The Holy Trinity

’

An

interpretation of the three ghosts is they may represent the Holy Trinity “The father, the son and the holy spirit”.

Encounters

with God

states

:

Humanity met God in three different forms:

God the Father: revealed by the

Old Testament

to be Creator, Lord, Father and Judge.

God the Son

: who had lived on earth amongst human beings

God

the Holy Spirit

: who filled them with new life and power

Therefore, I am suggesting that Dickens made Scrooge face up to his shortcomings by revealing three ghostly forms to him

: The Past, The Present and The Future. Slide17

The Ghost of The Past

Stave 2 sees the youthful presentation of the ghost as young child, yet at once wise man in The Ghost of Christmas Past “like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man” this oxymoronic presentation of the ghost reminds me of the presentation of ‘the son’ or Jesus. Jesus, a young man, said to be the son of God,

who is

sent by God to remind humanity of the sacrifices he was making to show us a righteous path. We can see this biblical reference as reinforcement of this "For God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

The ghost is not

Jesus, metaphorically he

could represent

the same guiding light as Jesus did, when he was sent to teach humanity a lesson. This guiding light imagery is reinforced by the “bright clear jet of light” which implies that from the Ghost of the Past emits a strong light to symbolically show Scrooge the way. As the ghost is showing Scrooge his past, perhaps the suggestion is that everyone suffers some pain in their life, but a Christian reaction to this is to overcome this and therefore be more humble and resilient, not less so (unlike Scrooge).Slide18

The Ghost of the Present

Secondly, we have the Ghost of the Present, who is like a benevolent father figure – ‘the father’ of the holy trinity or God. He is kind, caring and sprinkles cheer, just like the sacrifices made by God in sending Jesus to support humanity. The Ghost of the Present appears to be a Father Christmas type of character, but discusses with Scrooge (in anger) the sins of people: “and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry and selfishness in our name” suggesting that he is helping the poor and unfortunate to teach a lesson to the wealthy. These sins mentioned are being attributed to the Christian faith, but in actual fact they are the wrong-doings of man, who use religion to hide behind. This father figure is teaching us and judging us and we are failing. This is reinforced again with the figures of “Ignorance” and “Want” as “They are man’s” showing with the tone of despair and disparagement that he is judging humanity for the wrongs they have witnessed, allowed and been a part of. The Holy Trinity is ‘The Father, the son and the holy spirit’ and I believe the three ghosts appearing to Scrooge in different staves combine to represent the overall message of acceptance and a stark warning to Victorian Society of the dangers of not paying attention to Christian

Teachings. Slide19

The Ghost of the Past

Finally, we have the presentation of the Ghost Yet to come as a Grim Reaper figure, who doesn’t speak, but only points. He is representative in my interpretation of the Holy Spirit. This is because he

teaches

Scrooge a vital lesson. Scrooge is at this point more willing to listen and does so “I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart” which shows that already within moments of meeting him Scrooge is willing to listen and perhaps repent his sins and change. Scrooge is filled with new life and we can see this in his repetition at the end of Stave 4 and start of Stave 5 the words “I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future.” which shows that he has taken on board the messages sent to him by all three ghosts

. Symbolically, through the messages of the Ghost Yet to Come, Scrooge is filled with new life and hope and this is what the Holy Spirit represents. Slide20

Transformation

Scrooge’s actions throughout the final stave show that Christmas has a humbling effect and promotes the idea that we are all equal in the eyes of god. Interestingly the final lines of the novel are given to Tiny Tim, who does not die, which was his fate had Scrooge not changed “God bless Us, every One!” showing the important allegorical meaning of the novel to live a good life, with god in your heart and keeping Christmas spirit in your heart all year round, because in this way you are showing care for others

. This was a repeated quote from Stave 3 and emphasises the important message that can be learnt from children in the novel. Tim is wise beyond his years and reflects a more humane society. “Mankind was my business” were Marley’s words to Scrooge in Stave 1 and by Stave 5 we have come full circle and Scrooge is living a life that shows the lessons the ghosts imparted have had an impact.

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Context

One critic Stephanie Williams states: “Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” Told Uncomfortable Truths About Victorian Society,” which I believe summarises the way Dickens reflects on what has happened in society and in our modern less Christian and less religious society it still rings true today and the message Dickens was promoting about Christmas still has real significance.

Contextually, the workhouses influence the novel “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” stated in Stave 1 and repeated back to

Scrooge embarrassingly by the Ghost of the Present in Stave 3 reinforcing his disdain for the poor.

Prisons were important to Dickens as his father was sent to a debtor’s prison and Dickens had to leave school and work at a young age.

Dickens saw the worst in society during insomnia fuelled walks around London at night and the gothi

c descriptions in the novella may have been influenced by his experience.

The Industrial Revolution meant mass migration to the towns, making them overpopulated and meaning employers with poor morals could take advantage of the poor people who were desperate to support their families. There was no employment law, so employers could treat workers badly, could pay poorly and there was no lawful recompense for the workers. Slide22

The Legacy or how ACC is still relevant?

Food Banks mean people are still struggling to feed their families.

Zero hour contracts mean people are at the beck and call of employers.

Homelessness is on the increase.

Education for all is a reality, but does every child appreciate it, or would Dickens be shocked by the disdain for education free at the point of access?

Conditions have changed and are better, but there are still issues that Dickens addresses which have repercussions in today’s society. Would Dickens be happy with the social and moral changes since he wrote the novella, or would he despair at how some aspects of society are still the same as when he wrote this.