True Meaning Of Christmas To Scrooge example essay topic

1. Describe the setting and compare it with that of Siddhartha. Throughout the story there were many occasions when the setting shifted from one place to another, but I think the main setting of the story was in a city. Although the author did not give much detail about city itself, I'm sure it that it was like any other. The city had many districts and the heart of the city is where one could find the business district, where merchants hurried up and down, chinked the money in their pockets, conversed in groups, looked at their watches, and trifled thoughtfully with their gold seals. There was also an obscure part of the town, which had its own bad repute.

The ways were foul and narrow, the shops and houses wretched, the people half naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their offenses of smell, dirt, and life, upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth and misery. The city for most part of the story, particularly from the beginning till the later part was covered with a great thick fog that came pouring in every chink and keyhole and was so dense that even the houses, buildings and other structures were cramped up beside each other, appeared to be mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale. The fog was so thick that the ancient tower of a church, whose old bell was always looking down upon the town, became invisible.

Although the story Siddhartha also had a city as one of its minor settings, most of the story takes place in the great outdoors, where one can truly see and appreciate the real beauty and awe of nature and Mother Earth. These were the forests, the rivers and mountains; the only places Siddhartha or anyone for that matter may find peace and serenity both in his surroundings and in himself. 2. Describe the protagonist and compare him with Siddhartha. Who between the two do you like better? The protagonist in the story "A Christmas Carol" was Ebenezer Scrooge.

In the beginning of the story Scrooge was a squeezing, wrenching, scraping, clutching, and covetous old sinner. Hard and sharp as flint from which no steel had struck out generous fire, secret, self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. External heat and cold had little influence on him. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he; no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty.

In short he was a very cold old man! But during the later part of the story all of these changed. After having encountered the three spirits and what they had to show him, he suddenly turned into a very kind, affectionate, cheerful, and appreciative warm old man, totally opposite his old self. Although both Scrooge and Siddhartha have their similarities, like being totally different people in the beginning and ending up being totally different from their former selves, and both of them going on journeys to be able to find something that could make them complete again; They also have their differences, like Scrooge in "Christmas Carol" was both the protagonist and antagonist, while Siddhartha was clearly the hero of the story from start to end, although quite similar in the way they change during the course of the story, Scrooge was an evil cold man who changed his ways because of the three spirits while Siddhartha was a perfect Brahmins son who changed many times and eventually became "enlightened" in the end.

It is very hard for me to pick between the two for I see them as almost identical to each other except for a few, minor differences. But I think I would go for Siddhartha because if you were to ask me whom I'd rather be, it would be him, someone wise, handsome and enlightened. 3. How did the novel begin? Do you like it?

Why? The novel began by stating that Marley was dead, describing who and what type of person Scrooge was, describing the setting, and basically introducing some of the important characters of the story. Yes, I liked how the story began because it gave me important details that I needed to know to fully understand the story. I found out how cold Scrooge was, that the long time partner of Scrooge, Marley died, and made me meet Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's clerk and his nephew who was the first one to try to explain the true meaning of Christmas to Scrooge. 4. Present the more important events using narration.

I think there were basically three important events that occurred in the story. The first is his encounter with the first spirit the "ghost of Christmas past" who showed him his younger self, which made him remember the imagination he had as a kid, his cheerful sister, recall his happy Christmas celebration with old Fezziwig and his family during his apprenticeship and made him regret the time he chose money and material wealth over his one true love. The "ghost of Christmas present was equally important for it showed him how his clerk and his family celebrated the true meaning of Christmas by being together, being contented with what they had and by appreciating each other; it also showed him his nephew and how he, his wife and their friends celebrated Christmas by joking around, which made Scrooge realize that all his money was worthless without family and friends to share it with, and that it is only he who suffers from his ill whims. The third ghost, the "ghost of Christmas yet to come" showed him the consequences of his actions if he chooses not to change. 5. Do you like the language used by Dickens?

Why? Dickens made use of both the frozen and the deliberate type of language. Putting into consideration that Dickens grew up in the 1800's in which both frozen and deliberate types of language were almost the only type used by the people, I can understand why he used those types for this novel. But if it were up to me I would rather if he would have written it using a mixture of both the deliberate and casual types for better understanding of the present reader. 6. What is the main conflict in the novel?

The main conflict in the story is man vs. himself because the story is about how a very cold old man who hated the humbug of Christmas who eventually through the help of the three spirits who showed him different situations that make him realize what he is truly missing, changes his ways by realizing the meaning of kindness, charity, goodwill and the true meaning of Christmas. 7. Is the protagonist a typical, conventional person or different? No, at no time did the protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge become a typical, conventional person. I believe he was always extraordinary in the sense that at the start of the story he was different because he was a cold old man, so cold in fact that it would be hard to imagine that anyone could be so cold as to HATE the humbug, the true essence of Christmas. While in the end he was a very extraordinary because he turned into a very kind, cheerful and compassionate person with a warm, loving heart and one who celebrated the essence of Christmas the whole year round to the best of his ability which is definitely something very special!

8. How did the novel end? Do you like it? The ending was the complete opposite of the novel's beginning. The once cold, hateful old man now knew the true spirit and essence of Christmas.

I liked how it ended. As a matter of fact I was kind of scarred because I knew Scrooge and Tiny Tim had a possibility of dying in the end, but thankfully everything turned out the way I hoped it would be, a happy ending 9. Give the three most important messages of the novel. My opinion is that there are definitely more than three important messages in the novel but if I narrow it down it would be the following: First, we should always remember to learn from our past experiences. This was depicted by the "ghost of Christmas past" when he brought Scrooge back to the Christmas he spent with the Fezziwigs and the time he saw himself chose material wealth over the girl who loved him! Second: Money and other material possessions are useless if you don't have any family or friends to share it with!

This was thought to us when the "ghost of Christmas present showed his nephew with his wife and their friend enjoying together, and when he saw Bob Cratchit and his family experiencing true happiness together even if they were poor! Third: The whole story teaches us that the true essence of Christmas which are kindness, charity and goodwill are not things to be remembered only every December 25th of every year, rather we must remember it and keep it in our hearts the whole year round. 10. Which between the two novels did you enjoy more?

Even if I enjoyed both novels equally given the present time and occasion I would have to go for the "Christmas Carol" because now that Christmas is fast approaching I can make more use of the lessons I have learned from the later and I can relate more to Scrooge and the situation he was in this Christmas season..