Rewriting/adding part of A Christmas Carol as Charles Dickens
Marley is dead, this is crucial. Although you should already know this from the last story involving Marley and Scrooge, Marley is dead.
A lot has happened in the last year. Instead of Scrooge hating Christmas and charity, caring only for himself, Scrooge now cares about giving to the poor.
The effect Marley’s ghost had on him was profound. So much so that if you were to compare the Scrooge of last Christmas to the Scrooge of this Christmas, you would never believe that he was the same man.
Scrooge’s wrinkly, pale skin glistened with sweat as he walked down the streets of London this Christmas Eve. His age makes the walk more difficult, but he insists on it. On this walk, Scrooge bundles his wool coat and scarf against his chest. Neither match. Shivering due to his holy trousers which he has failed to replace from last Christmas, the sweat on his forehead causes a chill in the early evening.
Snow has just started falling in sprinkles, and is beginning to stick to the cobblestoned streets of London. The light from the windows of flats contained with families celebrating the Christmas season cause the streets to glow like the way a single candle flame flickers in an empty room.
Scrooge follows the twists and turns of the London streets, progressing further and further away from his office, Scrooge and Marley. That office has fallen into disrepair. No longer does a clerk arm the front office; the firm could not afford it.
Just to be clear, it is not that the firm had somehow fallen on hard times. On the contrary, the firm was doing quite well. Business was up from last Christmas as people found Scrooge to be personable, and a soul gleaming with hope amidst their troubling circumstances.
Rather, the issue was that the new and improved Ebeneezer Scrooge was no longer the hardened, cut throat business man that he used to be. The new Scrooge was merciful and when a defaulter came to him in tears with any good kind of sob story, Scrooge granted them a period of grace. As such, the firm let their profits slip away from them like time in an hourglass.
If that was not enough, Scrooge was an entirely changed man since his encounter with Marley. Instead of keeping a solitary life, Scrooge gave up the solitude of his apartment and moved in with his nephew and his nephew’s new wife. While he had only a small room in the attic, this was enough for Scrooge.
While his bed was not as comfy and his sheets not as soft, Scrooge continued to feel a sense of guilt. Guilt for his years of greed and lack of charitable contributions. The Poor Houses were more rampant and impoverished than ever. More children cried out in hunger. More elderly folk with nowhere else to go, forced into the hellish quarters. That’s not even to mention the sick. The particular poor house that Scrooge donated to most often was experiencing a terrible round of cholera.
Cholera. There could be no worse illness to experience in a poor house. With no more room than a rat in a crowded sewer, each person in the poor house would likely have their battle with this illness. It spread like a fire to a dry, old wooden house.
Scrooge thanked the heavens that he was fortunate enough to never have to experience the poor house for himself, as a resident. As such, he donated most of his and the firm’s income, leaving only enough for a little food and water for himself and the bills of the firm.
In the last year, Scrooge availed himself of worldly possessions. So much so, that most of what he owned was in disrepair. The firm’s sign which once proudly proclaimed Scrooge and Marley, was now faded and rotting. Inside the firm, the couches had springs coming through the cushions, impaling the bottom’s of those who came to do business with Scrooge. In his own personal possessions Scrooge had few. He donated most of his clothing, keeping only 1 pair of trousers which are now brittle with holes in the knees. His socks, much like his trousers allowed his toes to poke through the ends. He kept only a pair and a spare.
Scrooge continued his walk, almost to the poor house. He was just around the corner when he heard them singing a Christmas carol. It was heartening, and brought a youthful smile to the Scrooge’s pink, damp cheeks.
Not wanting to disturb their festive celebrations, Scrooge left two helping of fresh white bread, a canteen containing a hearty chicken soup, and the majority of Scrooge’ and the firm’s weekly profits on the doorstep.
With a smile, proud that he was a changed and reformed man, just like what Marley expected, Scrooge turned and began the trek home through London’s now slippery streets.
Scrooge chose to take a shortcut through an alley. It was quite long as it seperated 2 of the largest textile factories in London. About a quarter of the way through, Scrooge began to hear what sounded like metal grinding against metal.
Looking back to where he came from, Scrooge saw nothing but an empty alley. Brushing it off as the factories being hard at work, even in the evening hours of Christmas, Scrooge continued his walk. He walked about five more steps when he heard someone call “Scrooge, Scrooge.”
Scrooge turned to where he came once more, but saw nothing. Turning back, and thinking it was the wind and his mind playing tricks, Scrooge continued walking down the alleyway. Just before reaching the end, something appeared.
“Goodness me” said Scrooge, grabbing at his chest, startled by what appeared. Scrooge had seen this before. In fact, one year ago, Scrooge was frightened when this happened. Now, though, Scrooge had nothing to apologize for, and welcomed the sight of his old friend and business partner to congratulate him of his reform.
In the exact form of last year, Scrooge could see completely through the transparent Marley. He smiled at his old friend, but instead of receiving a smile back, Marley said “What have you done? Do you know nothing of moderation? You give so much away you leave nothing for yourself!”
“While of course, those poor people in the Houses need this much more than I do. This is what you told me to do last year!” Scrooge exclaimed, questioning why Marley was mad.
“I showed you a future alone and recommended that you were nicer and a little more charitable. I did NOT say that you should forsake our business that we worked all our lives to achieve just to feed the poor.” Marley said as his apparition vanished.
Reflection:
In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens was successful at showing the impact that the Poor Laws and the poor houses had on the sick, elderly, and impoverished. In doing so, he created the character of Ebeneezer Scrooge: a solitary, materialistic, and grumpy old man to show how people ought not behave. In contrast, Marley’s ghost functions as the figure which convinces Scrooge what is wrong with his behaviour and the consequences of his choices.
In A Christmas Carol Dickens’ uses an omniscient narrator to convey his negative thoughts and feelings about poor houses and poor laws. In my writing, I used the same omniscient narrator to showcase the Scrooge's change in opinion of the poor houses and the dreadful acts that take place there.
Dickens’ uses direct address to demonstrate that Marley is dead; he also uses the structural feature of priority as Dickens’ prioritizes the knowledge that Marley is dead as most important. I did the same to incorporate Dickens’ writing style in my piece. I begin by re-stating that Marley is dead and tell the reader that they should have known this from the first story. This directly addresses the reader to tell them it is a sequel and prioritizes that Marley is still dead as per the first book.
Dickens makes use of similes when describing the scene, and the thoughts and feelings of Scrooge. I too use smilies to imitate Dickens’ descriptive character of Dickens’ writing. This is shown in my writing where I compare the light on the Victorian street to a flickering candle “to glow like the way a single candle flame flickers in an empty room.” This creates imagery, another language feature Dickens uses through his vivid descriptions.
Likewise, in the beginning of his story Dickens writes chronologically to convey a sense of suspense. I also wrote my piece chronologically to build up to when Marley reappears. This is suspenseful because my reader, knowing the story of A Christmas Carol, will be waiting for something like a ghost or Marley to appear.
Another structural feature that Dickens uses is foreshadowing. In the original text the fact that it is prioritized that Marley is dead acts to foreshadow his eventual return as a ghost. In my writing, I used foreshadowing when I talked about how Scrooge changed since seeing Marley last Christmas. This causes my reader to anticipate Marley's return to comment on the changes in Scrooge's life.
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a comment on the time period. It critiques terrible treatment in the poor houses and the detrimental impact of the Poor Laws. I tried to recreate this context in my writing by showing how Scrooge can live as frugal a lifestyle as he can and cause his business to go into disrepair and still not be able to give enough charity to make any significant dent in the need of the poor.
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