The book A Christmas Carol was published in 1843. Each stave was published weekly in a magazine. Charles Dickens (the author) has written many classic, famous novels. They were all very long and very complicated. He was only 58 years old when he died. One of the main reasons that all of this is important is because they were written in a time where there was a great interest in novels. This is because it was written in the Victorian times. Also this made it popular because it made people interested and made people buy it each week; this made it quite a social thing and people would talk about it.
This made people develop more of and interest. This gave Charles dickens more of a reputation which makes more people read his books. Christmas Carol was set in London this makes it popular as it is the capital and it is easy to relate to. Also it was set in the winter which is a season everyone likes because of Christmas. Now the festival is celebrated greatly. Then it wasn’t celebrated as much and Dickens became known for restarting the interest and putting the fun back into it. The key points of the novel include the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. This makes it popular because of the interest factor.
He shows the idea of time travelling and the new concept of the future. This influenced our ideas like sci-fi. Another key point is a mean person changing for the good. This helps make it popular because enjoy a moral story. Also this means it has a happy ending which is still being enjoyed. Marley is also important as he is very real ghost and not just a vague shape. “You can see his buttons. ” He also has a bandage around his jaw which is convincing and fascinating. Tiny Tim also contributes to the popularity as he is saved; which is part of the happy ending. Also he helps for the popularity because he is very young we feel sorry for him.
Right from the start, Dickens novel appeals to us. One of these is that he uses staves instead of chapters. Staves are used in carols. This is clever as when we figure this out it makes us feel good about our self. Dickens himself writes with a good story telling manor. He uses a narrator and writes in great detail about things. “” This allows us to visualize and to relate to the story more. He also makes Scrooge at the start look like a nasty man at the start which is interesting and enjoyable to read. It also makes us anticipate how he is dealt with. Charles Dickens describes scrooge’s character really well.
The way he describes him gives you a distinct impression of what he is like. “The cold within him freezed his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek. ” I think Charles Dickens does this so that it emphasises how mean and nasty scrooge’s character is. Charles Dickens creates scrooges character in a way that makes us have mixed feelings for scrooge. We dislike him because he is mean and nasty. We also feel sorry and sympathise him because we realize that the mean nasty man must have feelings. “Even the blind mans dog appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts. “
