Turkey, Santa and presents are just a few of the things we associate with Christmas. There are also many stories that have been written about or set around Christmas-We have read three: ‘The First Miracle’ by Jeffery Archer, ‘Memories Of Christmas’ by Dylan Thomas and ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens. This is a summary of what these particular stories are about.
‘The First Miracle’ is about a young boy in roman times, living with his mother and father in Bethlehem, He goes to the market to do some shopping and on his way home he witnesses the birth of Jesus. When he gets home he experiences a miracle when his dad beats him because he doesn’t believe the boys story, the boy is completely unharmed. ‘Memories Of Christmas’ is a collection of Dylan Thomas’ own Christmas memories from when he was a child living in Wales all rolled into one slightly poem-like story.
And ‘A Christmas Carol’ is about a mean wealthy man called Scrooge who pays his workers badly and doesn’t like Christmas at all until one night (Christmas eve) three ghosts appear to him as predicted by another ghost (his dead business partner) They show him the past, present and future Christmases of his family and friends and the progress of a small cripple boy Tiny Tim. Scrooge is so moved by this experience that he changes into a kind, generous man who enters into the spirit of Christmas.
These stories are all similar in many ways, but also very different. They are all the same in that they are all about children and the role they play in their family. They all give out a message of some sort: Dylan Thomas ,The magic that children feel at Christmas. Jeffery Archer, The miracle of Jesus’ birth and that Christianity is for everybody. And Charles Dickens, that bad people can change and that Christmas is for the rich and the poor. They are all very different in the way they are written.
This is because of the way and in what period the author was brought up and also the motivation of the authors is clearly different. Jeffery Archer is simply cashing in on Christmas but also giving a message at the same time. Dylan Thomas is the want to share his happy memories with everyone and to make them happy. Charles Dickens is using Christmas as a lively happy atmosphere to give his story the right feel and to get his message across more easily.
