What Makes A Christmas Carol a Classic?

What Makes
A Christmas Carol
a classic?

Read & Answer

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is one of the most beloved works of 19th-century literature. The story's enormous popularity helped to make Christmas a major holiday in Britain.

When Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in late 1843, his purpose was an ambitious one.
Yet he could never have imagined the profound impact his story would have.

Dickens had already achieved great fame, but his last novel was not selling well, and he feared his success was over. Indeed, he faced some serious financial problems as Christmas 1843 approached.

Beyond his own worries, Dickens was keenly sensitive to the profound misery of the working poor in England.
In 1843, he paid a visit to the grimy industrial city of Manchester. The trip motivated him to create the story of a greedy businessman, Ebenezer Scrooge, who would be transformed by the Christmas spirit.

Read & Answer

Dickens rushed "A Christmas Carol" into print by Christmas 1843, and it became a publishing phenomenon.

The book was immediately popular with the reading public and became perhaps the most famous work of literature associated with Christmas. It also helped to raise the popularity of Christmas in the 19th century, which was not yet a major holiday.

Dickens intended the story to be a strong condemnation of greed. It established the idea of Christmas charity toward those less fortunate.

Ebenezer Scrooge became one of the most famous characters in literature. The book was transformed into stage plays, and later films and television productions.

Multiple Choice

What motivated Charles Dickens to write "A Christmas Carol"?

• His own financial problems

• A visit to the industrial city of Manchester

• The desire to create a famous character

• The popularity of his previous work

Read & Answer

Dickens first achieved popularity with the reading public with his first novel, "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club." Known today as "The Pickwick Papers," the novel appeared in serialized form in multiple installments beginning in 1836.

In the following years, Dickens wrote more novels, including "Oliver Twist," "Nicholas Nickleby," "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge."

Dickens became a literary superstar with "The Old Curiosity Shop," and readers became obsessed with the character of Little Nell.

According to legend, New Yorkers could not wait for the next installment of the novel to the reach the United States. They would stand on the dock and yell out to passengers on incoming British ships, asking if Little Nell was still alive.

Read & Answer

Dickens visited the United States for several months in 1842. He did not enjoy his visit very much, and his negative observations about it in his book, "American Notes," alienated many American fans.

Back in England, he began writing a new novel, "Martin Chuzzlewit." However, Dickens owed money to his publisher, and his new novel was not selling well.

Fearful that his career was going downhill, Dickens desperately wanted to write something that would be very popular with the public.

Multiple Choice

What event made Dickens a literary superstar?

• His visit to the USA

• The success of "The Old Curiosity Shop"

• The release of "Oliver Twist"

• The publication of the "Pickwick Papers"

Read & Answer

Dickens felt strongly about the enormous gap between the rich and poor in Britain.

On the night of October 5, 1843, Dickens gave a speech at a benefit to raise money for an organization that brought education and culture to workers.

Addressing the working-class residents of Manchester affected Dickens deeply, and after his speech, he took a long walk. While thinking of the plight of exploited child workers he conceived the idea for "A Christmas Carol".

In London, Dickens took walks late at night, and he worked out the story in his head. The miser Ebenezer Scrooge would be visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Marley, and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning a kinder man. He celebrates Christmas and gave a raise to the employee he had been exploiting, Bob Cratchit.

Dickens wanted the book to be available by Christmas and finished it in six weeks.

Multiple Choice

What inspired Dickens to come up with the idea for A Christmas Carol?

• His visit to the USA

• The success of his previous work

• His financial problems

• A speech he gave in Manchester

Read & Answer

When the book appeared, it was immediately popular with the reading public, as well as with critics.

British author William Makepeace Thackeray wrote that "A Christmas Carol" was "a national benefit, and to every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness."

The story of the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge touched readers deeply, and Dickens' message of concern for those less fortunate struck a deep chord. The Christmas holiday began to be seen as a time for family celebrations and charitable giving.

Dickens' story and its widespread popularity helped Christmas to become established as a major holiday.

Read & Answer

"A Christmas Carol" has never gone out of print. Beginning in the 1840s it began to be adapted for the stage, and Dickens himself performed public readings of it.

Dickens died in 1870, but of course, "A Christmas Carol" has lived on. Stage plays based on it were produced for decades, and eventually, films and television productions kept the story of Scrooge alive.

Scrooge, described as a "tight-fisted hand at the grindstone" at the beginning of the tale, famously snapped "Bah! Humbug!" at a nephew wishing him a merry Christmas.

Near the end of the story, Dickens wrote of Scrooge, "It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge."

Multiple Choice

What impact did A Christmas Carol have on the Christmas holiday?

• It made Christmas a time for family, and for giving

• It discouraged people from celebrating Christmas

• It had no impact on Christmas

• It made Christmas a busy time of the year