Introduction to “A Christmas Carol”
A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas (A Christmas Carol for short) is a story written by the English writer Charles Dickens. It was published for the first time on December 19, 1843.
Charles Dickens, whose other well-known works include Great Expectations, David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities, drew inspiration for A Christmas Carol from various traditional Christmas stories and his own childhood experiences.
A Christmas Carol is a novella with a strong moral message. Dickens wrote it to spread the message of love, hope, generosity and compassion. It seems that people were very receptive to the message, as the book enjoyed great critical and commercial success immediately after its publication: 6,000 copies were sold only in the first week!
Through A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens appeals for all the good in the world to be brought to light. He wants people to be aware of the difficulties the less fortunate of us have to deal with on a daily basis. He uses the traditional Christmas message of generosity and kindness to draw attention to the plight of the poor and helpless. In fact, the novella has often been classified as an allegory of the Christian theme of redemption.
Charles Dickens’ message seems to have worked very well at the time. Between the time the novella was published (December 1843) and March 1844, British society experienced a sudden and massive burst of generosity. Reports at the time pointed out that a lot of wealthy and middle-class citizens donated large amounts of money, food and clothing to homeless people, orphans and other people in need. This fact was largely attributed to the success of A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol has a simple, straightforward message of kindness to which anyone can relate. It is a timeless tale, which underlines humankind’s best attributes and encompasses the popular perception about Christmas, as a celebration of hope and generosity.
