A Christmas Carol

Author:

Charles Dickens was born in Hampshire, England in 1812. He attended school until the age of 12 when he left to help work off his father’s gambling debts, and returned again to education at age 15. Though interested in theater, he eventually became a political journalist after his uncle offered him a job, continued to publish his own works, many of which are still well-known today, and spoke throughout the United Kingdom and the United States. He died at the age of 58 and is buried in Westminster Abbey in London.

Learn More about Charles Dickens

Three words to describe this read:

Short- I never would have guessed that this story is so short, especially since its impact, is so large.

Moral- As a reader, you can’t help but get the feeling that the whole book is an example of how to live life and why to live it well. Clearly, the message is well-accepted as it is still told and adapted today.

Otherworldly- Everyone knows that ghosts appear to Scrooge and has probably watched a movie or two that depicts them, but reading it lets you imagine it for yourself and adds another level of imagination.

Quote:

“‘It is required of every man,’ the Ghost returned, ‘that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world - oh woe is me! - and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!’”

While this could be a bit of a depressing thought, it actually made me feel a little hopeful. Life and the people in it can be exhausting, but to think that the reward for that can be happiness on earth and rest in the afterlife is comforting.