History Literature / AChristmasCarol

* KickTheDog: Much of the first chapter is largely an exercise in showing how mean and bitter Scrooge is, but his line about letting the poor die off is particularly thoughtless and cruel.

** The Ghost of Christmas Present doesn't like it when Scrooge confronts him on having the bakers used to cool food for the poor on Sundays.

Christmas [[UsefulNotes/AVeryBritishChristmas as we now]] [[UsefulNotes/ChristmasInAmerica know it]] is [[NewerThanTheyThink largely thanks to the enormous popularity of this story]], which took what had become, in Anglo-Saxon Protestant countries, a relatively minor and disparaged holiday (due to Puritanical and/or anti-Catholic sentiments) and elevated it in the public consciousness. Prior to its release, many Protestant churches preached against the drunken debauchery associated with the holiday, and it was even ''illegal to celebrate Christmas'' in some parts of the US. It's really not all that much of an exaggeration to say that Dickens's little book basically [[SavingChristmas saved Christmas]], at least in the Anglosphere.[[note]]Okay, this isn’t strictly true. Christmas ''was'' celebrated in Britain as a feast day; however, it was seen as the start of the 12 days of Christmas, and the whole 12 days were celebrated not just one, with the 12th (roughly the 5th or 6th of January) day being the big day. This is because when Britain was still a rural economy, the ground was too hard to farm, meaning there wasn’t a lot else to do. However, by Dickens's time the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, and had already eroded most of the traditional celebrations due to people working in the new factories. Dickens was probably worried that the whole holiday was going to disappear altogether at some point.[[/note]]

** When the Ghost of Christmas Present is showing Fred's Christmas, there is this line of narration: "Uncle Scrooge had imperceptibly become so gay and light of heart,...".

-->'''Laundress:''' I certainly shan't hold my hand, when I can get anything in it by reaching it out, for the sake of such a man as he was...

-->''Scrooge''': I wish to be left alone! Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Despite Marley's ghost telling Scrooge he is being punished for his selfishness by being fettered in chains and traveling without rest forever, Scrooge argues he was a "good man of business". This causes Marley to scream in anguish and sarcastically reply that "mankind was [his] business"; that is, what Marley should have most concerned himself with when he lived.

* EgocentricallyReligious: Discussed. Scrooge notes to the Ghost of Christmas Present that it seems like the spirit wants people to suffer by closing bakeries on Sundays. The spirit is quick to correct Scrooge that he wants no such thing, and that people invoke the name of God all the time to do things that benefit them. And when they do, [[TheFundamentalist that's on the men who invoke God's name, not God himself]]. [[note]]This was Dickens giving his thoughts on a political idea of the day. In 1843, most places in London were closed on Sunday, although bakers and grocers sometimes left their ovens on for poor people to heat up their meals, either as a charity or for a small fee. However, there was a group in London who was campaigning to force businesses to stop doing this, ostensibly because it was a Christian value to be closed on Sunday all day, whether or not it helped anybody. Since Dickens was a man who frequently included themes of the rich needing to help the poor in his body of work, he naturally wasn't too happy about that, and included this scene as a jab at the people campaigning to make the shops close on Sunday.[[/note]]

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: DoubleSubversion. Christmas Present considers it a serious likelihood that Tiny Tim will die, and Christmas Yet To Come shows Scrooge the future in which this happens, complete with the full emotional repercussions on the Cratchit family. However, thanks to Scrooge's HeelFaceTurn, Tiny Tim does not die after all.

* IntangibleTimeTravel: Actually, just shadows of things that had been, are, and will be happening.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: As uncaring and callous as Scrooge is he isn't ''evil'', he's simply a good person who has forgotten what it means to be good. When he's reminded of how much fun he had working for Fezziwig he instantly realizes how horribly he treats Bob Cratchit and wants to make amends for it. And spending just a few moments in the presence of Tiny Tim is enough to make Scrooge horrified at the idea of him dying.

* LittlestCancerPatient: Tiny Tim's illness is not ''necessarily'' fatal, it is just that the Cratchits are too poor to afford treatment, which is why he dies in the alternate future. So when Scrooge has his change of heart and increases Bob's salary, Tim doesn't succumb to his illness.

* HonestCorporateExecutive: Scrooge has several faults before his HeelFaceTurn, but being a CorruptCorporateExecutive isn't one of them. It is stated how good his word is when it is mentioned he was one of those who signed Jacob Marley's death certificate. So he's not dishonest; he's just ''heartless''.

[[AdaptationOverdosed Possibly the most widely-adapted story of all time]], and one which has inspired lots of AdaptationExpansion (explaining events and BackStory the book didn't cover). In the television era, countless shows have done at least one episode that thrusts a character into their own ''Christmas Carol''-type scenario, with varying levels of quality. In fact, versions with pre-existing characters are so common that they have led to the creation of the YetAnotherChristmasCarol trope. It's possibly also the source of the PensieveFlashback. For a list of adaptations (and tropes often found in said adaptations) see its [[DerivativeWorks/AChristmasCarol Derivative Works page]].

Ebenezer Scrooge is [[TheScrooge a hard-hearted, crotchety old moneylender]] living in VictorianLondon. Our story opens on Christmas Eve, by chance the seventh anniversary of the death of Scrooge's partner in the firm, Jacob Marley. Scrooge believes Christmas to be a foolish waste of time and money, and mocks anyone who believes in making merry, particularly his nephew Fred, his only living relation, and his overworked and underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit. After closing up the office and taking his evening meal at a tavern, Scrooge returns home, where, late in the night, Marley's ghost pays him a call. Though seven years dead, Marley appears [[JacobMarleyApparel wrapped in chains and weighted down with lock-boxes that symbolize his own obsession with money in life]]. Marley [[JacobMarleyWarning warns Scrooge that a similar fate waits for him, with an even longer and heavier chain, if he doesn't change his ways]], and that Scrooge's only hope for redemption lies in heeding the advice of three other ghosts, scheduled to appear one at a time over the following nights.

Ebenezer Scrooge is [[TheScrooge a hard-hearted, crotchety old moneylender]] living in VictorianLondon. Our story opens on Christmas Eve, by chance the seventh anniversary of the death of Scrooge's partner in the firm, Jacob Marley. Scrooge believes Christmas to be a foolish waste of time and money, and mocks anyone who believes in making merry, particularly his nephew Fred, his only living relation, and his overworked and underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit. After closing up the office and taking his evening meal at a tavern, Scrooge returns home, where, late in the night, Marley's ghost pays him a call. Though seven years dead, Marley appears [[JacobMarleyApparel wrapped in chains and weighted down with lock-boxes that symbolize his own obsession with money in life]]. Marley [[JacobMarleyWarning warns Scrooge that a similar fate waits for him, with an even longer and heavier chain, if he doesn't change his ways]], and that Scrooge's only hope for redemption lies in heeding the advice of three other ghosts, scheduled to appear one at a time over the following nights.

''A Christmas Carol'' [[note]]full title: ''A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas''[[/note]] is a novella written by Creator/CharlesDickens and first published in 1843, which [[MainstreamObscurity few contemporary people have actually read]] but [[PopCulturalOsmosis pretty much everyone knows the story of]]. But just for the record...

[[quoteright:323:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Scrooge_5212.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:323: "Bah! Humbug!"]]

Ebenezer Scrooge is [[TheScrooge a hard-hearted, crotchety old moneylender]] living in VictorianLondon. Our story opens on Christmas Eve, by chance the 7th anniversary of the death of Scrooge's partner in the firm, Jacob Marley. Scrooge believes Christmas to be a foolish waste of time and money, and mocks anyone who believes in making merry, particularly his nephew Fred, his only living relation, and his overworked and underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit. After closing the office and taking an evening meal, Scrooge returns home, and late in the night, [[JacobMarleyWarning Marley's ghost appears with a dreadful warning for Scrooge]]. Though seven years dead, Marley appears [[JacobMarleyApparel wrapped in chains and weighted down with lock-boxes that symbolize his own obsession with money in life]]. Marley warns Scrooge that a similar fate waits for him, with the chains even heavier, if he doesn't change his ways, and that Scrooge's only hope for redemption lies in heeding the advice of the three other ghosts, scheduled to appear on the following nights, one at a time.

After seeing Marley disappear amid a crowd of phantoms that it seems are visible only to Scrooge, the stress of the events gets the better of Scrooge, and he ends up falling asleep - so long that he doesn't wake until minutes before the first of the three is scheduled to arrive: The ''Ghost of Christmas Past,'' who shows Scrooge (and the reader) the ups and downs of the life that drove him to become the man he is today. These include visions of Scrooge's early life at boarding school and encounters with his sister Fan, his jolly first employer Fezziwig, and his fiancée Belle, all of whom left Scrooge's life for one reason or another around Christmas.

After Scrooge [[ItMakesSenseInContext attempts to 'put out' the Ghost of Christmas Past with his cap,]] Scrooge awakes with a start back in his bed, the room still dark with night, but now it is time to meet the ''Ghost of Christmas Present'', who shows Scrooge more visions, this time of folks who have retained their Christmas spirit in spite of suffering worse than he has, including Bob Cratchit. Despite the troubles of Bob's family (especially [[LittlestCancerPatient Bob's sickly youngest son, "Tiny Tim"]]), they still find a place for happiness in their lives. Present also shows him a taste of the celebration his nephew Fred has in his absence - Scrooge having rejected Fred's offer to dine with him, his wife and their friends - and Scrooge gets to not only see what he's missing, but how Fred wishes for a closer relationship with the brother his departed mother Fan so loved.

After a warning about the future of humanity if it produces more like Scrooge's kind, the Ghost of Christmas Present passes away and disappears, leaving Scrooge alone in a dismal alley - in time to finally meet the ''Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.'' This ghost, who bears more than a passing resemblance to the GrimReaper, shows Scrooge bleak visions of the future: Tiny Tim will succumb to his illness, and Scrooge himself will die alone and unmourned. A horrified Scrooge begs the Ghost to spare mercy on him, and vows to better himself to prevent this outcome. Begging and pleading, Scrooge feels the ground beneath him give way, and he starts to fall...

...until he wakes up, back in his own bed. The world is back to normal, and morning light streams into his room from the window. He discovers that, despite it seemed he had slept for three whole nights, it is Christmas morning. He makes good on [[HeelFaceTurn his resolution to change his ways]], and becomes a respected and generous figure in London. Thanks to his new-found generosity, Bob Cratchit is immediately given a raise, and with Scrooge's help, Tiny Tim manages to overcome his illness, and Scrooge repairs his relationship with Fred, and all live happily ever after.

Next is the ''Ghost of Christmas Present'', who shows Scrooge some folks who have retained their Christmas spirit in spite of suffering worse than he has, including Bob Cratchit. Despite the troubles of Bob's family (especially [[LittlestCancerPatient Bob's sickly youngest son, "Tiny Tim"]]), they still find a place for happiness in their lives.

Finally, the ''Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come'' shows Scrooge bleak visions of the future: Tiny Tim will succumb to his illness, and Scrooge himself will die alone and unmourned. A horrified Scrooge begs the Ghost to spare mercy on him, and vows to better himself to prevent this outcome.

When Scrooge awakens, he's back in his normal world and it's Christmas morning. He makes good on [[HeelFaceTurn his resolution to change his ways]], and becomes a respected and generous figure in London.

Ebenezer Scrooge is [[TheScrooge a hard-hearted, crotchety old moneylender]] living in VictorianLondon, hesitant to close shop for Christmas Day and only reluctantly talked into it by Bob Cratchit, his overworked and underpaid clerk. At home that evening, Scrooge is haunted by [[JacobMarleyWarning the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley]]. Though seven years dead, Marley appears [[JacobMarleyApparel wrapped in chains and weighted down with lock-boxes that symbolize his own obsession with money in life]]. Marley warns Scrooge that ''his'' chains will be even heavier if he doesn't change his ways, and that Scrooge's only hope for redemption lies in heeding the advice of the three other ghosts who will be calling on him later that night.

The ''Ghost of Christmas Past'' is the first to arrive, and shows Scrooge (and the reader) the ups and downs of the life that drove him to become the man he is today. These include visions of Scrooge's early life at boarding school and encounters with his sister Fan, his jolly first employer Fezziwig, and his fiancée Belle, all of whom left Scrooge's life for one reason or another around Christmas.

** The Ghost of Christmas Present gives this in the form of a MeaningfulEcho. When Scrooge asks if Ignorance and Want have no "refuge or resource" from a terrible life, the Ghosts asks "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?" to Scrooge. It pierces Scrooge's armor because Scrooge said the same thing to some men who wanted donations to help needy children, so Scrooge's own words are being thrown back in his face as a way of showing him how cruel he's been.

* HeelFaceTurn: Scrooge has a change of heart after being haunted by the three spirits.

** Greed and selfishness will never bring happiness and will ultimately led you lead to a path of loneliness and misery.

** It's never too late to change.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: The Ghost of Christmas Present throwing Scrooge's "Are there no prisons?" line back at him might count as this, but right at the start of the book Scrooge replies to Fred's "Merry Christmas" by asking "What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough", to which Fred responds "What reason have you to be so dismal? You're rich enough". This is the first time Scrooge is lost for words, and can only [[LameComeback reiterate his famous "humbug!"]]. Finding out the answer to this question is the whole role of the Ghost of Christmas Past.

* {{Catchphrase}}: Scrooge's iconic "Humbug", sometimes prefaced with "Bah!"

* LemonyNarrator: As with a lot of Dickens books, the narrator refers to himself multiple times, despite not being a character in the story. Take, for instance, this little digression at the beginning:

Ebenezer Scrooge is [[TheScrooge a hard-hearted, crotchety old moneylender]] living in VictorianLondon, hesitant to close shop for Christmas Day and only reluctantly talked into it by Bob Cratchit, his overworked and underpaid clerk. At home that evening, Scrooge is haunted by [[JacobMarleyWarning the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley]]. Though seven years dead, Marley appears [[JacobMarleyApparel wrapped in chains and weighted down with lock-boxes that symbolize his own obsession with money in life]]. Marley warns Scrooge that ''his'' chains will be even heavier if he doesn't change his ways, and that Scrooge's only hope for redemption lies in heeding the advice of three other ghosts who will be calling on him later that night.

* MassiveNumberedSiblings: The Ghost of Christmas Present had more than 1,800 siblings (presumably all deceased), each representing a year of Christmas. On the mortal level, Scrooge's former fiancée's house is overflowing with children, and the Cratchits have more children than the narrator can be bothered to name.