A Christmas Carol – JenniElyse

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Holiday
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 160
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’ve never read A CHRISTMAS CAROL before this. I had only seen movies and play adaptations, the most memorable of those adaptations being Mickey’s Christmas Carol.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read this, but I definitely didn’t expect what I read. The story was very much like all the adaptations I’ve ever seen. However, the finer points, such as Scrooge’s thoughts, were lost as most are when books are adapted into movies or plays. I enjoyed getting into Scrooge’s head a little bit and understanding where he was coming from rather than relying on the actor’s portrayal of Scrooge.

It’s amazing how much the English language has changed in a little over 100 years. The words are similar, but there were a few archaic spellings of words–some I was familiar with (e.g., rime instead of rhyme) and some I wasn’t familiar with (e.g., skaiter instead of skater). I thought Dickens’ writing was much easier to follow and understand than Austen’s MANSFIELD PARK was when I read it 2.5 years ago. Then again, there’s another 100-year difference between those two stories. There were a few things that threw me for a loop, but most of that was due to the differences how the world works now vs. then.

What would’ve it have been like to read these stories while living in the times they were written. I wonder if any of the novels written in our time will cause confusion for future generations. I’m sure some things will have to be explained, but I wonder if the actual language will cause confusion.

I really enjoyed the story. I especially enjoyed reading the change in Scrooge. From watching the movies and plays, it seems as though Scrooge doesn’t really change until after he meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. However, he actually slowly begins to change even when he’s with the Ghost of Christmas Past. That was my favorite aspect of the story because it was fun to see how much he changed in action and thought.