My Featured Novel

A Christmas Carol

by  Charles Dickens

I. About the Novel

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. Carol singing took a new lease of life during this time. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

A Christmas Carol remains popular—having never been out of print—and has been adapted many times to film, stage, opera, and other media.

Works Cited （参考文献）

"クリスマス・キャロル (小説)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

II. Versions of the Novel in the Mass Media

Movie Version

Musical Version

Works Cited （参考文献）

Dickens, Charles. "Disney's クリスマス・キャロル (日本語吹替版)." YouTube. N.p., 31 May 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2016.

Charles Dickens. "ミュージカル「クリスマス・キャロル」ダイジェスト（2013公演より)." YouTube. N.p., 02 Sept. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2016.

III. About the Author

Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.

Dickens's literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. For example, when his wife's chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities, Dickens improved the character with positive features. His plots were carefully constructed, and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the illiterate poor chipped in ha'pennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers.

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.

Works Cited （参考文献）
"Charles Dickens." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens>.

IV. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point -symbolism（象徴性、象徴的表現）

• The greater or deeper meaning of a character, object, setting or event in a story
• The three spirit-guides, along with each of their tales, carry out a thematic function--the Ghost of Christmas Past, with his glowing head, represents memory
• The Ghost of Christmas Present represents charity, empathy, and the Christmas spirit; and the reaper-like Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come represents the fear of death. Scrooge, with his Bah! Humbug! attitude, embodies all that dampens Christmas spirit--greed, selfishness, indifference, and a lack of consideration for one's fellow man.

B. Reaction Point -setting（設定、背景、場所）

• the time, place and/or situation in which a story takes place
• Scrooge begins to break through his emotional barricade in Stave Three as he expresses pity for Tiny Tim.
• The reader, upon hearing the usually uncaring miser inquire into Tim's fate, begins to believe Scrooge has a chance at salvation. Scrooge's path to redemption culminates with his figurative "adoption" of Tiny Tim, acting as "a second father" to the little boy.

C. Reaction Point -protagonist （メインキャラクター）

• Main character
• Scrooge
• The miserly owner of a London counting-house, a nineteenth century term for an accountant's office. The three spirits of Christmas visit the stodgy bean-counter in hopes of reversing Scrooge's greedy, cold-heart approach to life.

D. My General Opinion

I think that the theme of Christmas Carol is in what we call what should do to be happy.
It is interesting and convincing for the story that a stubborn man spans three nights,led by the spirit of Christmas, and shows the miserable figure of the past, the present,and the future objectively.
What I wanted to convey through "A Christmas Carol" is clear, I thank that living with the spirit of Christianity.
This "A Christmas Carol" imagines a very dark and cold winter at the beginning.And in the scene where the three spirits appear, I imagined a very sad and frightening winter.
However, at the end when Scrooge is surrounded by Cratchit and his family, imagine a warm and friendly winter.
I think that this is the author's Dickens most wanted to tell.