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A Christmas Carol – Scrooge Revisited in the 21st Century

December 5th, 2015 by Michael Dyet

Hmmm, is Dickens’ classic Christmas tale still relevant today so many generations later?

Last night, I wound down from a busy work week by watching Scrooged – the rather irreverent version of Dicken’s novella A Christmas Carol starring Bill Murray. It started me pondering why Dickens morality play has become one of the most enduring pieces of literature and entertainment. A short history lesson is required here.

There have been over 20 film versions of A Christmas Carol over the years. (For my money, the 1951 version starring Alistair Sims is the definitive one.) Plus over 30 television adaptations, 17 radio adaptations and, yes, even four operatic versions.

Dickens was one of the greatest novelists of his era and by the twentieth century was hailed as a literary genius. No argument from me: A Tale of Two Cities is on my personal list of the greatest novels of all time. However, his status as a best-selling author was waning in 1843. A Christmas Carol put him back on the literary map and remarkably has never been out of print.

If you’ve read Dickens works, you know that – in addition to creating some of the most memorable literary characters of all time – he was a social critic who drew attention to the plight of the poor. Dicken’s own childhood experiences were in part what drove him as a novelist. He left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors’ prison.

Social hierarchy was part of the fabric of Victorian society. Lifestyle varied greatly from the Upper Class to the Middle Class to the Working Class. If you were unfortunate enough to be in the Under Class – the poor, orphans and prostitutes, life was a daily misery.

A lot has changed in the world since the days of Victorian England. The class system is less predominant in some respects in modern society. By the same token, a lot has stayed the same. The economic divide between the upper class and lower class remains and is widening. Many argue that the middle class is being squeezed and will eventually cease to exist.

There has always been a prickly tension in society arising from competing socioeconomic interests. This tension periodically gives rise to revolution and violence as the have-nots rise up against the haves. Historically, this behaviour often manifests itself in cycles over time.

I have written in this blog about my perception of a growing sense of apathy in society. It’s not my problem. I don’t want to rock the boat. Nothing I can do will make a difference. The reality is this: apathy does not stay apathy forever. Eventually it reaches a critical mass at which point it reverses itself and a new cycle of uprising is born.

Dickens made the term Scrooge a metaphor for miserliness, misanthropy and a disregard for the less fortunate. The moral of his story – Mankind is my business! – is clear to all. 160+ years later his message is still, sad to say, as relevant as it ever was.

This Christmas let us shake off apathy, open our eyes and take to heart the moral of A Christmas Carol. Remember: There but for the grace of God, go I.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

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