a christmas carol importance of family essay

Miss Huttlestone's GCSE English

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A Model Top Band Essay on ‘ACC’ and Family

Throughout Dickens’ allegorical novella, the importance of family is carefully highlighted in each stave as Scrooge starts to realise that profit and gain is not the true way of maintaining happiness.

Primarily in Stave 1, Scrooge’s last-living family member, Fred, invites him round for Christmas dinner, (every year, after continuously getting declined) expressing just how ‘merry’ and morally-inclined Fred is over his Uncle, who is supposedly the influence upon Fred, making it ironic that the younger, less-economically inclined protagonist exhibits a higher moral compass than his own Uncle, this suggests past events that have molded Scrooge into the parsimonious old man he is now. Dickens uses Fred as a mouthpiece to the contemporary audience (as he embodies the Christmas Spirit and the upper-middle class) to communicate money doesn’t buy morals and family and love, so be grateful for what and who you have around you, and help those who need it the most. Scrooge’s lack of love and simple acts of kindness is shown through the way he treats and speaks to his own family, asking them, “what right have you to be merry? You’re poor enough” The dehumanizing interrogative belittles Fred, stripping him of his human “right” to be “merry” which portrays just how stagnant and immoral he is at the beginning of the novella, clearly family means nothing to Scrooge. Here the modern audience finds it comical, how ignorant and narcissistic Scrooge is towards his own family member.

Primarily, within the selected extract, Dickens starts off by using an excessive amount of derogatory language and an abundance of negations to communicate the true, ‘dirty’ ramifications that the lower working class were forced to live in. This is the moment where Scrooge is “appalled” and “starts aback” at the unhealthy living conditions his employee, Bob, lives under and starts to notice just how horrific the living conditions really were, all because he refused to pay Bob anything ‘more nor less than the minimum wage’. This is also where the audience is told that Peter, Bob’s eldest son, also works in order to gain some more income for the family’s welfare. Peter’s loss of youth clearly reminds Scrooge of his lonely childhood as we (as readers) can see a glimmer of hope within Scrooge’s future transformation. Here, Scrooge can see that no matter how poor this family is, nothing will ever change the love they possess for one another as they are described as “happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time…” This communicates and foreshadows Scrooge’s possible want for change in the lower working class’ treatment and wages etc, as in Victorian England, anyone born into the lower working class was instantly assumed to be lazy as according to the upper and middle class, it was their fault for being in that situation and it was “punishment” for not working hard enough – although they probably worked just as much as the other working classes, if not more. Dickens went into such detail with The Cratchits living conditions as he wanted to raise awareness to the contemporary audience that societal norms needed to change in order to progress as a country.

Moreover, the importance of family is also shown through Belle’s happiness with her new family and husband. This is where we see slight guilt in Scrooge’s past actions as he “yells, ‘get me out of this place’”. The use of verb “yells” explains how there could be a glimmer of jealousy within Belle’s find for a new love for others and the loss of love she once maintained with Scrooge. In the Victorian Era, it was almost a necessity and classed as a life’s purpose to have a family to carry on future working development and to pass on the family name and so Scrooge has failed at learning to love and care about other people since he “replaced” everyone with a “golden” material. Dickens clearly wanted to make the society of the Victorian Era understand the sheer importance of having a family and not remaining lonely like Scrooge as happiness is spawned within family and laughter. The reader would realise just how much their family should mean to them as the average age of the Victorian Era was 29 years old which- to this day- is very young and they should appreciate who they have around them.

Finally, within the selected extract, The Cratchits are presented as economically disinclined but “happy, grateful, pleased…” and that is all they need to survive. Scrooge decides to have “his eye upon… Tiny Tim until the last” and this could be he doesn’t want to accept the fact that he declined Bob with a higher wage to help his ‘youngest son’ (Tiny Tim) gain the medication he needs in order to cure his illness. The use of lexical choice ‘upon’ shows how Scrooge is aware that this family needs and wants help economically but refuses to realise that its HIS fault for keeping him paid on the lowest wage. This could mirror a possible future where Tiny Tim was the ‘last’ one born, but the first to die, as in the Victorian Era, contraception didn’t exist and so families (usually of the lower class) had up to 7 kids, also because 1/6 of the born children would die before the age of 1 and 1/5 would die before the age of 5 due to the lack of health care and unsanitary living conditions. Scrooge clearly realised that he would have to live with the fact that he was the reason why Tiny Tim dies (when The Ghost of Yet to Come) takes him to the scene of his death. Here the reader can see that The Cratchits truly love and appreciate each other, and they possess something Scrooge becomes envious of- which is love and Dickens did this in the hope of more appreciation and acceptance of everyone, no matter what social class etc and that if things didn’t change in their societal norms, then regression would certainly take place.

Ultimately, through the ideals of family, Dickens seeks to illuminate its great value, encouraging greater benevolence and sense of community for readers of all contexts.

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A Christmas Carol

Charles dickens, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The entrance of Scrooge ’s nephew Fred at the beginning of the story introduces another side to the miser. Scrooge is not unfortunate in the way of relatives – he has a family awaiting his presence, asking him to dinner, wanting to celebrate the season with him, yet he refuses. This is one of the important moral moments in the story that helps predict Scrooge’s coming downfall. It shows how Scrooge makes choices to prolong his own misery. He chooses to live alone and in darkness while even poor Cratchit is rich in family. Scrooge’s distaste for Fred’s happiness is not just annoyance at the sight of merriness and excess, it is also motivated by bitterness towards marriage based on Scrooge’s own lost love Belle, who left him long ago.

In the story, cold and loneliness are set up in opposition to the warmth of family. Symbols of coldness such as Scrooge’s empty hearth, refusal to provide heat for Cratchit, and keeping his own house dark to save money show Scrooge’s cruelty and lack of connection. But family provides the antidote to this coldness. When Fred enters, the counting house suddenly warms up. Further, Cratchit’s warmth, despite his lack of coal, and the togetherness and energy of his large family, show him to be one of the most fortunate men in the story.

Scrooge does have a kind of family in his partner Marley , who is described at the beginning of the novella as fulfilling many roles for Scrooge before his death. The inseparability of their names above the firm’s entrance shows how close they are—at least in business terms—and though they are bachelors they share their lives, and the suite of rooms is passed down like a family legacy from Marley to Scrooge. Ultimately, from Marley’s warning and the visions provided by the ghosts, Scrooge does learn to appreciate and connect with Fred and the rest of his family, and to even extend that family to include the Cratchits.

Family ThemeTracker

Family Quotes in A Christmas Carol

Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

'A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!' cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach. 'Bah!' said Scrooge, 'Humbug!'

'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'

'The school is not quite deserted,' said the Ghost. 'A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.' Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed.

The sight of these poor revellers appeared to interest the Spirit very much, for he stood with Scrooge beside him in a baker's doorway, and taking off the covers as their bearers passed, sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch.

Oh, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage. […]Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so.

'God bless us every one!'

'Now, I'll tell you what, my friend,' said Scrooge, 'I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. And therefore,' he continued, leaping from his stool, and giving Bob such a dig in the waistcoat that he staggered back into the Tank again; 'and therefore I am about to raise your salary!'

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A Christmas Carol

Portraying the importance of family in ‘a christmas carol’ anonymous 10th grade.

‘A Christmas Carol’ is a novella written by Charles Dickens in 1843, the novella follows the journey of a stingy protagonist -Scrooge- and his many epiphanies that lead him to eventually understand the paramount role of family, joy and social responsibility in life. In both the novella and the extract presented, the idea of family and close relationships is portrayed to be of utmost importance and a bringer of much joy regardless of circumstances; readers are also encouraged to reflect and contemplate their personal family life and whether or not it requires change. In the presented extract describing the joyous and energetic festivities of the Cratchit family, Dickens emphasises the power of family and its ability to overcome all negative exterior circumstances through the use of listing and anaphora.

For example, Dickens lists the many struggles the Cratchit family face, including their “scanty” clothes. This highlights the poor living conditions and the harsh socio-economical challenges they face on a day to day basis, drawing a contrast between their tough yet positive lifestyle and Scrooge’s wealthy -but unhappy- one. Their optimistic attitude can be seen through the juxtaposition of the previous description with a series...

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The family unit is central to A Christmas Carol's message, and families appear throughout the book in many different ways.

During the opening of the book, scrooge rejects his family by turning down fred's offer of christmas lunch. he seems unable to understand how family could possibly be anything other than a burden., the ghosts, however, first show him why he struggles with family; and then remind him of the joy that close bonds can bring; and finally show him just how much he could help support a family he has come to care about., in many ways, however, dickens uses the family to represent the wider society - marley talks about the importance of caring for "mankind" as a whole; poverty appears as two feral children who, it warns, have the power to "doom" us all. for dickens, the family was a unit of people connected by commonality and, for dickens, that meant we should see ourselves as being a part of the same family..

A Man Without a Family

During the opening of the book it's made clear that scrooge rejects his family - the first action of the story is him turning down fred's invitation to dinner, in a way that any reader would see as being just plain rude. fred, however, remains cheery and insists that he will invite him again every year - because that's what families do, the most telling moment though comes when the ghost of christmas past takes scrooge back to his school, where he has been forced to spend christmases alone. we're unsure as to why until his sister returns and says something very loaded: " father is so much kinder than he used to be he spoke so gently to me one dear night when i was going to bed, that i was not afraid to ask him once more if you could come home.", though the line itself isn't much, it does suggest that scrooge's father wasn't exactly a model parent. a recent bbc adaptation positioned the father as being downright abusive and levelled the entire blame for scrooge's personality on his doorstep. while this might be a bit far, dickens makes it very clear that scrooge's father was, at least, someone his children were afraid of. scrooge has possibly argued with him and been almost banished to this boarding school where he was raised., the details of scrooge's relationship to his family isn't really explored in any depth - we don't know where fan went to, and there is no mention of his mother - but it does seem that dickens wanted to make one thing clear: scrooge was pushed away by his father, and it's quite probable that this rejection would have led scrooge to reject the idea of family in return., learning to love, the three ghosts each present a number of different visions of happy families, but it's worth focusing on three in particular:, with the ghost of christmas past, scrooge sees the emotional moment when he breaks up with his former love, belle. though the breakup itself is upsetting enough, the spirit doesn't stop there and it takes him to see belle and the happy family she's created with her husband. in a long piece of description, dickens really brings the thrill of the new family to life and it is this vision that finally breaks scrooge and leads him to snuff out the past. the scene itself is like one of those "this is what you could have won" moments, and it's clear that scrooge regrets what he did., though the ghost of christmas present also takes scrooge to see the cratchits, it's worth focusing on fred from this stave. throughout the party, scrooge's nephew continually defends his miserly uncle - much to the disapproval of the other guests and even his wife fred's insistence that he will continue to invite scrooge along is based around the fact that he "pities" him. this could suggest that, being family, fred understands better than the rest why scrooge has ended up this way. mainly, though, dickens is presenting a family that won't give up on each other, and it is this dedication to togetherness that sums up so much of what the book is really about. we should support other people, even - and perhaps especially - the worst ones amongst us., the ghost of christmas yet to come takes scrooge back to the cratchits, though it is a very different house to the one he'd seen before. tiny tim is dead, and the family grieve. in many ways, tim almost represents the cratchits: good natured, compassionate, determined, but disabled by disease or social class, and left desperately vulnerable. given all that scrooge has come to learn about the importance of family and the relative uselessness of money it is no surprise that he determines to ensure that tim gets the treatment he needs as soon as possible., a new family, in the final stave, scrooge determines to be different. most tellingly on the theme of family, he becomes a "second father" to tiny tim. in this way dickens shows how neither class, education, situation or circumstance can stop us from becoming at one with each other; a part of the same family. it's also a key line that just reminds us of scrooge's relationship with his own father, as we are quite sure scrooge will do a better job than his own father did., in the final stave, scrooge also visits fred's house for the christmas party he's been avoiding for so many years. though we don't spend long inside there with him, we can take it that scrooge was welcomed with open arms by a family that were happy to bring him back into the fold., because, for dickens, a family was something that always welcomed you back - no matter how bad you'd been - and always supported you - even if you were too weak to support yourself - because, as "tiny tim observed: god bless us, everyone ".

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A Christmas Carol: Importance of Family Analytical Essay

• Updated July 25, 2023
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Starting with extract, how does Dickens present the important of family?

In ‘A Christmas Carol’ Dickens illustrates the significance of family. From Scrooge’s own family ,a dysfuncational family that possible moulded Scrooge to become the man we see at the beginning of the play, to the Cratchits ,a paragon for the ideal Victorian family despite their poverty. Scrooge’s own spite towards the festivites may have derived from his lack of a satisfactory family unit and this inevitably led him to become a “crumudgeous old sinner.”

Whilst Scrooge does suffer from an imperfect family he does still have relatives; his nephew Fred. Although Fred is only seen frequently in the play he does have an impact on Scrooge, Fred is driven solely by a cheery and festive spirit and he most definetly is not afraid to question his Uncle.

Fred acknowledges Scrooge’s hatred towards christmas yet every year Fred invites Scrooge to a christmas dinner -despite Scrooge refusing on every occasion. Fred’s relentlessness in trying to connect with his bitter Uncle suggests he understands the value of family, he anticipates the answer he will recieve from his Uncle every year ,yet , he still doesn’t fail to invite him. Fred shows the reader the importance of family and how we shouldn’t give up on our relatives even if they are an “odious, stingy, unfeeling, hard” Uncle. Fred’s understanding of family is furthered when Scrooge is taken by the Ghost of Christmas Present as he visits the home of his nephew.

Whilst he sees Fred at the dinner party it becomes evident that even whilst Scrooge isn’t present Fred never fails to defend his uncle as he rises to his defense “I couldn’t be angry with him if I tried- who suffers by his ill whims? Himself, always?” Fred’s realization that his Uncle does nothing but anger himself always rather than others shows a reader that Fred cares enough for Scrooge to see the troubles Scrooge encounters – internal or physical and he becomes somewhat sympathetic towards Scrooge.

However, whilst posed with the question whether Bob would be permitted to take a day of leave to celebrate the holiday festivites alongside his family it becomes clear Scrooge has no understanding of the value of family but rather when he is asked by Bob for a day off he is somewhat angered , as to Scrooge, Bob asking for a day off was seen as rather offensive, Scrooge pays for Bob’s wages yet he has the courtesy to ask for a day to celebrate with his family. This miserly attitude from Scrooge coincides with Scrooge’s inability to understand the siginifance of family. Regardless, Scrooge gives Bob a day of leave and with it Bob “ran home to Camden Toward as hard as he could pelt.” The verb “pelt” suggests Bob simply wants to be with his family as “pelt” arouses ideas of running at high speeds thus hightening his excitement to see his family as Bob, unlike Scrooge, understands the importance of family.

Moreover, the Cratchits aren’t a very wealthy family so they do not have the luxuries to afford large meals or even new clothing as their “clothes were scanty.” The adjective “scanty” evokes a sense of being very plain and simple, nothing very extravagant and yet they fail to fall victim to materialism The Cratchits, yes they suffer from poverty, but they do not care for the greatest thing they require to function isn’t an item but rather family. Family to the Cratchits transcends any worldly or tangible item, family is the greatest thing to them, this is reinforced when they’ve begun to have dinner where it states “there never was such a goose cooked.”

The hyperbolic language used by Dickens to emphasise the quality of the goose explores this idea of being to its highest standard. Furthermore, in the Victorian epoch it was tradition to have turkey at christmas (as it still is in modern day) but the Cratchits , being a poor family, can only afford a “goose”. But, this does not stop them from enjoying the goose for tradition matters not to the Cratchits and this shows how family stops people falling prey to societal norms. The Cratchits aren’t ashamed they can’t afford a turkey for they do not care, being able to dine with their family at christmas is more than enough of a gift for them.

Although, we see the Cratchits as this paradigm of what a family should act like it could be argued that Scrooge isn’t necessarily at fault for his choice of isolating himself from society and his ignorance towards the value of family. During Scrooge’s experience with the Ghost of Christmas Past we are shown young Scrooge who is “A Solitary child”. Scrooge’s isolation at a young age – particularly from his friends and family illustrates the way it will inevitably affect people as they age.

When his sister (Fan) comes to visit Scrooge we are told “father is so much kinder than he used to be.” Perhaps this subtly hints at neglect Scrooge suffered from his father and so this shaped him to become as “solitary as an oyster” and Scrooge’s lack of a functional family implies he is now paying the price as an adult, although he isn’t to blame as he was simply a child, if children do not have a family that can support them through all tribulations they may encounter the children will inevitably suffer from social isolation as they didn’t have that support they should have had at an early age.

Through the character Scrooge we see how Dickens is trying to comment upon the importance of family: family shifts the way people view aspects of life and family will always be there to support one another as shown by Bob, but, Scrooge being neglected by his father shows how family isn’t always people you are bound with by blood but rather family is the relationships you make along the way as Scrooge never really had anymore relatives other than Fred yet he finds a family in the Cratchits as he practically becomes a “second father to Tiny Tim.” Dickens tries to show how family is everything, family is far more important than any wordly objects and it will always be a core factor in the people we become later in life.

• Importance of Family Relationships – Samploon
• Themes in A Christmas Carol: Family – GradeSaver

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A Christmas Carol: Importance of Family Analytical Essay. (2020, Sep 11). Retrieved from https://samploon.com/a-christmas-carol-importance-of-family/

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Model Full Essays - A Christmas Carol - GCSE English Literature Grade 9 8 7 6 5

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

27 January 2024

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3 full model essays on the theme of family in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens demonstrating quality and essay structure at level 4, 5 and 6 of the markscheme, covering grades 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (including full marks.)

Based on a real past exam question.

Great for revision, independent study or home school.

Each essay is accompanied by a short commentary highlighting the characteristics of an essay at that grade/level.

Relevant to all GCSE English specifications. I have taught for both AQA and Edexcel exams.

If you enjoy, please review :-)

Lots more English study and revision resources on the @MrRoyTeach store: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/CalumRoy

These also feature as part of the bigger Essay Workbook which guides you through planning, writing and evaluating your Literature essay: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12970258

One essay available as a free sample: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12970280

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