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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens. 1812-1870 Born in Portsmouth England yet lived mostly in London, England Writer 16 Major Novels Revolutionized novel writing A civil rights leader for the poor. Debtors Prison. Son of John and Elizabeth Dickens
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Charles Dickens • 1812-1870 • Born in Portsmouth England yet lived mostly in London, England • Writer • 16 Major Novels • Revolutionized novel writing • A civil rights leader for the poor
Debtors Prison • Son of John and Elizabeth Dickens • Father went into debt • Parents sent to debtors prison (Mom there with younger children) • Charles removed from school • Forced to work at blacking factory to pay off parents debt now “man of the house”
Overnight Bestseller • Published December 19, 1843 • Sold 8,000 copies in first week • Many people who bought were illiterate • People either read it or had it read to them • Known as “the little book” • Instant success • Today more copies than any other book except the Bible
Stave = Chapter • Carol as in a song… think Christmas Carolers • Stave is a section of music • Chapters called Stave 1,2,3,4, and 5 • Each stave is for a different ghost • Stave 1 is the exposition • Stave 5 is the resolution • According to Mrs. Garvin it’s very symphonic…
Long Lasting Effects • Made people want and learn to read • Created social awareness of poverty • Created social awareness of child labor • Created social awareness of orphans • People reacted • Social classicism was identified
Influence on Christmas • Not a novel about religion or Christmas, but ended up revolutionizing the holiday • Christmas celebration in decline before novel • Industrial revolution (work) allowed little time for workers to celebrate • Dickens and his novel had more influence on Christmas than any other person except one
Dickens says… • “The holidays are a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys". • This was what Dickens described for the rest of his life as the "Carol Philosophy".
Father Christmas • Dickens' name had become so synonymous with Christmas that on hearing of his death in 1870 a little costermonger's girl in London asked, "Mr. Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?"