A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Alistair Sim

I have posted photos of various actors playing Scrooge on my blog at www.whatsjoydickersonbeenreading.blogspot.com. Click on the post for A Christmas Carol. Which one is your favorite?

The children's reading list I've been working on for two years now is loaded with Dickens--Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House--and I spent several months immersed in his words. I wasn't just pleasantly surprised by these books--I was amazed and delighted. Dickens' writing was much richer than I expected and his themes were much more human. The theme that most struck me is Dickens' faith in the power of love to effect and ennoble change in people.

Patrick Stewart

First up on the Dickens list was the extended short story A Christmas Carol. I always think this story will bore me and I always end up enjoying it. And after reading so much by this author, I realized that the main reason for my enjoyment was that Dickens really knew how to tell a story with style and substance and unforgettable imagery. I was pleased with the book's pacing—just when I was getting restless, pow, something different would happen.

George C. Scott

And, Scrooge’s transformation was quite touching and pitiable—not nearly as dramatic as many movies portray it. The ghosts who haunt him on that fateful Christmas Eve drag Scrooge along on his own hero quest--even though he doesn't want to go. At each stop--past, present, and future--Scrooge's heart is pried open. At first, it's just a crack. By the end, Scrooge is flooded with love--it bubbles out of him--his tears flow and his laughter rings.

Mr. Magoo

As with the other Dickens works I read, A Christmas Carol gave me the sensation that I had traveled. London was beautifully drawn--and gruesomely. I was especially riveted by the thick, choking fog that surrounds Scrooge’s street on Christmas Eve.Probably the worst image is the two children, Want and Ignorance. They are dirty and unclothed and wild-eyed. They are insatiable and inconsolable. They are children unloved and they haunt me. Those brutal children are who I work for, who I fight for. Scrooge, finally, found his compassion, his ability to feel with, and he ennobled my own compassion. And this is exactly the mission Dickens set for himself--to shine a light on the worst and the least and awaken the need to love them. I wish I could sprinkle the spirit of Scrooge’s Christmas compassion on all of us, all of us, every one.

Jim Carrey

This is still a story for the ages--but not particularly one for children. You can read it in just a few hours. I recommend it as a wonderful activity for your holidays. 

And, by the way, my favorite Scrooge is George C. Scott.