Comparing ‘A Christmas Carol’ with ‘The Christmas Party’ – English Essay
In this essay I will be going to examine the similarities between the novels ‘a Christmas carol’ written by Charles Dickens and also the short
story. ‘The Christmas party’ written by George Layton
‘A Christmas carol’ was written in 1849 for the rich and the upper class Victorian people. Dickens had visited a ragged school in field lane. He was horrified by what he had sewed. He had wanted to persuade people to do something about this awful poverty that some people had suffered. He was going to Wright a pamphlet called’ appeal to the people of England on behalf of the poor man’s chilled’ but Dickens felt that people were more likely to take notice of a good story. ‘A Christmas carol’ so he had wrote a novel instead. Although this book is fiction, the background is typical of what had happened at the time that it was written.
The book was intended for an audience it nowadays is read for entertainment as many of the issues that Dickens had be fighting for have been resolved.
George Layton wrote the Christmas party in 1950 and it was published in 1975. The book was written purely to entertain. The Christmas party was written for a wide variety of readers. Layton wrote the book purely to entertain people. He had intended for children and adults to read it. Younger children so they would understand it and older people that so when they read it also would bring back their child hood.
There are many language features in ‘A Christmas Carol’. For example Dickens used many similes,’ I am as light as a feather’. The effect of comparing these two things is to bring life how scrooge feels, in comparison to how he used to feel about Christmas since his generosity.
A way in which Layton makes it clear that the party is from a child’s point of view is that Christmas child like that is used language: for example ‘smashing’ ‘blooming fibber’ this are words and phrases that are slang. In contrast, Dickens’s novel is written in Standard English. ‘The Christmas Party’ is written in Yorkshire regional dialect such as
“Did she hackers like she wouldn’t give owt away”
This language is reflecting the language of northern England where the story is set. In contrasted ‘A Christmas Carol’ is set in London used a more formal language.
There are many social differences between the two stories due to the time difference between their times of being written. However, many of the elements of Christmas are the same. One big similarity is that both stories are about Christmas and that it is being celebrated. In the Christmas Party” the boys go out carol singing.
“Where the posh live”
The boys go to the posh peoples homes because they think they are rich and will be more likely to give them more money.
In a Christmas carol there are carol singers that had went to his house but scrooge sends them a way.
Another language feature dickens uses is repetition. An example of this is
“Wonderful games, wonderful unanimity, wonderful happiness”
Dickens use the word wonderful to emphasise the contrast In scrooges character. The change in language reflects the change scrooge’s character. It shows how grate and wonderful everything is simply by repeating the words wonderful.
Another example of repetition used for emphasis is
“A squeezing…old sinner”
This emphases the meatiness of scrooge’s character.
The Christmas party has no such language features because it is a children’s story written from a chilled point o view as if written by a child.
The Christmas carol is written in third person narrative. Whereas the Christmas party is written in first person narrative. A young boy tells the story so the language is very child like.
In comparing the cultural similarities of the story of the Christmas party and the Christmas carols. I can see that the Christmas party is trying to say they go to the rich people’s houses sing to them and try to get money off them. Then the Christmas carol is for the rich people to read and to make them feel sorry for the poor people of that time so they would give them money.
Due to their a time lapse between the two stories there is quite a big difference between them however, in both texts are traditional symbols of Christmas carols. There are talking about holly and miss toe for example
‘’The crisp leaves of holly scattered there’’
This is used many traditional symbols of Christmas are used to create a jolly scene. It also there is menshiond a turkey for example
‘’Not the prize little turkey the big one?’’