Representation of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol Essay

How does Dicken’s representation of Scrooge in Ch How does Dicken’s representation of Scrooge in Ch.1 of â€Å"A Christmas Carol† contrast to the image he develops in the final chapter? â€Å"A Christmas Carol†, is a novel set in the 19th century in England. It is written in 1843 by Charles Dickens. In â€Å"A Christmas Carol†, Dickens has developed the character of Scrooge in a number of ways. At the start of the novel, Scrooge is a penny – pinching miser. I can tell this because Dickens writes: â€Å" A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!† This shows that Scrooge is a stingy, grasping miser who, exists only for money and he holds his money very tightly and is not willing to let it go. He earned†¦show more content†¦In the final chapter of this novel, Scrooge’s character is extremely changed. This is because of the happenings in chapter 2, 3 and 4. There were 3 ghosts in Scrooge’s dream. The ghost were of the â€Å"Past, the Present and the Future† of Scrooge. The â€Å"Past† described Scrooge as a positive and active person. The â€Å"Present† described Scrooge as a miser. The â€Å"Future† described Scrooge as a forgotten being as no one cared for his grave. At the end of the novel, Dickens writes: â€Å"I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel; I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!† This quote shows that Scrooge is changing. He was relaxing himself as a child, who is easily amused. This use of similie makes him sound positive and relaxed. He was a man who was cold and humorless before and now he was a warm-hearted man. And Scrooge understands that Christmas is important. He knows that Christmas DayShow MoreRelatedA Lack of Charity Essay example1718 Words   |  7 PagesDickens’s books, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, the theme of lack of charity is pronounced. Throughout Oliver Twist, society turns a â€Å"cold shoulder† to those in need of help (Miller 30). The Victorian England society prohibits inhabitants of the lower social realms from moving up in society. Rarely do lower class members receive attention, and the attention they do receive is far from par (Reeves). Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of A Christmas Carol, learns to be charitable through a lessonRead MoreEssay on Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol1155 Words   |  5 PagesCharles Dickens: A Christmas Carol ‘A Christmas Carol’ written by Charles Dickens tells the story of a man named Ebenezer Scrooge who is taught the true meaning of Christmas and is shown the errors of his ways. ‘A Christmas Carol’ was published in 1843, this was a time of social and political unrest. Dickens motivation for writing this story was to encourage employers to treat workers well, he uses the Christmas Carol to portray this message. Charles Dickens felt stronglyRead MoreEbenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol Essay1163 Words   |  5 PagesDickens presents the character of Ebenezer Scrooge as being central to the moral message of A Christmas Carol. In the text ‘A Christmas Carol’, the author Charles Dickens presents the character of Ebenezer Scrooge as central to the moral message in a number of different ways. To identify this, a number of different aspects within the text shall be looked at. These include the morals of the story and the affects of this. The way Ebenezer Scrooge is portrayed as well as what the characterRead MoreA Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and the Movie Christmas Cupid569 Words   |  3 Pagesthe Christmas Spirit in A Christmas Carol and it shined through in Christmas Cupid. 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Fictional stories, although based upon make-believe tales, can often expose the truth behind an author’s personal views and ideals, as well as act as powerful tools to present social messages and warnings to readers across many generations. ‘A Christmas Carol’, written by Charles Dickens, is a novella in which social inequality is highlighted through the journey of a notoriousRead Moreignorance and want875 Words   |  3 PagesSet up against the rampant industrialization of the 18th century, Charles Dickens classic novella â€Å"A Christmas Carol† endorses the notion that all people have a responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of every member of society. By taking his seemingly irredeemable protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge on an other worldly journey. Dickens intends to convey to the complacent classes of the age, the necessity of various traits that are essential in life, such as the responsibility for those whom areRead MoreScrooge in A Christmas C arol2375 Words   |  10 Pages In a time in which the significance of Christmas gradually started to change, Charles Dickens, in accordance with these changes, wrote a Christmas tale: A Christmas Carol. The novella was published six days in advance of the Christmas celebrations of 1843; it was sold out three days later. Although a socially engaged narrative, Dickens’ work is not occupied with trivialities such as the introduction of Christmas cards; instead A Christmas Carol focuses on the transforming beliefs and valuesRead MoreWhat Is Charles Dickens Moral Message and How Does He Communicate It to the Reader in â€Å"a Christmas Carol†?2021 Words   |  9 PagesChristmas Carol What is Charles Dickens moral message and how does he communicate it to the reader in â€Å"A Christmas Carol†? Christmas carol is a novel written by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) during the Victorian times in London. For me to explore the moral messages I feel it is important to acknowledge exactly what the message is. Charles Dickens throughout the novel communicates; Charity, goodwill, family, kindliness and humility as moral messages, however, I personally feel Charles Dickens mostRead MoreDrama And Themes Of Drama1111 Words   |  5 Pagesthe most common genre of movies (Dirks, 2015). Drama focuses on realistic characters with a realistic story line, high intensity special effects are not usually prevalent in dramas. The Help, A Christmas Carol, Mr. Mom, are the dramas chosen that I feel depict race, social class, and gender representation each at a very different level, based on the time period implied in the movie. COMMONALITIES AND CHOSEN ISSUES If I am going to see a movie based on a novel I have read, for example, The Help, IRead MoreA Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens1331 Words   |  6 PagesPeriod three Scrooge Changes In the story, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Scrooge is the main character. In the beginning of the story, he is shown as an old miser counting and gripping his money in the counting house. Later on, Scrooge’s dead business partner, Marley, has visited Scrooge from the grave while being bounded in chains to warn Scrooge to change his ways or suffer the same fate. Soon, three ghosts are sent to visit Scrooge to show him scenes that would help Scrooge learn and change

Arguments Against Chinua Acebes An Image of Africa...

Kody Han Mr. Burgess AP Literature and Composition 6 March 2013 An Image of Africa: Not Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ People of dark skin have been wrongly discriminated against by racists for hundreds of years. From the first time Europeans stepped onto Africa and deemed black skin inferior till now, black people have been fighting for the right to be called equal. During the last century Africans have made great strides in fighting against racism. Many black leaders have risen up and confronted those racist against them. However, there are also times when people have gotten up in arms and have attacked others over misunderstandings. An example of this is Chinua Achebe’s essay â€Å"An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of†¦show more content†¦It makes no sense for Achebe to stretch his information so far to come to this conclusion. It also makes no sense for Achebe to question Conrad’s description of the continent while Conrad has made the trip into the country. Achebe sa ys, â€Å"I will not accept just any traveler’s tales solely on the grounds that I have not made the journey myself† (7). Achebe has never been to the Congo like Conrad has, yet he has the audacity to question what Conrad witnessed there while Achebe’s father was a baby. Achebe accuses Conrad of depicting Africa incorrectly without having ever having stepped foot into the continent, which makes him even more clueless to the Africa of Conrad’s age. He declares that Conrad of making Africans seem more savage than they actually were, while unable to even imagine how they were so long ago. Achebe charges Conrad with racism and ignorance while completely dismissing his own. Although Achebe is a celebrated author, at many points during this essay his arguments are weak, even pathetic because of the irrational conclusions that he comes to. This gives a preview to the carelessness of his essay that becomes evident upon further inspection. In his essay Achebe see ms to forget to (or chooses not to) discuss many factors that go against his argument. He states that Conrad enjoys things that stay in their place. Achebe believes that

Too Big To Fail Free Essays

The idea that a business has become so large and ingrained in the economy that the government will provide assistance to prevent its failure. â€Å"Too big to fail† describes the belief that if an enormous company fails, it will have a disastrous ripple effect through shout the economy. The idea of too big to fail should never be possible. We will write a custom essay sample on Too Big To Fail or any similar topic only for you Order Now No single financial institute should have the power of bringing down our entire economy. The taxpayers should not have to be worried about whether or not their money is safe. There obviously has been a lack of leadership going wrought the economic system. If there were strong leaders put in place originally to deal with this situation, then so many things could have been prevented. A crisis that nearly destroyed our nation would have never even made it to the surface. I blame the lack of leadership for the economical scare. The worlds leaders should have been containing the problem as it started instead of allowing it to get that big and potentially blowing up. Fannies Mae and Freddie Mac could have been saved. But instead each bank was focused on their own needs which is understandable and appropriate. But since they were intertwined so heavily was no longer an option. These institutes should have kept their distance to prevent something from happening. Our economical leaders should have practiced better leadership skills and not but all our dollars in one basket. Because just like in 2008, if any piece of that basket were to break or be destroyed we all would go down. The buyout may have worked this time, but that is simple a patch on the service of our overall problem. Get some strong leaders in those seats and all these problem might just go away. How to cite Too Big To Fail, Papers Too Big to Fail Free Essays string(68) " were undertaking very risky ventures and even fraudulent activity\." Can banks become â€Å"too big to fail†, and should they be allowed to stay that way? On September 15th 2008, the investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. It was, and still is, the biggest bankruptcy filing in U. S. We will write a custom essay sample on Too Big to Fail or any similar topic only for you Order Now history , with Lehman’s holding $691 billion in assets at the time. The event was the catalyst for the current financial crisis. By the end of trading that day, $700bn had been wiped off the global stock markets. The Dow Jones had plummeted 500 points, its biggest drop since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 . Despite rumours and knowledge that Lehman’s was struggling, with its share price dropping daily, the huge drop in the financial markets was due to the huge shock. No-one had been expecting this, as it was anticipated that the U. S. overnment would intervene and bail out the bank, as it had done previously for another investment bank Bear Stearns, and for the mortgage firms Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Company) and Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) earlier on in that month. Everybody had assumed that Lehman’s was simply too big to fail. The term â€Å"too big to fail† has become a phrase used to describe banks that are so interconnected, so large and so strategically important that if they were to fail the consequences could be catastrophic for the economies th ey inhabit . In November 2011, the Financial Stability Board released a list of 29 banks worldwide that it considered to be too big to fail, and gave its definition as â€Å"systematically important financial institutions are financial institutions whose distress or disorderly failure, because of their size, complexity and systemic interconnectedness, would cause significant disruption to the wider financial system and economic activity† . There is an intense debate as to whether banks should be allowed to be too big to fail or not. Those in favour consider the idea that those institutions that are too big to fail should be given special status by the governments and central banks. They also think the institutions should be the recipients of special protective policies that shield them from legislation that may harm them. On the other side, there are a lot of critics of the â€Å"too big to fail† train of thought. One of the main issues is the moral hazard problem that arises. If the banks know that the government will bail them out once they start to get into financial difficulties, then they will seek to profit from it. They will take higher and higher risks, and act more dangerously as they know they have a safety net to fall back upon. Opponents argue that if an institution is too big to fail then, instead of protective policies being gifted to it, much stricter regulations should instead be applied to prevent bankers from taking too many risks. Some go as far as to suggest that if the bank is too big to fail, then it is simply too big, and should be broken up. Proponents of this idea include Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve , and Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England . Others suggest that no bank is too big to fail, and if it gets to the stage where a bailout is required then the bank should just be forced to go into liquidation. This topic is so interesting because of its massive impact upon the global economy at this current time. The sub-prime mortgage crisis, the collapse of many financial institutions and the massive levels of government bailouts have dominated the political agenda for the past four years or so, and are one of the causes of the recession we currently find ourselves in. Whilst rather outnumbered by the number of critics of too big to fail ideas, there are nevertheless a large number of people who consider that banks should be allowed to be and to become too big to fail. One area that they point to as a real asset is the sheer size of the bank itself. Being so large, they can conduct large financial operations using enormous sums of money. This allows them to provide more services, and to more people, than smaller banks. They can also lend in developing, growing countries, which often don’t have strong financial institutions of their own. Furthermore, their size and capital allows them to provide those services at cheaper rates than their smaller counterparts. The large banks can achieve much greater levels of economies of scale. Studies by Boyd and Heitz have shown that larger banks, (defined as having assets of over $50 billion), have higher scale economies than their smaller counterparts . The mean measure of scale economies in the banking industry is 1. 145, whilst the larger banks had a mean of 1. 25, implying that they were therefore 9. 2% more efficient than the rest of the industry. They hereby estimated that the larger banks’ economies of scale increased their contribution to national output by 9. 2%. These proponents argue that the social benefits derived from these economies of scale are beneficial enough to prevent the stricter reforms and changes being discussed by governments around the world from being implemented. One of the main arguments against banks becoming too big to fail is that a moral hazard problem occurs. Moral hazard is a basic economic concept, whereby one party entering a transaction will take more risky actions if they know they have insurance against the outcomes of those actions. At present, too big to fail banks have a variety of systems emplaced by the government, which protect them in the event that they run into financial difficulty. For example, in the U. S. the banks’ creditors get federal deposit insurance, which guarantees the deposits of bank creditors up to a certain amount in the event of bank failure , and this is just one of many. When the sub-prime mortgage struck in 2007 bankers and financial institution were undertaking very risky ventures and even fraudulent activity. You read "Too Big to Fail" in category "Essay examples" KPMG’s study, â€Å"Who is a Typical Fraudster? found that the most likely type of person to commit fraud was â€Å"A 36- to 45-year-old male in a senior management role in the finance unit or in a finance-related function† . One example, a loan was issued to a â€Å"sales executive† for Bay Area Sales and Marketing earning $8,700 per month for a $398k loan on a house which was worth no more tha n $277k, and the â€Å"executive† had been unemployed since 1989 and had no income. Another example was a loan application form filled in for an investor for GNG Investments in Santa Clara California turned out to be a janitor making $3,901 per month. She got a house worth at the time $600k. The lack of regulation made it very easy for financial institutions to play fast and loose with their investments and projects. Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, is currently fighting a fraud suit brought about by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . They are accused of creating and selling a mortgage investment that was secretly designed to fail. Lehman Brothers has been accused of accounting fraud, by removing debt off its balance sheet to make it appear less leveraged, despite a massive leverage ratio of at times up to 40:1. Ernst Young, Lehman’s auditors, have since been sued by the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo . British banks too have been accused of misreporting. Northern Rock’s former deputy chief executive and former managing credit director were fined by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for deliberately misreporting its mortgage arrears figures . If properly reported, the bank’s arrears figures would have reached 50%. These banks could behave in such a way because of the attitude of the U. S. overnment and other governments around the world – they knew they would receive public funding if things went badly wrong for them. Opponents of too big to fail banks are split into three main camps, those who think the banks need tighter regulation, those who believe they should be broken up, and those who think the banks should simply be allowed to fail. The most common line of thought is for tighter regulation, and it is not just politicians and other senior peop le who voice that opinion, most of the world seems to have been voicing it recently. Due to their reckless spending and playing of the markets, it is argued that the banks’ social costs far outweigh their social benefits. The fallout from the collapse of too big to fail banks is far greater than the benefit they bring from their large economies of scale. In 2009 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated the total cost of the global financial crisis to be around ? 7. 1 trillion . Boyd and Heitz estimate the social cost is around 40% of 2007 real per-capita GDP, and that the costs are far larger than the benefits . Increased regulation of banks that are deemed too big to fail would prevent the reckless behaviour seen leading up to this current crisis. There are many different ways of increasing the regulation being discussed as possible options, and some are being implemented. This is despite the vast lobbying efforts levelled at Congress by the banking industry (during reform debates, banks spent an estimated $1. 4 million per day to influence Congress) . One is the required increase in the minimum level of capital that banks hold. When the crisis hit, many banks had very high leverage ratios, the average being in the high twenties, with Lehman’s hitting around 40:1 at times. In June last year, the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the oversight body for the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) introduced legislation requiring banks to have additional levels of capital from 1 – 2. 5% depending on the bank’s systematic importance . Tighter regulation on banks’ liquidity levels is another area proposed, as is more regulation on â€Å"shadow banking† activities. Shadow banking† refers to financial institutions that fall outside the definition of a bank, for example hedge funds and structure finance vehicles (SFVs). In the U. S. , the ‘Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’ was introduced in 2010. This has created a new independent financial watchdog, (The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau); prevents future bank bailouts; eliminates loopholes that encourage risky ventures; brings in an advanced warning system for systematic risk and generally reinforces bank regulation. It is hoped throughout the U. S. hat it is legislation such as this which will prevent future crises from occurring. A key proponent of increased regulation is the Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, who believes that the economies of scale are worth keeping, and that all that is needed is tighter regulation of both the banking system, and the â€Å"shadow banking† system . He says it is easy for people to point the finger at the size of vast banks and use a â€Å"greed culture† as blame for the crisis. He argues that it is not necessarily the size of the bank that is important; it is the interconnectedness that matters . These thoughts backed by Chen Zhou of De Nederlandsche Bank and Erasmus University Rotterdam, who used experiments to show it is the systematic importance, rather than the size of the bank which mattered . Another method proposed by opponents of too big to fail banks to deal with the problems is to deliberately break them up. This refers in particular to investment banking groups with commercial arms. In the U. S. , where there is more focus on dealing with the problem through increased regulation and legislation. In the UK, however, the argument is less settled. Whilst there are some proponents for bank separation in the U. S. , such as Alan Greenspan, quoted as saying â€Å"If they’re too big to fail, they’re too big† they are fewer than in the UK. Mervyn King is one, saying â€Å"It is not sensible to allow large banks to combine high street retail banking with risky investment banking or funding strategies, and then provide an implicit state guarantee against failure† . He wants banks broken up so that the separate parts can be much more highly capitalised. Sir John Vickers’ Independent Commission on Banking has been under pressure from politicians such as Vince Cable to conclude that the best course of action is to break up the larger banks. There are a lot of opponents to this idea, however. The main issue is where you draw the dotted line. Most banks don’t split into two convenient easy sections, it is all very intertwined and the line between investment and retail can be very blurred indeed. As Damian Reece, the Head of Business for the Telegraph says, â€Å"the boundaries between retail and investment banking are extremely blurred, if not invisible† . A possible compromise may be to make banks separate the operations internally, and then regulate them in that state. Lord Turner, the Chairman of the FSA, has recommended such a course of action in the review he carried out of the banking crisis . The review notes, â€Å"It does not therefore seem practical to work on the assumption that we can or should achieve the complete institutional separation of ‘utility banks’ from ‘investment banks’ which the advocates of that model suggest†. The last option is the most extreme one, whereby supporters propose that if a bank runs into trouble it is simply allowed to go bankrupt. Alton Drew, an independent policy analyst, is quoted as saying, â€Å"We should allow big banks to fail because ‘market stability requires it’† . However, I disagree with this idea. The collapse of Lehman Brothers is, in my opinion, a good example of the dangers of letting a bank fail. Whilst many people think that Hank Paulson, the then U. S. Treasury Secretary, deliberately let Lehman’s collapse to send a message to the banking industry, he and others involved have stated that it was just untenable to bail out Lehman Brothers. Paulson said, â€Å"I never once considered that it was appropriate to put taxpayer money on the line in resolving Lehman Brothers† and Neil Kashkari, the then Assistant Treasury Secretary justifies this: â€Å"The law requires the fed to be secured so that they’re not taking much risk. And so in the case of Bear Stearns, they lent $30bn against a pool of mortgages. In the case of Lehman Brothers, the question is what asset could they lend against† . However, many believe that Lehman’s was too big and too interconnected to let fail, and that the fallout from this has been far worse had it just been bailed out. John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch said, â€Å"I believe that allowing Lehman Brothers to go bankrupt was a tremendous mistake. The amount of money it would have take, $20bn, $30bn, compared to the destruction in value that followed the Lehman bankruptcy, and the complete shutdown of the credit markets, the billions and billions and billions of losses that were experienced in the markets subsequently† . In conclusion, it is my opinion that banks can be too big to be allowed to fail, as seen in the example of Lehman Brothers. As Mervyn King said, â€Å"I don’t think any of us easily anticipated the kind of financial crisis we saw after the collapse of Lehman Brothers† and think that with hindsight, the U. S. Treasury and Federal Reserve would think a lot harder if they could go back and make that decision again. I don’t think that it is necessarily a bad thing for banks to be too big to fail. The economies of scale, and the vast wealth and expertise generated by these banks can be very beneficial to an economy. If full and proper regulations and legislation are put into place, the moral hazard that arises from the knowledge of guaranteed bail outs will cease, and so the social negativities generated will be greatly diminished. If properly policed, the too big to fail banks can be a social benefit to the world, rather than the cause of the greatest worldwide recession since the Great Depression. How to cite Too Big to Fail, Essay examples

Clockwork Orange Essay Research Paper A Clockwork free essay sample

Clockwork Orange Essay, Research Paper A Clockwork Orange is the narrative of a immature teenage bully, Alex DeLarge, who with the company of his confederates commit, repeated homicides and colzas at dark. They break into places of guiltless people and commit offenses dressed like they are participants in a circus. During one of their darks of panic, Alex is caught by the constabulary and jailed. During his prison term, there is a research undertaking being designed to discourage the criminalistic head every bit good as to do room for the captives by antipathy therapy proposed by the authorities. Alex becomes cured by the therapy and when released back into society is rejected by his household, tortured by his friends and confronted by the people who he had committed offenses against in his anterior life style. The narrative takes topographic point in Britain. In the film the jurisprudence is viewed as one that deters offense by condemning and imprisoning felons for offenses committed by presenting an option to discourage offense and jurisprudence among an single group in society. We will write a custom essay sample on Clockwork Orange Essay Research Paper A Clockwork or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In one of the get downing scenes of the film, the British constabularies are keeping a adult female surety as if they are traveling to physical assault her. This is the first show of how corruptness of authorization creates the environment for force among the four juveniles who live among the society. Alex and his friends find exhilaration in crushing the constabulary officers senseless. Alex who is the leader of the group of four makes all the determinations for T he group. He gives the orders and shows leading. When he decides to turn out his leading by crushing two of his â€Å"cronies† the group decides to subvert his reign by puting him up at one of their chosen offense scenes. Upon Alex’s issue from the house, his â€Å"cronies† hit him about unconsciously. They no longer wanted to be in his control. He can non get away the scene due to the hurt sustained. Alex is arrested and goes through the whole tribunal procedure. He is found guilty of slaying and sentenced to forty old ages in gaol. He so grows onto the prison system, going a friend of the priests, officers, and guards. He reads the bible and stays out of problem. Alex voluntaries for an experiment, which he learns of, that promises to liberate the condemnable head and releases the condemnable back into society. The experiment is one, which through a series of Sessionss makes Alex physically sick from the offenses he has committed. The Sessionss involve the scre ening of offenses and the music of Beethoven being the lone thing he can hear. Alex upon completion of intervention can non experience any idea of force ailment become ill and experience awful hurting. Upon release from his intervention his household rejects him because they fear him. He is rejected by society because everyone who he has contact with has a blood feud against him for the offenses he committed against them. The one time # 8220 ; buddies # 8221 ; have now become constabulary officers and decide they have the authorization power over Alex now and crush his senseless.