A Christmas Carol

The Christmas Carol by Dickens was a surprise in many ways. First off, I was surprised it was a book. I knew that Dickens wrote the Christmas Carol, but after so many movies have been done by anyone from the Muppets to Mickey Mouse you begin to think that he originally intended it as a screen play. The second surprise is that it is short. Dickens, it is no secret, is typically long. I expected no less in this work until I pulled it off the shelf in the library. An easy read for an afternoon. The third surprise is that most of the movies (apart from the addition of Gonzo) actually follow the book closely. Its brevity and poignant message lend it nicely to film, especially a film around Christmas when we think more about giving.
I was not surprised, however, that it was an amazing work. I have never read something that was so moving about how we all ignore the poor. In the movies it is too easy to think that Scrooge alone is the miser and we are not so much like him. It may be that I am more mature now then when I last saw a film but this book was very convicting. I am Scrooge in so many inescapable ways. In the book he is perfectly black and then makes a complete transition to being perfectly good. What is scary about that is Dickens is showing how evil the attitudes he had are. He is not a poor writer who cannot draw good characters. The character in this book are simple because the attitudes he is talking about are simple. You are either a Scrooge or not and if you are you need to change, its as simple as that.