A Christmas Carol

A prominent theme in Dicken's A Christmas Carol, is that of selfishness, and the impact that it had on the different social classes of that time period. Ebenezer Scrooge, a successful businessman, had allowed himself to be transformed by the evil of the money that he horded over the years. His character, which had at one point been sweet and humble had turned into the complete opposite. His family had abandoned him in hopes of escaping his cold demeanor and cruel temperament. Scrooge was a greedy businessman who had no shame in demanding money from those who owed him, as poor as they may have been.
A Christmas Carol was set at the start of the 19th century, at the dawn of the industrial revolution. Social classes in Britain were well defined, and the poor had hardly any hopes of moving up in social rankings. However, in his novel, Dickens was able to depict the poor as being joyful and happy despite their economic situations. By doing so, Dickens introduced an interesting concept into the ideal of social classes. The poor, though they may have had no money, seemed to value the more important things in life more than a richer person. The bonds of family became stronger in poorer families, because many times that was all they had: one another. During Scrooge's exploration of the "present", he is taken by the ghost to the humble home of his worker Bob Cratchit whose family is suffering of poverty. Dicken's portrayal of the poor in his novel, truly defied previous stereotypes of the miserable lower classes in society and shed light on the idea that happiness in its purest form can be found in various places and does not have to be linked to material things such as money.
Much could be said about today's society and the differentiation of the social classes within our country. Despite the ever present greedy capitalists that have remained throughout the years, in today's society one can work their way up the social and economic ladder through hard work. Rather than being tied down by social labels, one can easily break away and become their own person.