I am delighted to welcome Andrew McDowell to the U. L. S., The Underground Library Society! This is an unofficial organization dedicated to the preservation of books, and it was created in one of my First Year College Composition Classes at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. It is based on the Book People from Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrentheit 451. To join, a writer creates a post about a book he/she would become if they needed to in order to save it. They do not actually have to memorize it though.
Here is Andrew McDowell’s post:
Christmas is my favorite holiday, and one Christmas story I’ve always enjoyed is Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, written and published in 1843. I’ve seen many movie adaptations, from the Muppet version starring Michael Caine to the 1951 and 1991 versions starring Alastair Sim and Patrick Stewart, respectively. My favorite is indisputably the 1984 version starring George C. Scott. I even starred as a Cratchit kid in a theater production in high school (though I really wanted to play Jacob Marley). Throughout it all, the story has struck a chord with me.
Ebenezer Scrooge cares for no one and nothing beyond advancing business and hoarding money. He dismisses the poor, his own nephew, and his clerk Bob Cratchit, whom he lets have Christmas Day off with the greatest possible reluctance. But on Christmas Eve, the ghost of his deceased business partner, Marley, who is suffering and carrying a ponderous chain in death for having lived the same life of greed and selfishness, comes to tell him he has a chance to escape the same fate.
The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come respectively show Scrooge how he came to reject the world and his own heart, how those around him—including Bob and his sickly yet beloved son Tiny Tim—are sharing love and affection through Christmas, and what will happen to them—and himself—if he does not change. Finally Scrooge proclaims he is not the man he was, and that he will honor Christmas in his heart and remember the lessons he has learned.
Simply put, A Christmas Carol is about redemption. Scrooge acknowledges men’s courses will result in certain ends, but those ends will change if their courses do. This story shows us no matter how far we have fallen, if we choose to change, we can still be redeemed. Scrooge rebuilds his relationships with his nephew and Bob Cratchit, and he becomes a second father to Tiny Tim, who is really the heart and soul of the book. Scrooge is described as thereafter knowing how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.
A Christmas Carol may not have Santa Claus, Christmas trees, cards, or presents, but it does have many essential blessings that are essential to Christmas: home, food, family, love, and charity. This book has been credited as redefining Christmas for the modern world. It is said that an American businessman, after hearing Dickens read it, decided to give his employees Christmas Day off. A Christmas Carol teaches hope and faith. It shows the best in humanity, what humanity is capable of, and reminds readers that the well-being of all is everyone’s business.
Thank you to Andrew McDowell for this post! Please visit his website: Andrew McDowell An Author of Many Parts
You’re welcome, Charles, and thank you!
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Andrew, you are welcome!
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Welcome!
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Yes!
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This is a great article about A Christmas Carol, Andrew. I love this book too. I was thinking about it the other day and imagining Marley appearing in his heavy chains. Thanks for sharing. Charles, I love these posts. Thanks for hosting Andrew.
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Robbie, you are very welcome!
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Well said, Andrew! I feel the same way about A Christmas Carol.
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Excellent choice! The world would be a poorer place without this classic.
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Hi Mike, Yes, it certainly would be.
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Thanks, everyone!
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Welcome, Andrew. You chose wisely.
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Well done, Andrew. This is definitely one of my favorites as well.
This made me think of what book I would choose…I’m going to be predictable and probably say Jane Eyre.
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P.S.–to the owner of the website, if you are looking for more writers, I could definitely write something up on Jane Eyre (if it hasn’t already been done, of course). If not, I definitely understand. Cheers and take care.
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Hello, and you are welcome to join. Please do a write-up as a Word.doc, and send it to me at frenchc1955@yahoo.com.
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Sounds good, thank you. Could you briefly tell me what you look for in these write-ups, or point me to the right spot on your website that lays this out? Thank you in advance.
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I made a factual error: the Patrick Stewart version was in 1999.
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Hello. Just as a brief follow-up, I sent on my write-up of Jane Eyre to your yahoo e-mail address last week, or just a few days ago. Thank you again for this opportunity.
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You are welcome, and the post with your writeup will be up in a couple of days!
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sounds great, thanks again.
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You are welcome!
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You are wonderful Charles, and you do wonderful things.
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Cindy, thank you so much!
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