Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol has endured as a beloved story of redemption for nearly 200 years and permeated our popular culture in innumerable ways. From screen, stage, and cartoon adaptations to spoofs and retellings to everyday slang (particularly, "Bah humbug"), the influence of this holiday tale cannot be understated. If you're unfamiliar with the original text of A Christmas Carol, then you might be interested to see how it stacks up to well-known contemporary twists, such as the movie Scrooged, starring Bill Murray. If so, read on for a comparison of the two works.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for A Christmas Carol and one of its many film adaptations, Scrooged.
What is A Christmas Carol about?
A Christmas Carol was originally published serially in 1843, told in five parts, called staves. It follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a man who is miserable in his own life and thus sets out to make the lives of those around him similarly unhappy. It's been seven years since his business partner, Jacob Marley, died, and in the wake of that loss, he employs an underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, whom he mistreats. The book opens on Christmas Eve, when Scrooge refuses an invitation from his nephew Fred to come to his house for Christmas dinner, turns down a solicitation for donations to see the poorer families of London clothed and fed, and only grudgingly allows Bob to have Christmas Day off from work with pay. Scrooge goes home to his fine, empty house and is awoken in the middle of the night by the ghost of Jacob Marley, weighed down by chains and the weight of his greed and selfishness. Marley warns Scrooge that he is headed for the same fate, unless he listens to three ghosts that will show him the error of his ways.
The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge on a journey to his own boyhood, reminding him of the unhappy times at boarding school while highlighting the happier moments as well. Scrooge had a sister named Fran who loved him, a mentor who treated him well, and even a fiancée named Belle. But Belle broke off their engagement after she realized the object of her future husband's true obsession: money. So, Scrooge parted ways with her and focused on his business. Then, the ghost shows him Belle's large, happy family on a Christmas some years earlier, and Scrooge feels ashamed and embarrassed when he hears how Belle talks about how cold-hearted he has become.
The Ghost of Christmas Present appears, and whisks Scrooge away to see how others are celebrating the holiday. First, he gets a glimpse of a holiday market and all the ways that people are buying trappings for their celebratory feasts. He then gets a glimpse of Fred's joyful Christmas party, and how people in his present think of him. Then, the ghost takes him to Bob Cratchit's home, where he sees how the good-natured family lives in poverty and is introduced to Bob's youngest and fragile son. Tiny Tim is very ill, and the ghost warns Scrooge that unless things change for the family, the boy will die. Lastly, the ghost shows Scrooge two emaciated children named Ignorance and Want, cautioning Scrooge to beware of ignorance in favor of want.
Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives and shows Scrooge scenes of Christmases in the future. In the first chilling scene, Scrooge is dead and no one wants to attend his funeral, only agreeing to do so when promised a free lunch. Scrooge's staff even steals his possessions in order to sell them. When Scrooge asks the ghost if anyone feels any emotion over his death, the ghost shows him a couple relieved that Scrooge's death gives them more time to figure out their financial situation. Shocked that no one is sad about Scrooge's death, his feelings are then compounded when the ghost shows him the gravesite of Tiny Tim, and he sees Bob Cratchit's family mourning the death of the boy. Then, the ghost shows Scrooge's own abandoned grave. Scrooge breaks down sobbing, promising to change his ways.
In the final stave, Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning a changed man. He makes a hefty donation to the charity he rejected the day before, sends a turkey to the Cratchit family, and then takes up Fred's invitation to come for Christmas dinner. The following day, he gives Bob a raise in pay. From there, he takes an interest in the lives of the Cratchit family members, befriending Tiny Tim and becoming something like an uncle to him. He spends the rest of his days giving willingly and helping others.
What is Scrooged about? And how does Scrooged differ from A Christmas Carol?
Scrooged is a 1988 modern adaptation of the A Christmas Carol starring Bill Murray, Carol Kane, and John Forsythe. It reimagines Scrooge as Frank Cross, the president of IBC Television, a company broadcasting a live production of A Christmas Carol. To wrap up work on this special, Cross orders that his entire staff work through the holiday. He is not only demanding and selfish, but he fires an executive named Eliot for disagreeing with him, and gives everyone on his gift list cheap, thoughtless gifts—except for the more influential people in his life, to whom he sends very expensive gifts. The night before the show, Frank's long-dead mentor, Lew Hayward, appears to him as a ghost. The man was a legendary miser who died of a heart attack, and he warns Frank that three ghosts will be visiting him before the night is over. Lew's ghost then calls Frank's lost love, Claire, who works at a homeless shelter and comes to visit him—but Frank refuses to see her.
As Frank gets ready to oversee rehearsals, a taxi driver reveals himself as the Ghost of Christmas Past. Like in the book, this ghost shows him his unhappy past, and his early romance. Claire and Frank fell in love at the start of his career, but it fell apart when Frank prioritized his ambitions and success over her. Back in the present, Frank goes to see Claire at her work, but he cruelly shows contempt for the people at the shelter, particularly for a man named Herman.
The Ghost of Christmas Present then whisks Frank to his assistant Grace's apartment, where she reveals that Grace is struggling to support her large family, and her youngest son, Calvin, is selectively mute after witnessing his dad's death. The ghost also takes Frank to his brother's Christmas Eve gathering, where he witnesses many people speak disparagingly of him, but Frank's brother continues to defend him, despite Frank's poor treatment. Finally, Frank sees Herman on the street, dying of exposure to the elements.
Frank returns to his office, only to see a disgruntled Eliot waiting with a shotgun to exact his vengeance. Frank escapes to the elevator, and encounters the Ghost of Christmas Future, a scary grim-reaper figure. The ghost shows him a scene of Grace and Calvin in the future, where Calvin has remained mute and has been institutionalized because he wasn't able to get the support he needed. Claire marries a rich man and is very unhappy, and Frank dies and is shocked that no one but his brother and sister-in-law are there to see him cremated. Frank comes back to the present in the elevator just as he encounters Eliot, and his contrite attitude shocks Eliot into giving up his quest for revenge.
Together, Eliot and Frank head to the live production, which Frank interrupts in order to go on air and publicly apologize to all those he has wronged. Claire sees the broadcast and comes running to the station, and Frank's testament is so moving that it entices Calvin to speak for the first time in months. The movie ends with everyone singing "Put a Little Love In Your Heart," a sing-along that reflects how Frank has become a changed man, all for the better.
Though the events of Scrooged are vastly different than those of A Christmas Carol, each moment reflects the same themes and morals about generosity, compassion, and the season’s spirit of love, giving, and family. Scrooged also proves that no matter how many years go by, Charles Dickens's novella will remain an enduring classic with a message that lives on in many different forms. There’s no better way to celebrate the present season than by listening in to A Christmas Carol, and Audible offers a variety of narrators to choose from. You can enjoy hearing the classic tale performed by either the accomplished Hugh Grant or the incomparable Tim Curry, both of which are included with your Audible membership. Or you might prefer a version voiced by the distinguished British-born actor Ralph Cosham or Sir Patrick Stewart OBE, best known to Americans for his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation. And there's the radio dramatization hosted by Orson Welles, starring the great Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge.
