Theme Essay

Thawed by compassion

          “Merry Christmas!” When this phrase is said, the normal response back is “Same to you!”. But if you’re a grumpy old man with a frozen heart, your response might be a cold “Buh Humbug!”. Ebenezer Scrooge is just this man, who basicly has no care for anyone.  But because of this, no one is really fond of him. But when 3 sprits haunt him, they show him that his lack of compassion affects his past, present, and future. The theme of the book A Christmas Carol  by Charles Dickens is the necessity for compassion.     

          Compassion is important because otherwise people know you as the a heart-less person that shouldn’t be messed with. An example is how the people in the town cast Scrooge aside because of his unkindness, as it says in the book "Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, "My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come see me?" No beggars implored him bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge."Because of his irritable ways, people would rather not be involved in any part of his life.

          When you have no compassion, people will see you like as a Scrooge, “…an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr. Scrooge.” is a good example from the book of Mrs. Cratchit talking about him. Scrooge is very stubborn, and if he were to change his ways, even just a little, others wouldn’t see him as this.

          A different text that shares the similar theme of necessity for compassion is Stargirl. In this book, Leo likes a strange girl, Stargirl, but when everyone in the school turns from her, he is the only one that shows kindness towards her. Even when his friends turn on him for being with her, Leo still stays with her because without him, she has nobody.

          Woods Runner  also has this theme. When Samuel is hit in the head with a tomahawk by in Indian, a small group of men take him with them and take care of him while he is passed out. They could have just left him to die, but they that realized that if it was the other way around, they would want his help. That group had compassion by saving his life and taking him with them.

          Compassion is a strong thing. The necessity for it is what really keeps us together. When Scrooge says “Humbug” to Christmas, he is haunted  by ghosts to teach him the very importance of this and why he should change.  Maybe on Christmas day, Scrooge’s heart will unfreeze from the cold and unkindness, warm up with some compassion, and finally say “Merry Christmas to all!”