Scott Kamps
A book doesn’t become timeless just by being old – many old books are obsolete – but a classic stands the test of time depicting human nature or communicating universal truth that resonates with readers, regardless of time and setting.
Consider A Christmas Carol. In it, Charles Dickens masterfully creates characters/scenes from Victorian England that we can easily relate to – whether we want to or not. The protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, is so well-known in our culture that his surname is a synonym for miserliness.
Scrooge is a vivid illustration of missing the point of life – not recognizing the importance of love, kindness and connecting with other human beings. When asked for a donation to help the destitute, he claimed ignorance of their distress and misery, saying, “It’s not my business… It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly.”
Scrooge wasn’t a thief of any sort, but was exacting in his treatment of others. The ghost of his like-minded dead partner, Jacob Marley, comes in the first stage to help Scrooge reorient his life.
The ghost declares that contrary to appearances, money shouldn’t have been his primary business of his life; instead, “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business.”
This truth is then pictured wonderfully in stage two, when the Ghost of Christmas Past gives Scrooge flashbacks of prior Christmases.
Scrooge is reminded of people who reached out to him and loved him in the past – including his feeble/sickly sister Fan and former employer Fezziweg.
He watches his former girlfriend Belle break off their relationship because his focus in life was material. Then follows one of the best scenes of the book: Belle’s surrounded by a swarm of children, boisterously running around. Belle’s husband comes to the door, entering the house with an armful of presents. Joyful chaos follows as the children affectionately wrestle presents from him, laughing and playing until bedtime.
Devastated by the joyful scene, Scrooge realizes what he missed out on.
Young Scrooge had no interest in living in deep connection with others, so Belle found connection with someone else.
She married a man who loved others and they had a bunch of kids – filling their lives with people who loved them and whom they loved deeply.
Dickens doesn’t leave Scrooge in remorse and ruin; he chronicles Scrooge’s transformation into a man who claims to be “happy as an angel,” finding deep joy by reordering his priorities toward loving others, generosity and kindness.
It’s easy to miss the point of life. Even those who’ve committed themselves to a spouse and a horde of children find it easy to forget the importance of love/joy/connection while in the thick of it.
But if a completely flawed man like Ebenezer Scrooge can find joy in life – without changing anything materially but by re-orientating toward loving his neighbors – then there’s hope for us all as we begin a new year.
Scott Kamps writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, thestableguy@frontier.com.