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A Christmas Carol Changes

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Events from the past can influence people to change their life for the better. Influence from anyone and anything can definitely affect you. Chances are, if you have done atrocious things, you probably want to try and do some good. This the case for the main characters in the stories “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens and “A Retrieved Reformation” by O’ Harey. Ebenezer Scrooge is a greedy, grumpy man who hates Christmas and really anything that involves joy. One night, when three spirits come to him to inform him about the past, present, and future, he decides to turn his life around and change for the better. Jimmy Valentine is a safe cracker who moves to a new town. Once he meets a girl name Annabel, he decides to literally change his …show more content…

One night, in a dream, he is warned by his deceased friend, Marley, that three spirits would come to him. The first spirit is the spirit of Christmas past, and it shows him an event from his past. In the event, Scrooge is seen leaving his lover because she is too poor. Scrooge regrets this decision greatly. The next spirit tells him about the present, and it shows him how his employee, Bob Cratchit, is suffering. He and his family have barely any food, and to make matters worse, their son, Tiny Tim, is crippled. The next spirit, the spirit of Christmas future, shows Ebenezer how his own servants would steal from him and not shed one tear after he passes. It also shows Ebenezer how …show more content…

Some similarities between “A Christmas Carol” and “A Retrieved Reformation” are the fact that both the characters change for the better by the end of the story, and that they were both influenced by other characters in the story. In “A Christmas Carol”, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three spirits. These spirits show Ebenezer his past, present, and future. Scrooge regrets decisions he made in the past, is disturbed by the events that are happening in the present right under his nose, and is shocked by the events of the future. All of these different events touch Scrooge in a way nothing else ever had. The spirits all influence Scrooge to change for the better. In “A Retrieved Reformation”, Jimmy Valentine is a criminal that is just released from jail. He goes to a town called Elmore and meets the girl of his dreams, Annabelle. Annabelle inspires Jimmy to change. He opens a shoe shop, and he even sends a letter to his friend, offering him his old tools. He also plans to move away to a different part of the country to make sure that all the events from his past are, well, in his past. He wants to make sure that he would never have to see anyone who knew him as Jimmy Valentine. This proves that Jimmy and Scrooge both want and decide to change for the better, and that they were both influenced by other characters in the story. Even though there are many similarities, there are some differences, too. For instance,

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