Essay Comparing A Christmas Carol And Dante's Inferno

Throughout A Christmas Carol and The Divine Comedy, the similarities consist of Christian holidays, the use of threes, and the repercussions of greed. Along with the similarities, there are also several differences such as the point of view of each story, where the characters travel, and the ghost that come to Scrooge and Dante.

Throughout the two novels, A Christmas Carol and Dante’s Inferno, they use many similarities including the story occurring on Christian holidays, the many uses of threes, and the consequences of using money the wrong way. Both works are framed by key Christian holidays. The Divine Comedy starts on Good Friday and ends on Easter Sunday, while A Christmas Carol commences on Christmas Eve and culminates on Christmas Day. This brings the role of God into both stories and helps the reader to imagine what

the setting would be like this time of year, with Christmas and Easter being popular holidays.

The Divine Comedy has three parts itself, the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise, while A Christmas Carol, in the same way, exhibits a three-part structure marked by the visitations of three ghosts who represent the past, present, and future. Dante encounters three animals at the beginning of his journey, a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf. The leopard symbolizes fraudulence, the lion symbolizes pride, and the she-wolf symbolizes avarice or greed. Along with Scrooge, Dante also has greed in his life which leads to his journey through Hell, as Scrooge journeyed to his past, present, and future. This journey allowed Scrooge to change by the end of the story and become a generous person before he gets sentenced to Circle Four. In Circle

Four, Dante has the avarice and prodigality, punished by the use of great weights as a weapon, pushing it with their chests which symbolize their selfish drive for fortune during their lifetime. If it were decided by Dante, Scrooge would have been sentenced to the Fourth Circle of Hell. Along with the similarities comes the differences.
The obvious differences in the two stories contain the point of view, where the characters travel, and the ghost that come to the main character’s aid. The Divine Comedy is poetically composed in first person, while A Christmas Carol is narrated in third-person. Therefore, in the Inferno, it is the particular sins of others rather than Dante's own that are strongly classified. First person allows the readers to know what Dante thinks and how he feels. In addition, Dante's tale is more theoretically complex; whereas Dickens more simply presents the tale of a man who cared only for monetary gain. Where the characters travel affects the plot drastically. Hell, nothing compared to Victorian England, enables the extreme difference in the plot. With Dante’s Inferno being set in Hell, the reader encounters more characters, creatures, and demons. In addition, the punishments and levels give the story a darker feel compared to Victorian England around Christmas time. Scrooge traveling to his past, present, and future, gives the reader background on this character. Lastly, the ghost who aid the main characters differentiate. Beatrice, a childhood friend, sends Virgil to help Dante travel through Hell. Marley, on the other hand, was Scrooge’s coworker who had just recently passed. Scrooge ignores Marley, acting as if he is not real, until the first ghost arrives. Marley sends the Christmas ghost of the past, present, and future, to put Scrooge in his place before it is too late.
In conclusion, both stories share similarities along with differences. The Christian holidays, use of threes, and consequences of greed are seen in both The Divine Comedy and A Christmas Carol. The differences include the point of view, setting, and the ghost that come to Scrooge’s and Dante’s aid.