Please comment on the following question before class meets on DECEMBER 10TH:
Which characters from A CHRISTMAS CAROL and ROMEO AND JULIET are the most similar to one another?
In other words, pick ONE character from A CHRISTMAS CAROL and ONE character from ROMEO AND JULIET and discuss how remarkably similar they are to one another. Give specific evidence from the text of each work to make your point.
*Note: Your aim is to say something thought-provoking and interesting. Participation points will be lost for inadequate responses or if you fail to post your comment before the deadline. The participation grade will improve if your submission is very good. EXTRA CREDIT will be earned for an EXTRAordinary responses.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
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The Third Ghost or the Phantom in A Christmas Carol is, in a way, similar to the Friar Laurence of Romeo and Juliet. The Phantom knows of what can happen to Scrooge in the future and the Friar Laurence, in his position, knows what may happen as a result of Romeo and Juliet's actions. The Phantom takes Scrooge to the dirty city where he eventually realizes that the dead man in the bed, is indeed himself. Up to that point, Scrooge was very fearful of the spirit because of the ominous aura he gave off. Throughout the conversations and events that the Phantom shows Scrooge, Scrooge was given an uneasy feeling. The whole time, the Phantom knew of what bad effects Scrooge's actions could have on his life if he did not work to change his character. Friar Laurence similarly, expressed his uneasy feeling to Romeo and Juliet as he was marrying them. He agonized over what he was about to do and tried to impress upon the couple to consequences their actions could have. However, in both cases, fate intervened. Scrooge realized the error of his ways and became good and unfortunately, Romeo and Juliet died because they were meant to be star-crossed lovers from the very beginning of the play. The Phantom and Friar Laurence both served as warning signals to the major characters in the written works, but each had dramatically different outcomes.
Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and The Ghost of Christmas present from A Christmas Carol are, in a way, very similar. Primarily, The Ghost of Christmas Present and Juliet both open a new view of specific elements in the present day world to other characters. For example, Juliet changes Romeo’s perspective on love when he first sees her at her family’s party. Before Romeo and Juliet’s first encounter, Romeo is lost and treading on his last hope of finding love with Rosaline. Juliet dazzles him at the party and Romeo is mesmerized. After they meet, Romeo seems like a whole new man. He falls completely in love with Juliet and gains an even stronger viewpoint of love. Romeo believes he has never loved like this before and he sees optimism in this new love and no longer dreads the idea. His encounter with Juliet completely transforms him. Similarly, The Ghost of Christmas Present changes Scrooge’s view of the Cratchits. Prior to Scrooge’s journey with The Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge has very little sympathy for his clerk and could especially care less about his family. Scrooge was even bitter about giving Mr. Cratchit a day off from work for Christmas. The Ghost of Christmas Present begins to alter Scrooge’s outlook of the Cratchits when he takes Scrooge to their house. The Cratchits make the best of the little they have and Scrooge sees their good spirit. Inspired by their gracious character, Scrooge begins to respect and hold compassion for the Cratchits. He even strongly wishes goodness and life upon Bob’s crippled son when previously, he would not have any concern or care of what happens to Tiny Tim. The Ghost of Christmas Present’s journey with Scrooge helps Scrooge alter his opinion of the people and world around him. Juliet and The Ghost of Christmas Present both change people in the world around them for the better.
The Capulet and the Montague family at the end of Romeo and Juliet are similar to Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol. Jacob Marley was a man who,like Ebenezer Scrooge, was very cheap with his money and offered to the less fortunate. He was not a charitable man. Marley's life was full of greed, and now he has to pay the price for it. The Capulets and the Montague families' constant fighting between each other caused many problems for both sides. Both families lost a member in brawls between each other. They also ended up losing Romeo and Juliet who died for love. Marley has a penance and must wear heavy, chains around his body for the rest of eternity because of his wrongdoings. Although the Capulets and the Montagues do not have a penance, they still have to live their lives regretting their actions which caused so many deaths. The Capulet, the Montagues, and Jacob Marley all regret many things in their past. It took horrible consequences for everyone to see how terrible their actions towards other people were. They all had to learn their lesson the hard way and now must suffer the consequences that they caused by their doings. In the end, Marley, the Montagues, and the Capulets finally realize the way they all were living should not pursue on after the results given to them.
Romeo, from Romeo and Juliet, and The Third Ghost, from A Christmas Carol, are similar. Both of these characters were very driven. Romeo was not going to let anything stop him from loving Juliet. It did not matter to him that they were of different households or that Romeo was living in a different city. Romeo was going to do anything possible to love Juliet. The Third Ghost, like Romeo, was determined but for a different reason. The Third Ghost had to let Scrooge know that if he continued acting the way he was bad things were going to happen. The Ghost would not talk to Scrooge, and would not let Scrooge talk him out of anything. He simply showed Scrooge what he needed to see and made sure Scrooge watched. Also, both characters changed peoples’ minds. When both Romeo died with Juliet, the Capulet and Montague families decided that it was time for them to make up. The families were really impacted by this death. The families then change from being mortal enemies, to neighbors . After showing Scrooge around, the Third Ghost helps change Scrooge’s mind. The ghost shows Scrooge what people will think of him when he dies and what his reputation will be. Scrooge changes because he does not want what the Ghost showed him for his future. Due to The Third Ghost, Scrooge goes from being a very nasty to many to a joyful man. Both The Third Ghost and Romeo are similar.
Tiny Tim in a Christmas carol is in some ways like the Prince from Romeo and Juliet. Even though there are many things that make the different such as their age, place in society, and power, they have a lot in common when it comes to the way they impact people. The Prince becomes very angry after he sees all of the people in his town fighting over the feud between Capulet and Montague and sets consequences to fighting. The Price does not want innocent people to be involved in the fight and innocent lives to be taken so he does all he can to stop it. In A Christmas Carol Tiny Tim's actions are very similar when he was returning home with his father he says that he hopes people see him crippled so they will feel better about themselves and live happier lives. Even though the Prince makes Peace through force and Tiny Tim makes peace through his troubling condition, both of them are looking to make peace for the good of the people that surround them. Another thing that Tiny Tim and the Prince have in common is their ability to bring people together. The Prince brings Capulet and Montague together by commenting on their involvement on the deaths of their children. Tiny Tim also brings together two rather distant people. Scrooge is touched with the goodness and kindness of Tiny Tim's heart. He is also astounded by the way that Tiny Tim loves his life despite being a cripple. After seeing the terrible things that Bob Crachit must endure like seeing his kind and loving child suffering brings Scrooge closer to the clerk he so often mistreated. Tiny Tim and the Prince are also highly respected by the people that surround them even if it is for different reasons.
Liz K
Although Ebenezer Scrooge, is extremely different from Juliet by way of personality and demeanor, both characters share a common thread. These two characters change and develop throughout the course of their stories. Both learn of love.
Juliet, from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," is very naive and innocent at the beginning of the play. She enjoys her childhood and does not at all think about marriage and love. When her mother attempts to present the idea of marriage, Juliet is confused, but when she falls in love with Romeo, she grows up fast. Juliet remains soley and whole-heartedly faithful to Romeo, never failing her promise. In the beginning of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold-hearted, greedy, and miserable man. Though he is wealthy, he refuses to share his wealth with anyone, particularly the poor. The ghost of his previous partner, Jacob Marley, and three other spirits come and visit Scrooge. As each Spirit visits, Scrooge becomes increasingly aware of his greed and its awful effects. The spirits teach him the most important lesson one could ever learn- generosity and love of others. He lives out his lesson learned and becomes a happier and highly likeable person.
Both characters develop and learn how to love. Juliet learns love in a marriage sense. Scrooge learns a genuine love of others. Also, both characters recieve praise from others near the end of their stories. Lord Montague promises Lord Capulet that he will "ray[Juliet] a statue in pure gold ... there shall no figure at such rate be set as that of true and faithful Juliet," (Shakespeare 5.3.310&312-313). Likewise, Scrooge was honored with the reputation of "[knowing] how to keep Christmas well," (Dickens 68)
The Ghost of Christmas future (the phantom) to me is similar to Friar Laurence of Romeo and Juliet. The phantom shows Scrooge everything that would happen and knows how everything will end up and still shows Scrooge. Friar Laurence tried to stop or slow down the feeling Romeo and Juliet had for each other but he wasn't able to. Instead he let them go ahead with there plan knowing every consequence that could happen. In romeo and Juliet the outcome was already decided that they would die in the end when all was said and done. In The Christmas Carol Scrooge's fate wasn't decided and he could change it himself.
Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol is somewhat like Paris from Romeo and Juliet because of their innocence in the story and their struggles in the world. Tiny Tim is innocent in A Christmas Carol because he is a child and does nothing to make him seem hateful, adulterous, covetous, or anything that leads people out of innocence. Paris is somewhat innocent because in Romeo and Juliet he does nothing against either family. He only tries to do the right thing and unfortunately gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tiny Tim struggles because he is crippled and the combination of that and his size make mobility very hard. Paris struggles because he struggles with fate which is a lost battle to begin with.
think Capulet from Romeo and Juliet and Scrooge from A Christmas Carol are very similar. Scrooge and Capulet are charters that have a wide range of difference as well as their citation that make them different but they are alike in the way they operate. Both characters have similar way in which they run. They both feel that things should be done their way and it doesn’t matter what other have to say or think about it. Capulet a man very high in status doesn’t let his own daughter make her decision in who she marries and threatens to kick her out on the street and disown her if she doesn’t choose the way he wants. This shows that he has power and doesn’t care how his wife or any other person feels about him basically forcing his daughter to marry a man she doesn’t want to. The same with Scrooge and his belief that December 25 is a rip off and is a poor excuse for the clerk not to have work even though it is only once a year. Also Scrooge thinks that Merry Christmas is ridiculous. As well when the portly gentlemen come by, he doesn’t donate anything to the poor. He tells him that the foundation that he donates to are worse off and that it is expensive as it is to support himself as well as throwing money out there to support someone else. His belief and crazy logics about life and the way things are he makes clear that he doesn’t care if you agree or disagree with him. Another reason they are alike are that they are alike is that they both have event which happen to them in their life to change their reasoning. Capulet’s daughter Juliet commits suicide because of love. She wanted to be with Rome but her father was forcing her to marry someone else. By Juliet killing herself makes him berry the war between him and the Montague’s household. Something bad had to happen to make him realize that he was wrong. As well with Scrooge, 3 ghosts had to come and show him what he had been doing, what he was doing and what could happen if he didn’t change. Both character had life turning events that changed their life’s forever and for the better.
Tiny Tim in a Christmas Carol is similar to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Tiny Tim causes Scrooge to change his heart. Scrooge sees how badly off Tiny Tim is and is saddened when the Ghost tells him that he will not survive. To a man who usually did not care, Tiny Tim's condition caused him to change the way he thought drastically and feel some emotion. Similarly, Romeo causes Juliet to forget about the quarrel between each other’s families fall in love. Also, Romeo causes the families to change their hearts when they see the love he had for Juliet. Additionally, Tiny Tim wants to please everyone and for everyone to be happy and well, which he expresses when he says “God bless us every one.” Likewise, Romeo, at first, wants to keep peace with Tybalt during the last fight in the marketplace. He wants to please his new wife, Juliet, by not fighting Tybalt. He also wants to keep both the families and the prince happy by trying to stop the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio before they found out. Both Tiny Tim and Romeo impacted people’s emotions and tried to keep people happy.
Ebenezer Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol” and Capulet from "Romeo and Juliet" are both very similar. Both Scrooge and Capulet are both not very open minded. They are also both very stubborn. Capulet is stubborn in Romeo and Juliet, because he won’t stop fighting with the Montague family, and his stubbornness causes him to lose the life of his daughter, Juliet. Scrooge is stubborn in A Christmas Carol, because he thinks that only his was is right, and won’t go by anyone else’s ways. They both think that the way they do things is the best way, when really it isn’t. For example, in A Christmas Carol, Scrooge thinks that Christmas is a waste of time and money. He doesn’t understand that Christmas is a time of happiness and joy to spend with family and friends. Also, when the two men come by asking for donations to the poor, he can’t even spare a penny to the people that really need it. Capulet has the same ways as Scrooge. In Romeo and Juliet, Capulet makes all of the decisions on what the people in their family does and doesn’t let anyone make their own decisions. He thinks that Juliet should marry Paris and that he is who will be best for her. He doesn’t ever put Juliet’s feelings into consideration, and doesn’t recognize that Juliet has no feelings for Paris whatsoever. At the end of both of the stories, their lives change for the better. Scrooge went through a life changing experience for the best. He realized that he was taking everything he had for granted. He didn’t want his life to end so that no one cared about his death. He wanted to make things right with the people he cared about most, and try to change what would happen with his life. Also, after Juliet dies, Capulet lets go of all the bickering between his family and the Montague family. Even though it took the death of his daughter to finally made him realize that the whole fight was ridiculous, he let go of his anger with the Montague family and tried to make things right. Both Scrooge and Capulet go through some rough times, but in the end they change their lives for the better.
Scrooge in the Christmas Carol and Capulet in Romeo and Juliet are surprisingly similar. Capulet is a very prosperous king, and commands respect. In act 3 scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet where Juliet refuses to be married to the County Paris, Capulet screams at Juliet for her stubbornness. Capulet does not care how his daughter feels and her wishes. He is very selfish and cruel towards Juliet. Even though he truly loves his daughter, he seems to think that what is best for her is to wed with Paris, which is only best for her in his eyes. Just like Capulet, Scrooge only does what is best in his eyes. Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, is a very poor man, and needs a raise to help support his family. Scrooge will not give him a raise because he does not think he needs one and does not think of others. Similarly, Ebenezer Scrooge is a hard, cold miser who spends his days wishing the world would leave him alone. He is a very selfish man, and cold hearted. He does not believe in charity, and does not share his wealth with others. Furthermore, Capulet commands respect and propriety, and is easily enraged when bothered or when he's disregarded. Capulet is a very prosperous king, and is selfish because everything has to be his way. In the preparations for the masquerade ball, held for his royal household, Capulet needs to be assured that everything will go as planned, and all his preparations and requirements are met. If anything is not perfect, he yells at them for slacking on the job. At his party, he yells at Tybalt for trying to ruin his party by telling Capulet that a Montague, Romeo, is there. Capulet does not like it when anyone tries to get in the way of his faultless planning. Correspondingly, Scrooge has to have everything his way, and must be obeyed. He is a rude man, and yells at people on a daily basis. In both stories, Scrooge and Capulet both become better people at the end of the story. At the end of a Christmas Carol, Scrooge opens up his heart to people around him and learns charity, love, and saves himself from doom, because of what he has seen and learns. Scrooge is happy because he realizes the true meaning of Christmas and how there is no reason to hate such a wonderful time. Just like Scrooge, Capulet, because of Romeo and Juliet’s death, at the end he realizes that the feud between his family and his enemies, the Montagues, is silly, and that they should get along and be friends. In these ways, Scrooge and Capulet are surprisingly alike.
Marley’s Ghost from A Christmas Carol and Friar Lawrence from Romeo and Juliet are very alike and act in similar fashions. Both Marley’s Ghost and Friar Lawrence try to warn and help other characters in the book about what could happen in the future and how they could change their fate, or better their future. Marley’s Ghost comes to Scrooge when he is in most need because he cares about him. Marley’s Ghost informs Ebenezer Scrooge of the three ghosts that will come the next few nights. He tells him that he must go with them and change his fate or his future could be ruined forever. If Scrooge does not go with the ghost and listen to them to figure out what they are trying to say, he will lead a torturous life filled with sorrow and anguish just as Marley does and eternally will. Marley does not want Scrooge to end up like him, or worse than him, so he helps him out by warning him about his future and tries to convince him to change it. Similarly, Friar Lawrence tries to help Romeo and Juliet to be together. He truly cares for both of them and only wants the best for them. He is always there when they need him and he helps them through their sorrowful times, and tries to encourage them to go on living even when they are at their lowest points. During the play, they go through many struggles such as Romeo being banished, and Juliet being forced to marry Paris. Friar Lawrence comes up with an elaborate plan to help them to be together for the rest of their lives. Marley’s Ghost and Friar Lawrence share many traits and feelings towards the other characters in the books.
In A Christmas Carol, The Crachit's and Ebenezer Scrooge are like Capulet's and Montague's, from Romeo and Juliet.At first they do not agree but towards the end they are at peace . Bob Crachit works for Scrooge and is treated poorly and yet Scrooge is unaware of families health (Tiny Tim). They often fight but they respect each other in a sort of way, like the Capulet's and the Montague's. When Romeo came to the party at the Capulet's and they respected Romeo because he did not cause any trouble. In both of the tales there had to be death as a result in order to create peace among the town. Even though there was no death in A Christmas Carol (besides Jacob Marley) peace came about through the idea of the death of Tiny Tim. After relizing that Tim was going to die Scrooge became like a second father to Tiny Tim. And after the death of Romeo and Juliet the families became like cousins or relatives if you will. The two tales, like I mentioned before, both end in peace.
Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickenson's "A Christmas Carol" and Tybalt Capulet in William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" share two main commonalities. First, Scrooge is bitter and seemingly quick-tempered around the holidays, by snapping at people on the streets or charities asking for donations. Tybalt also comes across bitter towards the Montague family on all encounters and seems quick-tempered around Romeo in the streets and at his father's party. Second, they are both slighly misunderstoood. On one side, Scrooge is the way he is because he does not understand or get shown love, and is used to the way he is in his cold lifestyle before the spirits come. Similarly, Tybalt has grown up learning to hate the MOntague family; it is a fued that has been going on generations before him, so he does not know anything different. On the other side, Scrooge resisted his nephew, Fred's, attempt to come to dinner on Christmas with ihs family for he claimed that he did not celebrate the holiday season. In the same way, Tybalt resisted Romeo's attempt to break through the family barriers and love him, for they were now family due to the marriage of himself and Juliet. Both instances, Tybalt and Scrooge were shown love and seem ignorant about it. They are simply misunderstood, though, because neither of them have been taught to be different than they are, like an ill raised child cannot be expected to know manners when they were never raised to use them. In these main ways "Romeo and Juliet"'s Tybalt Capulet and "A Chriistmas Carol"'s Ebenezer Scrooge can be tied together as similar characters.
Friar Lawrence from "Romeo and Juliet" and Marley's Ghost from "A Christmas Carol" are very similar to each other. They both do whatever they can to help people they care about. In Romeo and Juliet Friar Lawrence always has an idea or a plan to help Romeo and Juliet in any situation they are in. One example is when Juliet is being forced to marry Paris and she comes to the Friar Lawrence begging for his help. Although Friar Lawrence knows that the poison could be dangerous and it is very extreme, he give it to her because he knows she is in desperate need of help. In A Christmas Carol, Marley's Ghost comes to tell Scrooge about the three ghosts that will be coming and that he must learn what he is doing wrong in his life from them. He warns Scrooge about his future and tells him that he must change his ways. It shows that he genuinely cares about Scrooge because he doesn't want Scrooge to end up like him and be tortured forever by watching other peoples happiness. Friar Lawrence and Marley's Ghost both do things to help people that they care about.
Ebenezer Scrooge from “A Christmas Carol” is very similar to Lord Capulet from “Romeo and Juliet”. In the beginning of the story, Scrooge is completely absorbed with money and making a profit. He is very concerned about having a high rank in society because of his financial status. Likewise, in “Romeo and Juliet,” Capulet throws a party at his home, hoping to impress his guests. That evening, he devotes his time to doing whatever is necessary for his guests to have fun, even if this means offending others. For example, as his male guests arrive, he tells them that women who do not have corns will dance with them because he wants the women to be embarrassed into dancing so his party will be fun. Likewise, Scrooge is so concerned with money that he pays no attention to helping others. In fact, he refuses to donate to the poor because he is so greedy. Both characters put their personal desires before respecting and helping others.
Scrooge and Capulet are also similar because they seem to be unmoved by a person’s death. When Capulet’s own daughter, Juliet, appears to be dead, his reaction is unusual. Rather than mourning her sudden death, Capulet calmly and poetically describes the way death has fallen upon Juliet. Similarly, when Scrooge is told that many people will die of starvation, he is not concerned. He simply says that their deaths will decrease the surplus population.
Finally, the two characters are alike because they do not reform their lives until they have gone through a dramatic experience. Throughout most of “Romeo and Juliet,” Capulet hates Montague and his family. He does not even consider ending the long rivalry with the Montagues until he discovers that his own daughter died for her love for Romeo Montague. In “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge lives his entire life without being joyful or showing any love for others. An experience with three ghosts is required to change his ways. Like Montague, Scrooge is completely blind to the fact that there is a better way to live.
Scrooge in A Christmas Carol is somewhat similar to Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juleit. Both of the men care too much about themselves and not enough about otheer people in their lifes. Lord Capulet cares too much about what people think of him. Lord Capulet is so consumed about his party he does not care that Romeo a Montague is at the party and won't let Tybalt kick him out or attack him. He does not even take it in to consideration the emotional pain that he is casing Tybalt by not letting him attack his enemey, who his uncle taught him to hate. Scrooge care only about himself and his money. Scrooge is so cheap that even in the freezing winter he will not even provide enough money to have enough coal to keep his clerk Bob Cratchit warm. He does not care he is cold ony that he is fine and saving money. Greed is a big part of both of their lifes, sadly. Scrooge neglects the people around because he is consumed in his money. Lord Capulet cares about his image he does not see that his daughter is in love. The mens greed eventually leads to their downfall, because they neglect eyerone around them not notcing that people are the most important thing in life.
In A Christmas Carol and Romeo and Juliet the characters that stand out as similar are Scrooge and Lord Capulet. In A Christmas Carol scrooge is mean, blunt stingy, and hateful to those around him. He did not care for anyone or anything except himself and never considered anyone’s feelings. Capulet was mean and insecure and hateful to anyone that bared the Montague name. He was selfish and inconsistently hateful towards his wife and daughter. In Romeo and Juliet, Capulet has such a hatred for Montague’s and everything they represent just as Scrooge has hatred for people who are rich in spirit and celebrate the joys of Christmas, like the Crachits. Both Scrooge and Capulet share a hatred for people and what they represent. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge was selfish and stingy towards his workers and especially his clerk. He would not give him a day off or a decent salary because he was too focused on money and himself. In Romeo and Juliet, Capulet was selfish and never thought of his daughters thoughts when he forced her to marry Paris. He even went as far as to threaten to throw her out on the streets if he did not do what was best for the family and give him a proper heir. Last, Scrooge and Capulet both changed their hatred and point of views at the end of the stories. Scrooge fell in love with Christmas and generosity and was kind and gentle to everyone. He no longer hated Christmas and the joyous seasons. Capulet changed his hatred to Montague into love. At the death of his child, he went and reconciled with Montague and ended the deathly feud. In the end, Capulet from Romeo and Juliet and Scrooge from A Christmas Carol are the characters that are the most similar.
I believe that Romeo and Jacob Marley are the most similar. The reason I think this is because the two characters both did things without thinking the consequences. When they did these things, they experienced the negative consequences. When Romeo kills Tybalt, he doesn't realize what he has done until after he murders Tybalt. He had been consumed in the thoughts of what he wanted, rather than thinking of the consequences that could occur. Once Romeo killed Tybalt, he realized what he had done, and he began to experience woe, especially after he found out he was banished from Verona. The way Romeo would live after that would be forever changed. He would lead a miserable life since he could not be with his family, friends, and his love, Juliet. Likewise, when Jacob Marley was living, he did not realize what the consequences of being consumed in thoughts of business would be. He spent his entire life thinking about business, and he didn't have much concern for other people, such as the poor; however, after Jacob died, he began experiencing the consequences of his life actions. He began to live a miserable life, because he carried a chain of all the things he focused on when he was alive. He also wishes that he could help humans now, since he is not able to anymore. While he lives, he only thinks of what he wants at the time, rather than thinking everything through.
Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol is similar to the Prince in Romeo and Juliet. Marley warns Scrooge that the was he was living would lead to a painful afterlife. He tries to change the way Scrooge is living his life by warning him of the terrible things to come. Like Marley, the Prince warns the Capulets and the Montagues that their fued is ruining their families and their lives. As Romeo and Juliet lay dead, he tells Capulet and Montague basically that he told them something bad would happen. The horrible outcome of Romeo and Juliet was caused by their families' not heeding the prince's warning or obeying his laws. Similarily, if Scrooge would not have listened to MArley or heeded his warning, his life would end badly.
Emily M.
The Third Ghost also known as the Phantom in a Christmas Carol is similar to Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet Friar Laurence had a bad feeling about marrying Romeo and Juliet and knew that it was not going to end up good, the way Romeo and Juliet had wanted. He tried to talk them out of marrying each other because he knew that the outcome would not be good. He knew however, that there was no way of talking Romeo and Juliet out of marrying each other so he went ahead and married them. The Friar was correct about the feeling that he had. As a result of this marriage they both ended up dead. In the Christmas Carol the Phantom came to show Scrooge Christmas to come. The Phantom just like Friar Laurence knew what was going to happen to Scrooge in the future, if he did not change his ways about Christmas. It was the Phantoms job to get Scrooge to have a change of heart about Christmas. The Phantom knew that showing Scrooge the things that were going to happen to him would make him change his mind about Christmas. So in both works these two characters act as a guide line for the other character to lead them in a better direction.
The two characters I think that are very similar to each other are Lord Capulet, from Romeo and Juliet, and Jacob Marley, from A Christmas Carol. I believe they are very similar because they are both caught up in their social class or wealth, but they do not realize this until tragedy happens in their lives. In Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet is head of the Capulets and is well respected. He decides to hold a big party in the Great Hall for all of his important guests. He spends hours of preparation for this party. He wants everyone to see his wealth and have all his guests tell people about how much fun this party was. When Tybalt gets upset because a Montague is at the party, Lord Capulet tries to remain calm and keeps smiling so that no one will suspect something is wrong. He does not want anyone to ruin or bring down his party. Because if someone does, he thinks it will ruin his reputation for his high social class. Lord Capulet is very caught up in his social class and wealth that he could care nothing less but of have a party of perfection. He does not become aware of it until the death of his daughter, Juliet. He makes up with Lord Montague and forgives him. Jacob Marley is, in a way, very similar to Lord Capulet when he becomes caught up in his new found wealth. He had become a successful bank with his business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge. Marley dies of an illness on Christmas Eve. After his death, Marley’s spirit was condemned to walk to earth for all eternity. When he and his business partner became successful, he became caught up in his wealth and shut everyone out of his life. For his burden He is forced to drag a heavy chain which is because of his greed and selfishness. He does not come to realize how wrong he was about being caught up in his wealth until seven years after his death. Marley visits Scrooge who is following the same path he did years ago. He wants to save Scrooge from his fate so he has three spirits come to him to see his past, present, and future. This is Scrooge’s only chance if he does not want to end up like his friend, Jacob Marley.
From Romeo and Juliet, and A Christmas Carol,the two characters that i feel are most similar to each other is Tiny Tim and Paris. The reason i feel they are the same is that they both share a strong characteristic of innocence. Paris is innocent in Romeo and Juliet because all he ever did was love Juliet and cause no harm to their family but was still punished. He was punished by having he and his one true love both killed, and it was not his own fault. Tiny Tim is also very innocent. He is just a handicapped little boy who cannot even enjoy his childhood due to his disabilities. Tiny Tim is fighting for his life and it isn't his fault that he has this problem. Both of these characters have hardships they face that they don't deserve and are very innocent people.
The two characters I think are similar are the Prince from Romeo and Juliet and the Clerk from A Christmas Carol. In Romeo and Juliet, the Prince does nothing wrong and is not a bad guy. He just wants Juliet's love and is not harming anyone in the process of getting it. However, he keeps getting shut down and is not getting what his heart desires. The Prince gives his love for Juliet and in return gets nothing back even in the end. In A Christmas Carol, the Clerk just wants a bigger paycheck from Scrooge to help out his family. The Clerk works hard and obeys everything the Scrooge tells him to do, but in return receives nothing just like the Prince. Both characters give their all and receive nothing in return. Except at the end of a Christmas Carol, the Clerk receives a bigger paycheck from the Scrooge but is still treated poorly even after all of his hardwork.
Juliet Capulet from Romeo and Juliet is very similar to Bob Crachit in the Christmas Carol. Both characters are discriminated against, and are unable to fight against the discrimination because they do not have the economic standings to defend themselves with much affect. Juliet was discriminated against because she was a woman growing up in early Italy. She was seen as weak and not very smart compared to the strong intelligent men. She is viewed as inferior and is told what to do and how to do it by her father who legally owns her. When Paris wants to marry Juliet, her father originally tells Paris that it is up to Juliet if she wants to marry Paris or not. Later in the play, however, Capulet forsces Juliet to marry her, not caring about Juliets feelings and what she wants. Juliet was unable to defend herself against her father's force of marriage because legally he owned her and could make her do anything he wanted her to do. Bob was discriminated against because he was poor. Scrooge being Bob's boss meant that Bob had to be civil toward Scrooge and follow all of his rules and orders or else he will be fired and and will loose his only way of income. Without a job, Bob will not be able to feed his very large family, keep them warm, or keep them healthy. Scrooge treats Bob very horrible and takes adavantage of the fact that Bob really needs the money, making him work long hours for low pay. Both Juliet and Bob are in positions that they can't get out of because they are inferior to their father or boss.
Fred from A Christmas Carol is similar to Romeo from Romeo and Juliet in many ways. Both Fred and Romeo show great conviction throughout their stories. Fred is enthusiastic about the Christmas Holidays, even though it may not be the most cost-effective time of the year. So although his uncle rebukes him for participating in the joyous season, his spirits cannot be deterred. Similarly, when Romeo makes a decision, such as his love for Juliet, nothing can change the way he feels about her-their names, their families, his banishment, and even her death. Also, both Romeo and Fred love those who may never return their love. Romeo continues to love Mercutio, no matter how much Mercutio pokes fun at him, or how many arguments he gets into with Romeo, or even when Mercutio curses Romeo for letting Tybalt killing him. Likewise, Fred takes Scrooge's criticisms with grace and refuses to bash him at the Christmas party despite the pressure from his friends and wife. No matter how much they press how mean and despicable he is, Fred retains his image of his uncle as being alone in the world, and therefore will not speak badly of him. Finally, both Fred and Romeo are both compassionate. Fred is very kind and gentle to Bob Cratchit when Tiny Tim dies, sending his deepest condolences, though he never knew the child. Romeo also shows compassion to his servant, Balthasar, when he gives him money to live a prosperous, happy life. Throughout the story, Romeo and Fred's actions show the similarities in their personalities.
The two characters I found the most similar were Scrooge and Sir Capulet. Not necessarily for all of their actions, but for their personalities. Both men were continuously looking out for themselves. The men both were extremely rude when: Scrooge denied his clerk time off work around the holidays to be with his family. Scrooge was only interested in making more money. Sir Capulet was very rude when he was going to force Juliet to marry Paris, even though she did not love him. Capulet only wanted his family to look better. The most similar scenario was when they both had a massive change of heart at the end, and always wanted the best for others.
Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol is the most similar to Romeo from Romeo and Juliet. Both of the Characters affect other characters attitudes greatly and influence them. They want what is best for others and will change their attitude so they can see the best thing for themselves too. Romeo and Juliet know that it is seen as a bad thing to like or even love a Capulet, since he is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. So when Romeo loves Juliet, it has to be kept secret so the families will not find out. Romeo wants to be together with Juliet forever, and this is the best for both of them. Romeo explains to Juliet that what is keeping them apart is nothing but a name. The names of their families determine who they should talk to and be friends with and fall in love with. He makes Juliet realize that if the only thing that should keep them apart is their name, then that shouldn't separate them. Once she knows this is true, she will do anything to be with Romeo and Stay with him. In A Christmas Carol, Tiny Tim affects the town people and eventually affects Ebenezer Scrooge's attitude. Since Tiny Tim is a cripple, most things for him are more difficult for him, but he always manages to stay joyous and happy. He wants the people in his town, including Scrooge to see the good in everything and that we can always be kind and good spirited. So after Scrooge sees how Tiny Tim always has a positive attitude even in the worst of times, he decides to change his attitude on Christmas and his outlook on life. Before he was always cruel, greedy, unfaithful, and always grumpy and in a bad mood. But after seeing Tiny Tim he becomes joyous, kind, caring towards others, and thinks about others before himself.
I feel that both Tybalt from "Romeo and Juliet" and Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol" are very similar in a few ways. In one way I notice they both have a bad feeling about some families they are in contact with. Tybalt does not like the Montagues and Scrooge does not like the Cratchits. Also they both feel they hold all power of the people around them and no one can tell them what to do. Scrooge does not even give Bob Cratchit a chance when he asks to have Christmas day off of work so he can spend it with his family, he doesn’t want Bob enjoying the holiday with his family. When Tybalt sees Romeo at the party he doesn’t ignore the fact that he is there when he should and does anything he can to make Romeo leave, he doent want Romeo there enjoying himself. They are both men who are slefish and stuck-up who mainly think about themselves. Tybalt just expects Romeo to fight when he asks him to fight and because he wants to fight he expects Romeo to want to fight too. Scrooge just expects Bob to work when its christmas because he doesn’t like christmas and he is still going to work so Bob should have to.
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