I will be comparing the story to the animated 2022 film adaptation a lot, as this book is opening my eyes to see the secret messages hidden within the scenes. I've read this book 3 times so far, and each time it sends a chill down my spine and I take something different from the story. This year, I took it upon myself to compare the story to my favourite adaptation, as I've been noticing connections more and more with each passing year. Firstly, I never understood untill now, that the bells in the film were actually connected to the ringing of bells in the first chapter. During the film scene (during the song, to be specific) as Jacob Marley's ghost is arriving, bells can be seen in the background ringing heavier as louder and the Spirit neared Scrooge and I never knew it had a connection to the bells in the book. Secondly, the chapter mentiones how Scrooge was able to see other spirits outside his window during Marley's visit - this particular scene is also in the film, when Scrooge is being confronted by Jacob, there are ghosts floating around them, which I thought were just other ghosts put into the film to make the appearance more dramatic. I didn't realise it was actually a representation of the people Scrooge had known, who met the same fate as Jacob.
Okay continuing with the review of the second chapter: I find this one one of the most confusing, simply because of the transitions from one past memory to the next - thanks to the film and other adaptations I understand what's going on, however, I just find the whole transition from one moment to another a bit rushed and confusing (considering this is a short story, I'll leave that part be). I am comparing this years read to the A Christmas Carol 2022 Netflix adaptation, and in accuracy, the film did quite a good job! The names are a bit different - I know that for sure, as I recall the sister being called Fran or something, while in the film her name was Jen (the name change is the one thing that bothers me the most, I must admit). I loved though, how we are shown the good moments and the bad of Scrooge's past. He is mentioned to be crying half the time during the 1st ghost's visit, which I believe is a sign that Scrooge wasn't a truly evil man, just a man with a hard and troubled life, which had a particularly difficult toll on him.
This also reminds me of a kdrama I watched few months ago named " judge from hell" . In that , the demon (protagonist ) targets people and sends them to hell . But but but the interesting part I noticed was that , her targets were always those people who were unforgivable by other humans . E.g when she attacks a serial killer , she asks him that has he asked for forgiveness from the family of victim ? .he says no, I asked forgiveness from God and I think will forgive me , I don't need to beg for family's mercy . This shows how he was denying the impact of his actions on other humans life and how it effected them . So she send him to hell saying that it's more necessary to ask for forgiveness of people , because God values their opinion more.