"Christmas Carol" is a Novel written by Dickens in 1843 with the theme of Christmas and stimulating the reader's passion for life.
The story is based on Christmas, but it is not only about Christmas, but also about the universal philosophy of the meaning of the whole life. Because of this, this work has also been adapted into films and animations many times. The image in this article below is from an animated film released in 2009 and produced by Disney through live-action motion capture.
Sluridge is a miser. In his eyes, relatives and friends are less important than money. When the only partner was buried, because he felt that the funeral fee was more than two copper plates, he could even cut out the two coins covering the eyes of the body from the coffin.
He also never celebrates Christmas, because to him all the things that can't make money are meaningless— Christmas is the typical embodiment of uselessness.
But on Christmas Eve of a certain year, the soul of his partner came back and warned him that the pursuit of wealth all his life would be bound by a heavy shackle after death. Skrutsch was half-convinced, but as the three elves appeared, presenting his past, present, and future one by one, he gradually repented and embarked on a completely different path in life.
Sluridge's experience was a great inspiration for everyone. How did he get on the path of miserliness, and how did he turn back? Below I will sort out his life values in the order of the past, present and future.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the spirit of the past: fear of poverty, making money becomes the only criterion for happiness</h1>
Sluridge wasn't like that in the past. He also had an innocent teenage year, he longed for Christmas, and wanted to live happily with his family.
Unfortunately, his young self suffered from lack of food and clothing, and his father did not love him, believing that his suffering was caused by poverty.
The young Slurich also made vows of love with the girl he loved
As his personality became more and more distorted by this obsession, and finally even his fiancée could not bear it, bluntly saying that in Slurich's heart, money had long been more important than her, and the two painfully went apart. This further led to Sluridge's personality slid further into the abyss of paranoia.
It can be seen that at this time, Sluridge's ultimate values are actually oriented to the pursuit of happiness in life, but in this case, he mistakenly chose the middle alternative values:
Lack of money led to an unhappy childhood. So I want to make money so that I can have a happy life.
In the eyes of young Slurich, since I wanted to live happily, it meant that I was desperate to make money. He mistakenly equated alternative values with the ultimate value of living happily, confusing himself and laying the groundwork for future tragedies.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the spirit of the present: ignore the people around you, and the "useless" things are not paid attention to at all</h1>
Sluridge was not at all good for his staff and nephew, and he withheld the staff's salary and refused his nephew's Christmas invitation.
With the help of the Spirit of the Present, he saw the staff's home surrounded by walls, with sick children struggling to survive, but even so, they greeted Christmas with great anticipation, and even raised a toast to his boss, who was a subordinate, at the call of the staff.
He saw his relatives gathered together for a Christmas dinner. They laughed at Slurich's daily miserliness, but the nephew, who had been rejected by himself, finally stepped forward, saying that he understood that he was just a poor old man, and then offered to give him the first glass of wine.
Now that the Spirit sees his sick child dying of a lack of money for treatment, Sluridge is saddened by his past deductions
Sluridge's heart was melted by the warmth of these unanticipated.
Since breaking up with his fiancée, the value of making money to be happy has been deeply internalized in his heart.
But now, these people who he has withheld financially and have always been stingy in giving emotionally can generously convey to him the emotional support he needs regardless of money gains and losses, allowing him to experience the happiness he has longed for for a long time.
Sluridge's nephews and nieces complained that their uncle was too impersonal, but they still raised a toast to him
Sadly, Sluridge found that he had already applied the wrong values to everything around him, that is, "people and things that can't bring me monetary value can't make me happy, and there is no need to spend time to pay attention."
That's why he's missed out on the sources of happiness around him. He has always mistakenly believed that "making money" is the only way to achieve the ultimate value of happiness, but he has not found that what he really wants is to make up for the regret of not being able to spend more time with his family as a child.
Compared with "making money", "loving people, also being loved" is a more worthy alternative value to pursue.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the spirit of the future: the ability to attain happiness with death as a test is a failure</h1>
The Spirit of the Future was a terrible man, and in his presence Slurich saw what he had seen after his death:
No one was saddened by his death, but on the contrary, people laughed and divided up his possessions, but did not want to take care of his lonely body. At the same time, the clerk's young son died, and sadness hung over everyone's face.
Slurich realized that the rich self was not as valuable to others as it was to be alive or even after death.
Sluridge confessed in front of his tombstone
All the wealth he had worked so hard to accumulate for himself, since he was not willing to share it with others while he was alive, could only be divided up after death, which is why others hated him deeply, and even wished that he would die early.
The youngest son of the clerk, although he has no money and is still seriously ill, he once existed in the world with such a vivid life, cared for the people around him, and made others feel happy, so after he left, people felt pain.
It was through all this that Slurich understood that making money is not synonymous with a happy life, and that it can only help a happy life a little when money is used for the well-being of mankind. And what can really make your life happy is to treat others with your heart, and also to experience the care of others for yourself.
Waking up on Christmas morning, Sluridge seems to have been reborn. He is now happy to share, care for family and friends, always take care of those in need, and everyone says that he is now the best one to spend Christmas.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
Sluridge was fortunate to have the opportunity to establish his life from God's perspective, to discover the mistakes of the values on which he was based, and to adjust quickly.
In our daily lives, it is difficult to have such opportunities, but we often see people who suffer because they are also trapped in wrong values.
Is what we've been after really what we want? Are the values we think are right really the ultimate values? After watching this movie, this question is worth thinking about.
May everyone reap what is truly worth pursuing.