A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a classic story that gives its readers the message that it is never too late to change and turn your life around. Scrooge got a second chance to live a better life and become a better man thanks to his old business partner Jacob Marley and the three ghosts of Christmas.
One of the major themes of this story is redemption. Scrooge had become a bitter and cold man who showed no love or care for anyone even during a happy time such as Christmas. As the spirits visited him, Scrooge realized the importance of making amends towards the people around him and for his own good. By looking at his past, present and future, Scrooge saw that he was ruining his own happiness and not doing anything to make anyone else happy. In the end, he was was able to find redemption by finding happiness in other people's happiness which included his nephew, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit and whoever else he could help.
Marley gave Scrooge a chance at redemption so that he would not face the same punishment Marley had been facing since he died. On page 24, Marley told Scrooge "and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world-oh, woe is me!-and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness." The punishment he faces is that he cannot help anyone even though he wants to because he never helped anyone when he was alive. He carries around chains that symbolize his burden of things he never did but should have done as a human being.
Marley knew that there was no redemption to be found once death came. Redemption could only be found in life. Marley told Scrooge on page 26 "Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!'." No matter how much regret Marley felt about not being a better human being, he could not change it because he was dead. Scrooge still had the opportunity to change and he did change into a more giving and caring man.