Introduction
The heavenly Christmas Tree is a book by Fyodor Dostoyevski which highlights the story of a poor boy just after his mothers death. The pain of having to overcome the death of her mother on Christmas Eve as well as obtaining his necessities makes his day both hard and unbearable. To add pain to all this, nobody seems to care about him as he is encountered with negative reactions at all places he visits. The thought of how different the situation would have been if his mother were alive brings him fantasies, which are only fulfilled in his death. There is a realization that there are many needy people outside, many of whom we ignore and by-pass without caring to know about their needs. This is a display of the attitude of society towards the poor and the needy in the society
Themes
Several themes have come out clearly in the story, which includes death, suffering and discrimination. The author has used the life of the boy to display the true character of society and their attitude towards the poor and the needy. Nobody, even the police who are endowed with the responsibility of serving the nation, wants to be associated with suffering. On realizing that the boy is in need, he chose to ignore him and not even look at him a second time. He seems to look at the boy as a burden rather than a helpless child who needs to be loved (Dostoyevsky, 20). Suffering has also been displayed with the hopes of the boy obtaining help are jeopardized. Everyone around him is cruel towards him and shows no empathy at the fact that he does not have the ability to support himself.
Discrimination is another prominent theme that has come out clear in the novel. The author has shown a clear gap that exists between the rich and the poor. The poor deserve nothing better than death; they cannot enjoy life in this world unless they die. The kind of treatment that the boy is shown when he visits the stores and people’s homestead reveals that he is not welcome. The poor people may hop around their entire life looking for acceptance and assistance yet the results are unending frustrations. The society mostly views the poor as lazy people without necessarily caring to know how they got into their situation. The boy dies of hopelessness, as he finds nobody to talk to and even empathize with his situation.
Death is a theme that has also been displayed in the novel as a sign of relief and hope to the poor. Death marks the end of suffering and ushers the boy into a life that he only fantasized about when he was alive. The death of the boy’s mother meant death to the boy; this is mainly because the world could not provide the boy with the love and the attention that his mother extends towards him. After a day of struggling to find some love and hope, the boy realizes that there is no room for him in this world (Dostoyevsky, 13). Death is a consolation to many other poor people who become more united in the other world as their needs are met without much struggle.
The efforts of the author to impart sense into the society and encouraging them to change their attitudes towards the poor, he has used a lot of fiction, which is evident from the literature. For instance, the author only makes us realize that the boy enjoyed life after death, yet failed to mention about how the boy dies. One can almost think that the boy found hope in this life only to realize that he was only happy after death. Life after death remains to be a myth to many as nobody knows what happens until when they die. On one hand, the author tries to imply that the poor will completely have no hope and at the same time, they have to live in the consolation that life will be better after they die. The fiction of the Christmas tree and the fact that it is meant to help the poor when they are alive rather than when they die has been mentioned. It is ironical that the boy only gets to realize the benefit of a Christmas tree he has been dreaming and thinking about after he died.
Conclusion
The heavenly Christmas is a symbol of a fantasy hope that the poor have after death. It reveals the bitter part of the society that is always taken for granted. it takes the reader through the other side of the poor which is just beyond them engaging in crime and begging for alms. This is an implication that life does not favor a poor person, only death does. This serves as a wake up call to the society to have a deeper sense towards the poor and not just brush them off as they do. If they understand just a simple need they so desired, they would play a role of helping them face another day with hope and courage.
Works cited
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Heavenly Christmas Tree. London: Creative Education, 1992.
