Short Fiction · Chapter
An Unfinished Christmas Story explained
The narrator reflects on the nature of Christmas stories and introduces a tale set in a furnished room house on West 'Teenth Street.
What happens
The narrator reflects on the nature of Christmas stories and introduces a tale set in a furnished room house on West 'Teenth Street. He describes his encounter with the landlady, Mrs. Kannon, who leases three adjoining houses and answers all three doors. The story then focuses on Harry Stickney, a young man working in a camera store, who experiences Christmas as just another day due to his loneliness and limited means.
Themes in this chapter
Nostalgia and the Passage of Time
The narrator laments the decline of traditional Christmas stories and the loss of genuine holiday spirit.
Social Class and Wealth
The story contrasts the experiences of prosperous people and the very poor with those of the lonely, low-wage worker who cannot afford to celebrate Christmas.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator who knocks on the door looking for Paley and later recounts the Christmas story.
- Harry Stickney
A young man who works in a camera store and lives at 45 West 'Teenth Street; the central figure of the Christmas story.
Key passages
“Now, a Christmas story should be one.”
A Christmas story ought to be unmistakably about Christmas.
The narrator asserts that Christmas stories should embrace the holiday openly.
“The poorer you are the more Christmas does for you.”
The less money you have, the more Christmas provides for you.
Reflects the theme that charity and community support are most abundant for the destitute.
“It's the chap in the big city earning sixteen dollars a week, with no friends and few acquaintances, who finds himself with only fifty cents in his pocket on Christmas eve.”
It is the young man in the city making a low wage, without friends or connections, who ends up with almost no money on Christmas Eve.
Highlights the loneliness and financial struggle of the urban working class during the holidays.