What is the significance of the Laocoon reference in A Christmas Carol?

Answer 1

Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning and is frantic to change his future. In his hurrying he entangles himself in his stockings, making the allusion to the statue of Laocoon, which depicts the Trojan as being entangled by serpents. This is an extremely sophisticated allusion which brings up an excellent image, and is typical of Dickens, a master writer

Answer 2

In "A Christmas Carol," the Laocoon reference is significant because it parallels the suffering of Jacob Marley's ghost with the mythological figure Laocoon, who was a priest of Troy doomed to be strangled by sea serpents as punishment for warning his people about the Trojan Horse. This reference emphasizes the theme of punishment for wrongdoings and the consequences of one's actions in the afterlife.