I think that the ghost who affected him most and changed his feelings about Christmas was the ghost of Christmas past. The way in which the ghost went about doing this was by showing Scrooge his childhood and the things he went through like having to stay at school during Christmas while all his friends were with their families.
I will now write about Scrooge’s attitude to charity and the way in which he changed. Like I explained above Ebeneezer Scrooge is a very selfish person is stave one and has got no feelings for poor people. The way in which we encounter this is when two charity workers turn up to Scrooges office to ask for help for the poor.
One of the charity workers asked, “What shall I put for you?” and Scrooge’s reply is “Nothing”. Scrooge believes that prisons and workhouses are enough, and he sends them away. This shows the readers that Scrooge is a person who only cares about him self and nobody else.
In stave five we can see Scrooge to be a totally different person as his character and personality has changed a great deal. There are many sentences which we can see this from like “Scrooge whispered in his ear” here we can see Scrooge talking to one of the charity workers as he is donating money. Although we can not hear want he is saying we can understand that he has donating a big amount of money as the other charity worker says “Lord bless me”.
I will now be discussing Scrooge’s attitude towards families and write about how he changed in stave five.
In the beginning of stave one Scrooge’s nephew enters the shop to great Scrooge and to invite him to a Christmas dinner “Dine with us tomorrow”. Although to the nephews good will Scrooge is very rude and impolite as he tells him he can not come and tells him to leave by saying “Good afternoon”.
In stave five he has changed a great deal as he goes to his nephew’s house and asks if he could dine with them “Will you let me in Fred”. This makes the family very happy as now they have got anew member.
The ghost who probably influenced him the most was the ghost of Marley as he warns Scrooge that he is living the wrong way. He pays too much attention to his money and not enough attention to the people around him. Scrooge's interest should be in human beings, in helping them and loving them not in getting richer. Marley told Scrooge that he didn't learn until he became a ghost that charity and kindness were the important aspects of living, but by then it was too late. Scrooge also got affected when he looked out of the window to see the other ghosts travelling around in the night and stressing over their incapability to help the humans they see. The ghost tells Scrooge that they are the ghosts of people who did not help others in their lifetime, and now, when they want to help people, they are unable to do so.
I will now write about Scrooge’s attitude towards people in general and contrast it to stave five. I will also explain which ghost caused him to change.
In the first stave we find out that Scrooge refuses to help the poor and stranger as he does not help charity workers which ask for help “I can’t afford to make idle people merry”. He doesn’t know much about the poor and his feeling toward them is very ignorant. The words which he use’s about these people are “If they would die’, said Scrooge, ‘they better do it, and decrease the surplus population”. The readers starts to understand what Scrooge is really like and dislike him for his thoughtlessness. Scrooge also frightens a Christmas caroller which tries to sing at Scrooge's door. Scrooge closes up the shop and tells Cratchit he expects him to work on Christmas day. Cratchit goes home,
In stave five Scrooges has become much more loving as he dresses in his best clothing and walks in the crowds with a smile. He gives a great deal of money to the portly gentleman who had asked him for a charitable donation yesterday. Scrooge continues to walk through the city and happily talks with everyone he meets. He visits Fred's house and has a wonderful time at the party. The next morning, Scrooge gets to work early. When Cratchit comes in late, Scrooge pretends to tell him off, and then gives him a raise.
The ghost who changed Scrooge here was the Ghost of Christmas Present as he showed Scrooge how his greed kept Bob Cratchit and his family poor. Scrooge can afford to pay Bob well, but instead he offers a low salary that keeps Bob and his family hardly fed and clothed. Even though to Scrooge’s ignorance, Bob Cratchit drinks a Christmas toast to his employer's health. Scrooge’s also sees his nephew, his only living relative a poor man, and although Scrooge could help his nephew out financially, he doesn't because he is too tight fisted. Even though, Fred wishes his uncle no ill will. In fact, he pities the old miser because he is alone and unloved.
So overall I believe that the Christmas ghost of past changed him the most as he saw his past and decided to change. After the last ghost Scrooge became kind and became a second father to Tiny Tim. Scrooge also gets affected by other things like Fred being a model of joy, while Fezziwig adds to him of being a great friend and generous employer. Tiny Tim's courage and unselfishness help him to change as he sees the loving nature of the whole Cratchit family. Scrooge learns the lessons of the Christmas spirit through his visions of Christmases past, present, and future; in each he sees either the bad effects of his mean life or the good news that others bring about through their love and kindness. He never sees the ghosts again, but he keeps the spirit of Christmas alive in his heart.
