I believe Scrooge is so harsh and cynical towards his nephew because he is may be jealous of him. Although Fred may be poorer Fred has found something much more valuable than mere money, true love, something which Scrooge may have let slip through his fingers sometime in the past.
This novel indicates Scrooges attitude towards the poor which is as usual harsh and right wing "Are there no prisons, and the union workhouses? Nothing, I wish to be left alone, I can't afford to make idle people merry." Scrooge believes the poor are lazy. I believe these are the words of a person who's only interested in themselves, a personality who's first to ask What's in it for me? I think Charles Dickens has added this element to Scrooge's character to emphasize the dangers of greed and the plight of the poor under classes that is created by the social system of the era.
As scrooge travels to his house Dickens describes his rooms in a negative tone of language to emphasize the cold and darkness. "The yard was so dark that even scrooge, who knew its every stone, was fain to grope with his hands" this tells me that it was so dark that he had to feel his way home like a blind man.
The description of Scrooges chambers are dark, gloomy, cold, lonely and empty. These are a pathetic fallacies of Scrooge's personality. His personality is described by Dickens as "solitary" and his rooms are described as lonely "Nobody, all as they should be." This is how Dickens uses negative language to create a depressing atmosphere.
Charles Dickens slowly introduces elements of the supernatural "There was nothing particularly unusual about the knocker" which meant that there was something unusual and moves onto "Not a knocker but Marley's face." Scrooge, shocked, hurries inside and starts to check his rooms. Then locks himself into his room. "He closed his door, and locked him self in, double locked himself in." Dickens uses this to show how scared Scrooge was. All the chambers are dark, gloomy and cheap, this is used to create an eerie atmosphere.
Dickens then brings the reader at ease and then starts using short dramatic sentences and slowly introduces elements of the supernatural "A disused bell, hung in the room, and communicated, inexplicable dread, that, as he looked, it began to swing" Dickens also uses this to keep the reader interested.
Jacob Marley was Scrooge's former business partner but died seven years earlier. He led a miserably greedy life just as Scrooge does now. "I bear the chain I forged in life." This chain is meant to represent his sins, and then he asks "Is its pattern strange to you?" Here Marley is trying to warn Scrooge that he will get just the same punishment, if not worse, if he keeps behaving the same as Marley prior to his death. Hence why Marley has come back to haunt him, to warn him of what pain and anguish he is going through, but what is worse is the punishments that await Scrooge if he does not change "Or would you know, the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself, it is a ponderous chain!" This is used by Dickens to make people think twice about their actions as Scrooge is being forced to here Marley is also preparing him for the shock of meeting the three Ghosts of Christmas.
Scrooge is clearly in turmoil after Marley's visit, even more so when Marley warns Scrooge that three spirits will haunt him. Hoping to frighten him into changing his ways and give him the opportunity of dodging the same punishment as himself.
I think in this novel Marley is not only warning Scrooge of his disregard for the poor, his stinginess and his lack of love towards other human beings but more importantly the rich "upper classes" of the Victorian society who were selfish, arrogant and worst of all ignorant to most of the hardships of life. In the real world. This message is constantly echoed throughout the whole novel.
Scrooge is next taken on a journey by the Ghost of Christmas past who shows him his past and how he has changed from the way he was. Here Scrooge is first taken back to his childhood when he was abandoned by his father at a boarding school. His father had lost the will to love him after the death of Scrooge's mother, he may have blamed Ebenezer for her death. Every Christmas Scrooge was left there all alone by his friends who returned to their homes whereas he did not "The school was not quite deserted, a solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still." This is the first sign that suggests why Scrooge has such hatred for Christmas and no need for human company as he is used to the solitarity. Scrooge begins to weep as he sees his former self alone "And he sobbed." This shows him as a humanbeing with real feelings, not just a cold-hearted reptile in a suite.
Then we meet his sister who is perhaps the only person who showed him true affection and proper unconditional love, "I have come to bring you home dear brother, brimful of glee, stood on tiptoe to embrace him." This emphasizes how much she loves her brother.
Scrooge shows that he is learning when he looks upon his former self with sadness then says. "There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night, i should like to have given him something."
Scrooge also loves his sister back with just as much, if not more, affection "Always a delicate creature, but she had a large heart, so she had, and he cried." Dickens uses this opportunity to explore Scrooge's character and adds a different side to his personality.
This is the first time where he displays the ability to love and be moved by something other than the gain of money, the ability to love another humanbeing. This is a complete contrast to the heartless creature he has become.
Scrooge is then taken to when he was a young man working for a larger than life character called Mr. Mr Fezziwig has just arranged a fantastically joyous Christmas party for all his workers. Here Scrooge sees the contrast between the harsh way he treats Bob Cratchitt and the kind way Mr. Fezziwig treated him while he was his employee. And begins to see the error of his ways.
Next on this worldwind tour, Scrooge is taken to when his fiancee leaves him. "A golden idol has replaced me." This means that she feels as though money has replaced her. This tells me that as he gets older, money becomes more and more dominant over his life without him even realising it. Scrooge is very moved by this because he wanted to go after her but was too stubborn to do so. He then sees her several years later, married with a family. He regrets this as a missed opportunity something that could have completely reformed his life. He could have had a family who he could love and be loved by forever.
I believe that perhaps this is may be the reason why he is resentful of his nephew "Why did you marry." Because Fred had the guts to choose true love and happiness over mere money and physical commodities.
Next The Ghost of Christmas present is the second ghost that comes to visit Scrooge. This ghost is described as having a 'genial face' with its 'dark brown curls were long and free, sparkling eyes' and was wearing 'a simple deep green robe, bordered with white fur' and wore a 'Holly wreath' on his head. First the ghost takes him to see the abundance in the rich people's shops at the fayre. 'Great, round potbellied baskets of of chest nuts', as if they were rich obese men 'Tumbling out into the streets in their apoplectic opulence'. Dickens describes different varieties of foods using similes and metaphors such as the latter to appeal to the readers senses by accentuating the plum luscious descriptions.
Here dickens is showing how much luxury the rich have in abundance. Charles Dickens then goes on to describe the vastly contrasting way the poor get their food. He describes them going to the baker's shop to have their food cooked because they can't even afford an oven let alone a chef to cook their food, unlike the obscenely rich 'Upper crust' of society. This is again a repetition by Dickens to show the plight and struggle the poor face everyday just to survive. This society is a harsh paradox where the rich have everything and the poor have nothing, yet strangely neither could ever survive without leaching off the other as the rich need the poor as cheap labour to get richer and the poor need the rich to provide a measly income just to survive.
Second, the ghost takes Scrooge to the Cratchitt family home where they are having their Christmas feast. Scrooge notices that Bob cratchitt has a crippled son called 'Tiny Tim'. As the dinner unfolds the family's modesty shines through similar to that of a rose that grew from concrete. Eventhough there is hardly any food, the humble and poor family are ever so grateful, so humble are they that they are embarrassed to utter any complaints infact they say that it was 'The best meal they ever had' this shows the mentality of the poor, they were grateful just to survive where as the the rich drown themselves in their obscenely opulent short-lived luxury which are merely trivial in contrast to the love, friendship, camaraderie and companionship the poor have. Which they have had to engrave with in the very fabric of every poor mans life just to survive the daily grind of life.
As events unfold we discover that Tiny Tim is very ill and likely to die the situation does not change for the better. This rattles Scrooge very much. As he cares for the little boy and does not want this boy to die 'No, no' and 'Oh no, kind spirit say he will be spared'. The spirit replies ' What then ? If he be likely to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.' Scrooge is taken a back by how cruel, harsh and cold hearted he was.
Next Scrooge is taken to his nephews abode to witness him, his wife and their friends playing Christmas games and having fun. Here Scrooge learns that his nephew is happy even though he is not wealthy. Scrooge relearns to have fun and enjoy himself the way he used to. Scrooges sensible nephew says 'His money of no use to him' from this Scrooge also learns that the money he has amassed is of no use to him as he does not spend it on himself to make his life easier nor does he spend it on anyone else. Dickens then has the ghost introduce two children Ignorance and Want the descriptions of them is disgusting they are 'Repulsive' Scrooge, with his new found empathy, asks 'Have they no refuge?' To which the ghost replies 'Are there no prisons, no work houses ?'
Here the brutal truth of life hits him in the face similar to the way a brick shatters a pane glass, as he hears his own icy words spoken back to him he awakes from his deep emotional coma.
These two children are personifications of the ignorance and greed bred by the grossly rich Victorian 'High society'. They are introduced by Dickens to serve as a warning to the ignorant and greedy people of this infamous society.
The final ghost that haunts Scrooge is the 'Ghost of Christmas yet to come'. Dickens describes the ghost as 'Slow, grave and silent' and 'shrouded in a deep black garment', that 'Concealed its head, face and form, left nothing visible' apart from an out stretched hand. This description by Charles Dickens is very gloomy and mysterious these are images of death and darkness as this ghost resembles the angel of death or 'The Grim Reaper. Scrooge reacts to this ghosts arrival by being humble and is filled with sadness, scared and filled with 'Solemn dread' maybe because he knows that as an old man the only future facing him is his eventual death, but he is still, never the less, anxious to see how people react.
The ghost then takes Scrooge through his own death. Scrooge sees two businessmen he knows talking about his death and funeral with no emotion what so ever, infact one them says 'I thought he would never die.' This shows how much people hated him even the ones he considered to be his colleagues and friends. He is getting clues that the dead person is maybe himself but chooses to ignore the signs.
Then he is taken to an alley where there are two women selling the deceased Scrooges belongings which they stole from his corpse. One of them says 'Why wasn't he natural in his lifetime? If he had been he would have had someone to look after him when he was struck by death' this old woman is saying that he deserved to die like he did alone with no one to help him. Scrooge then pleads to see some emotion in people from his death and is shown a couple who owed him money and are pleased that he is dead because now they have more time. This tells me that nobody, apart from Fred, had any affection for him.
Then he is transported to the cratchitt household to witness the grief left by the death of Tiny Tim. And finally is taken to a graveyard to see his name on a tombstone. His reaction to this is one of shock, horror and extreme sorrow. He shows that he has learnt his lesson and vows to change his ways 'I will honour Christmas in my heart'.
Then Scrooge wakes up in his own bed 'The bed post, the bed was his own' and is absolutely ecstatic. 'He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions'. Dickens uses positive language to portray the newly transformed Scrooge. Dickens repeats 'Laughed, happy, glorious and chuckled' he was as 'giddy' as a schoolboy all this illustrates happiness. This is a complete contrast to the way he was at the beginning. Dickens uses this to show how happy and relieved Scrooge is to be alive. This has a bewildering impact on the people around him 'Eh?' says the boy as Scrooge asks him the what day it is and then sends a turkey to Cratchitt's house. And then goes to his nephew's house for Christmas, he also becomes a second father to Tiny Tim.
I think Charles Dickens has been very successful in putting across the views about society particularly the divide between the rich and poor because in one hand the rich were drowning in the obscene wealth and what ever they desired in abundance while on the other hand the poor drowned in the poverty stricken squalour where survival was an everyday struggle. In this gritty tale Dickens made the people of his time think about their actions and to change their ways his works made a lot of people with in the elite circles think about their actions.
From the two stories I have seen some similarities such as the pathetic fallacies that exist between Mrs Rutter and Packers End then in 'A Christmas Carol' the pathetic fallacies between Scrooge and his gloomy house and surroundings. Another similarity is that both stories have a strong theme of morality, in 'The Darkness out there' the theme is of the fact that you shouldn't judge people on first impressions and appearance alone but on the content of a persons character. Whereas in 'A Christmas Carol' the moral of the story is of the dangers of ignorance and greed
Out of the two stories i prefer 'A Christmas Carol' because its social influence on society has spawned a whole nation. It's ideals are a bedrock of modern British society for example it is not considered British to show off your possessions or to brag about the amount of wealth you own whereas in the Victorian era if you were rich you flashed your money and enjoyed as much excess as you could. Infact the life of the rich was just a competion with the another rich person to see who was richer. I believe that without the inspiration of Charles Dickens great works, great socialist thinkers and writers such as George Orwell and many others would not have existed.
I think that without Dickens' socialist propaganda contained within his literature, the early socialist movement would not have taken off the ground as fast it did during the time Dickens' influencial works were published. Without this somewhat subconscious yet powerful propaganda I do not believe the Labour government of today, whose policies are supposedly based on the socialist ideals it inherited, would exist on such a powerful base that it currently enjoys.
