Dickens includes the visit of the portly gentlemen to show just how mean and selfish Scrooge is. Even though Scrooge is rich he won’t even give a penny to the poor. The portly gentlemen are there to collect money for the poor and homeless. One portly gentleman says people are suffering and are freezing in the cold. Scrooge asks whether prisons and Union workhouses are ‘still in operation?’ and slyly jokes ‘Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course’. Scrooge knows that this is a way out of giving money to the poor. The reader can’t help but get the impression that these are ready excuses. Finally one portly gentleman asked how much he should put him down for, and Scrooge simply says ‘nothing’. Scrooge’s reaction to these gentlemen after his transformation will contrast greatly.
Scrooge treats his clerk Bob Cratchit very badly. His working conditions are poor, ‘a dismal little cell’ with very little heat. Scrooge complains the clerk has no right to have every 25th December off and that it is really ‘picking a man’s pocket’. Yet Scrooge grudgingly allows the day off but says ‘be here all the earlier the next day’. Scrooge’s parting words is a growl with no Christmas wishes.
When Scrooge meets Marley as a ghost he sees a chain made of heavy ‘cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds and heavy purses wrought in steel’. Marley tells Scrooge that the chain he wears was forged in his life and that Scrooge is also busy making his own chain. The chain makes Marley miserable and seems to be a form of ‘incessant torture’ for his being mean to others throughout his life.
At this stage Scrooge cannot understand why Marley is tortured and says ‘you were always a good man of business’. Marley replies wringing his hands ‘mankind was my business’. Marley is making it clear that his life should have been concerned with people not money.
Marley’s visit is to warn Scrooge to change and to help him he will be visited by three ghosts.
Stave 2
The first ghost was the ‘Ghost of Christmas past’ who is described as ‘a child’, ‘a supernatural medium’ and an ‘angel’. There’s a lot of ‘white’, ‘bright’ and ‘light’ description about the spectre, which suggests a teaching light which can be related to Jesus who was described as a guiding light. Jesus was also a teacher who tried to persuade people to turn from their evil ways. The spectre is trying to teach Scrooge too. In John’s gospel is written ‘Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.’ (3:19, 20).
The spirit is there to show Scrooge his past and his future ‘welfare’ and ‘reclamation’. The spirit shows Scrooge different episodes in his past, some he would rather forget and others which show a very different Scrooge and Christmas’s he enjoyed. In the end these memories will make Scrooge feel upset and will leave him vulnerable to a change of heart. It seems that the spirit knows he won’t change Scrooge but simply prepares him for the next spirit.
Scrooge is shown being left alone at school at Christmas because his father and he didn’t get along. The reader realises this when Scrooge’s sister, Fan, says that he can come home now because their father is ‘much kinder than he used to be’. So obviously his father did not want him home at Christmas before. Now the reader can start to see why Scrooge is the way he is. This neglect could have a dramatic effect on a young boy’s development, such as Scrooge’s poor social skills, and his always being ‘alone’ could change him mentally and lead to his becoming the bad-tempered man that we first meet who says he prefers to be alone.
Scrooge, seeing his younger self, thinks about the young Christmas caroller he saw earlier that night and had turned away. Now he regrets doing it and wishes he had given him something. So now the reader can sense that Scrooge does have a conscience. He is not completely cold-hearted. He has started to change.
We get the impression that Fan is a lot like Fred; they are always jolly and greet Scrooge in a merry way. Therefore when Scrooge sees his sister he is reminded of his nephew Fred. Scrooge realises just how much he cared about Fan but treats Fred so badly, almost as if he would rather he wouldn’t bother him. Fan is described as a happy child and has a loveable character. She is happy to see her brother and is very merry.
In the past Scrooge worked for Fezziwig, just as Cratchit works for Scrooge. Whereas Bob and Scrooge say a few half-hearted words to each other and then go into a ‘distinguished silence’, Fezziwig brims over with good cheer and organises a massive party on Christmas Eve. Bob had to ask Scrooge for permission to have Christmas day off and Scrooge only agreed if Bob is there all the earlier the next day. It is difficult to believe that this is the same Scrooge. One Scrooge is happy, merry and respected, the other is moody, selfish and hated! Scrooge says Fezziwig ‘has the power to….. make our service light’ and give ‘happiness’. Scrooge as an employer is nothing like Fezziwig.
Belle left Scrooge because she realised that Scrooge loved money more than her, ‘What Idol has displaced you?’ ‘A golden one’. Belle believes that Scrooge has changed for the worse, ‘You are changed. When it was made you were another man’. She also points out that if he saw her now he would not choose a poor dowerless girl like herself but would marry a girl with a rich background.
Dickens includes the scene showing Belle with her husband to show Scrooge how happy he could have been if he had not been so obsessed with money. Also this shows the reader that Scrooge could have had a happy life, but he gave it all away for money.
Overall Scrooge learns from the Ghost of Christmas Past that his Christmases were not always spent alone, some were happily spent with others, but in not marrying Belle he denied himself a happy life.
Stave 3
The ghost of Christmas Present is described as a ‘jolly giant’, and ‘glorious to see’. Once again light is included ‘a glowing torch’ ‘sparkling eye’. Scrooge’s ‘new’ room is supposed to show Scrooge what his room could be like if he was merry and joyful.
Scrooge comments that he had learnt from the last ghost ‘I went forth last night on compulsion and I learnt a lesson.’ Scrooge thinks that he will be taught by this ghost too. ‘Tonight if you ought to teach me, let me profit by it’.
The ghost has two supernatural powers since it can fly and have the power to make people merry. The ghost makes people merry by using his torch. It ‘sheds a few drops of water on them’ and ‘good humour is restored directly’.
The Cratchits are poor but they make do with what they have. At the dinner table the amount of food is not nearly enough to feed them. The fact that the goose was so cheap indicates that it was small. The goose was ‘drowned out’ in apple sauce and mashed potato. Mrs Cratchit wears a ‘twice turned gown but brave in ribbons which are cheap’. This shows her making the best with very little cheerfully.
The ghost’s reply to Scrooge’s concern about Tiny Tim is a negative one. This is to make him feel guilty that he does not pay Bob Cratchit enough and has not cared about them. Then the ghost throws Scrooge’s previous words back at him ‘decrease the surplus population’. This makes Scrooge feel very low and causes deep regret.
Bob Cratchit toasts Scrooge because even though Scrooge pays him badly he is still thankful for what wages he does get.
Dickens also includes scenes such as the miner’s hut, the lighthouse and the ship to show that even though some people have no money or luxuries, they still enjoy and celebrate Christmas.
Fred thinks that ‘his wealth is of no use to’ Scrooge and that he doesn’t ‘do any good with it’ and that he isn’t even ‘comfortable’ with it.
This spirit finally shows Scrooge two previously hidden deformed children which shock him. The boy was called ‘Ignorance’ and the girl ‘Want’ and the spirit tells Scrooge they are not his but ‘Man’s’. These suggest that everyone is responsible for their deformities. ‘Ignorance’ suggests lack of education for children and ‘Want’ suggests lack of basic needs. The spirit sees ‘Doom’ written on the boy’s forehead but says it may be possible to erase it. By this Dickens is making it clear that by providing education together with supplying children’s basic needs their future can be changed.
Altogether Scrooge learns many things from the ghost of Christmas Present. He learns how some people are happy on very little. Importantly, he learns from having his own words flung back at him, such as ‘decrease the surplus population’ and ‘are there no prisons?’ Therefore Scrooge learns that he needs to take responsibility for his fellow human beings more seriously, including children, and not rely on prisons and workhouses which he had ‘supported’ to do this job. Clearly Scrooge learns that prisons and workhouses do not solve such problems.
Stave 4
The last spirit is described as a ‘Phantom’ in terms which resemble the ‘grim reaper’ without a scythe. It wore a ‘deep black garment’ and nothing more. Its head was not visible only a pointing hand was evident. This ‘dark’ and ‘scary’ spirit contrasts to the other two ‘bright’ ones. Scrooge is scared of this one. He wants to know if he changes can his future in the afterlife be different from Marley’s. Therefore he wants to know if it is too late to change his future, or is he doomed to wonder the earth after he dies with big chains.
The businessmen in the city did not care about Scrooge’s death and their dislike is suggested by their nickname of ‘old Scratch’ for Scrooge. They talk about Scrooge’s death without interest and soon change the subject.
Dickens includes the scene at old Joe’s because it shows Scrooge how much others despise him. In addition it shows Scrooge that his meanness has encouraged others to treat him meanly. This is yet another lesson for Scrooge to learn. Mrs Dilber and others do not care about his death and are quick to rob him to make money. The charwoman even robbed Scrooge of his best shirt when he was in the coffin. There are no regrets and the sadness of Scrooge’s lonely death is clear. The first woman took down Scrooge’s bed curtains with Scrooge still dead in the bed and this suggests shocking disrespect as well as dislike.
Scrooge is moved to ask to see any ‘emotion caused by this man’s death’ but he gets a shocking one. He saw a pregnant woman with children waiting for their father to come home, and when he does so he brings news and an uncomfortable smile. He tells his family of Scrooge’s death and to Scrooge’s horror they are happy. Scrooge’s death has released them from imminent ruin.
Dickens chooses not to make it clear that it is Scrooge who is dead to create a bigger shock and build up tension. It may be that Dickens considered Scrooge needed an extra boost to make him change, to make him good and for his heart to become pure.
At the Cratchit’s house Scrooge finds out that Tiny Tim had died. Nobody cared about Scrooge’s death but they do care about Tiny Tim’s. Scrooge sees the contrasting ‘tenderness’ over a death even though it is not what he was expecting.
When Scrooge finally sees his own gravestone he ‘cried upon his knees’. Scrooge pours out from a full heart ‘I am not the man I was’. It inspires Scrooge to make many promises including ‘I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year’ and ‘I will live in the past, the present and the future’. Finally he promises ‘I will not shut out the lessons that they teach’.
Stave 5
When Scrooge wakes up he feels joyful and merry. For the first time in the book we get this sense of light about Scrooge, ‘so glowing with his good intentions’. Scrooge is now so happy that he doesn’t know what to do with himself. Scrooge cries out to the world ‘A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world!’ Then, to everyone’s shock Scrooge starts laughing, but it was a good laugh ‘for a man who had been out of practice for so many years’. Significantly, the weather is now different; there is ‘No fog, no mist’.
In the last stave Scrooge meets all the characters he was mean to in the first stave.
Scrooge’s good deeds start by buying the biggest turkey and sending it to Bob Cratchit. Scrooge then gives the boy, who he turned away in the first stave, at least a shilling, and even generously pays for the turkey’s delivery in a cab.
Scrooge then meets the same portly gentlemen he had turned away and astonishes them by promising a huge payment.
Then Scrooge excitedly goes off to join in with Fred’s Christmas celebrations. Finally Scrooge meets Bob Cratchit and surprises him greatly by raising his pay and promising to assist his ‘struggling family’.
Scrooge ends the novel in great happiness, ‘his own heart laughed’. He shows that a person can change from a cold-hearted man to a merry, happy one. The story closes with Scrooge in his new self and Tiny Tim still alive. Obviously it is suggested that the increase in Bob Cratchit’s wages have helped, such as better and even doctors. Dickens’s final words state that Scrooge ‘knew how to keep Christmas well’ and ‘May that be truly said of us’. Here, Dickens addresses the reader and makes it clear that the reader needs to agree that Scrooge’s lessons need to be learnt by us all.
Conclusion
In the novel Dickens is criticising Victorian society in many ways. It is clear that poverty is a problem and that many children live in ignorance or want. This is exactly what the ghost of Christmas present shows. Scrooge did not care about the sufferings of others, all he cared about was making more and more money, even if he were not made happy by it. Yet the ghost shows that even those in poverty were happier than Scrooge. Scrooge’s meanness and cold-heartedness seem to be contagious as it is shown by other characters in the book, such as Mrs Dilber and the insincere businessmen who go to Scrooge’s funeral just for the food.
In addition Dickens shows the contrasts between those who are better off, such as Fred’s family to the Cratchit’s. The portly gentlemen do make some effort to help the needy beyond the prisons and workhouses, which clearly do not offer enough. For instance, there is great need in Cratchit’s family and Tiny Tim is in danger of dying. Dickens is trying to encourage the reader to think about how they treat others and whether they resemble Scrooge’s awful treatment and neglect. Scrooge promises to keep Christmas ‘all the year’ and makes it clear that it is not enough to make things better at Christmas time only.
The novel has stayed popular because it relates to Christmas, a time of celebration and holiday for all, and a time when everyone is likely to think of enjoying themselves with family and friends. There have been many different versions in cartoon, cinema and television which have promoted its popularity. It is well written with lots of great and memorable characters which the reader can relate to. To call someone a ‘Scrooge’ is now instantly recognizable as someone who is mean. In addition the idea of Scrooge being visited by Marley and three spirits is very imaginative and appeals to the reader’s natural curiosity of the unknown.
In conclusion, the novel carries a powerful message. It shows us that Christmas is not just about opening presents, but is about being with family and friends who love us and having a jolly time with them. Children today only seem to worry about what they get for Christmas and perhaps Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ still has a valuable message for us all. Finally, there is a clear resemblance between the deformed children ‘Ignorance’ and ‘Want’ and the starving children which are shown on Oxfam advertisements. Overall this novel clearly has relevance to today’s society.
