Scrooges nephew attempts to persuade him to come to dinner however Scrooge refuses and says “what’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills…”Scrooge does not comprehend why anyone would want to celebrate Christmas, he thinks people are brainless for celebrating Christmas, “I live in such a world of fools”. When the men came to Scrooge’s business to gather money for charity, Scrooge is very unsympathetic and he says he does not care whether people die, “if they would rather die... They had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”.
Dickens uses humour to inform the readers “Marley was dead;” that is the first thing Dickens tells us. When Dickens informs us that Marley is dead, he uses a light-hearted tone and expressions such as “dead as a door-nail”, this puts the readers at ease because nevertheless this is intended to be a Christmas book. The mood is not always this humorous, as Marley’s ghost is approaching and tension rises. Dickens also builds up tension by informing us of how “His colour changed”, this reveals Scrooge’s fear. When Scrooge comes home from work he notices Marley’s face on the knocker, but he’s in disbelieve, he thinks he’s visualising things, “Marley’s face. It was not impenetrable shadow”. Scrooge is commencing to get alarmed and paranoid: “before he shut the door and he did look cautiously behind it first. Tension starts to build up even more just as Marley’s ghost is about to arrive “the ancient tower of a church, whose gruff old bell was always pepping slyly down at Scrooge...it’s teeth were chattering” The bell was personified to give the readers the impression that Scrooge is being watched. It makes him feel anxious, uneasy and apprehensive. Dickens indicates to his readers that Marley’s ghost is going to appear, we get these hints from Marley’s face on the knocker and that Dickens tells us that Scrooge looks behind the door before closing it, “he half-expected to be terrified with the sight of Marley’s pig-tail”. At first Dickens tells us that “ Scrooge was not a man to be frightened”, but after Scrooge sees Marley’s face on the knocker, he starts to get a bit fearful, “before he shut the door his heavy door, he walked through his room to see that all was right”, Unusually Scrooge “locked himself in: double-locked himself in”, we can already see that Scrooge is beginning to change; from a un-feeling, cold-hearted and “hard and sharp as a flint” to this terrified man. Before we actually see Marley’s ghost we can hear “ a clanking noise, deep down below, as if some person were dragging a heavy chain”, this makes the readers feel very tense. When Dickens says “Scrooge then remembered to have heard that ghosts in haunted houses were described as dragging chains”; this makes the audience nervous. When Scrooge sees Marley, he has chains tied around him, and he drags “cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds and heavy purses”. Marley explains to Scrooge that these chains are his fate and his fault for being so greedy. Marley also tells Scrooge that it will be his fate as well if he doesn’t change, “I am here tonight to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate”. “You were always a good friend to me” said Scrooge; this is the first time we have heard Scrooge say something nice, we can see he is improving. Marley then tells Scrooge that he “will be haunted…by three spirits”.
The Spirit that visits Scrooge is the Christmas past, who shows him as a little boy who is neglected by everyone, and he is a loner and spends Christmas alone. When Scrooge sees himself when he was little, he realises that he was “A solitary child, neglected by his friends”. Scrooge starts to doubt his life, and wishes he hadn’t been such a loner, “but it’s too late now”. The spirit shows Scrooge his sister (when she was little), she addresses the former Scrooge “I have come to bring you home dear brother!” When Scrooge remembers the kindness of his sister he feels safe and wanted. The spirit then showed scrooge his boss “Why. It’s old Fezziwig! Bless his heart; it’s Fezzwig alive again!” Scrooge was really happy and excited to see Fezzwig. He observed Fezzwig and how polite he was towards his employers, including Scrooge, he was very happy and cheerful and he held a party for everyone on Christmas Eve. Scrooge realises that even though Fezziwig was a business man just like Scrooge now, but the difference between him and Scrooge was that, he was very kind and generous and he didn’t mind spending a little money just so that he can make people happy “The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune”. This made Scrooge appreciate his employee Bob Cratchit and regrets for treating him so badly “I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now!” The reason the spirit shows Scrooge this is to demonstrate to him that he was loved and people did care about him also to make him realise that money doesn’t bring you happiness. The people and the things that the first spirit reveals to Scrooge provoke in him to change because he sees himself as a little boy and he feels remorseful and regrets his life. This sparks a transformation of his character “Then, with a rapidity of transitions very foreign to his unusual character, he said, in pity for his former self, “Poor boy!”
When Scrooge encounters with the second spirit, he feels very anxious and scared, this adds to Scrooges transformation. The ghost of Christmas present shows Scrooge the cratchits family celebrating and even though they do not have a great deal, they still celebrate with what they have. This makes Scrooge feel apologetic towards the Cratchits, especially the little boy, Tiny Tim “No, no…oh no kind spirit! Say he will be spared”. We can already see Scrooge has changed, “Spirit said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before; tell me if Tiny Tim will live”. The ghost quoted “If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”, these were the exact words that Scrooge had said to the men that came to his office to collect money for charity. When Scrooge hears these words, he feels mortified, “Scrooge hung his head his own words”. The Cratchits family depict the situation of a large number of families in the Victorian England because just like the Cratchits the majority of the families lived in overcrowded conditions in poverty and the children had to go out to work at a young age.
When Scrooge is looking in on Fred’s party, it again reminds him of how important family is. Scrooge sees how much everyone is enjoying Fred’s Christmas party, and he realises that he didn’t have to be isolated from them; he could have been there also. This is not the first time Scrooge regrets being on his own. The ghost shows Scrooge Fred’s party to present to him an alternative view of Christmas. Scrooge is already thinking of how he can adjust things. The spirit points out to scrooge that he can assist Tiny Tim “I see a vacant seat… If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will die”. The spirit then shows Scrooge a boy and a girl who symbolize Ignorance and Want. Dickens describes the children as “yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate too”. Scrooge is horrified by the children but instead of saying something heartless like “Are there no prisons or work-houses?” he feels sympathetic towards them “have they no refuge or resources?” The spirit show Scrooge the little boy and girl because he wanted to demonstrate to him that the society is like these mainly because of those two reasons ‘Ignorance’ and ‘want’.
Dickens makes the last Spirit the most frightening: the spirit is “shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, it’s face, it’s form” this description reminds us of the grim reaper, which again links the spirit to death. This spirit is the scariest spirit of the all because it is “difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness”. Scrooge terrified of the last ghost because it does not speak, it just points. The future that the Spirit shows Scrooge is once more associated with death because, his future encloses a body of a dead man, Dickens describes this man as “plundered and bereft, unwatched, unwept, uncared for”. Scrooge feels remorse for the man who is lying on the bed, but what he doesn’t yet realize is that the man is actually him “Am I that man who lay upon the bed?”, maybe Scrooge had his suspicions that he was the man but tries not to think about it, he is afraid to lift the bed cover because he didn’t want to see that it was him. The Spirit then takes scrooge to a neglected grave and on the stone he read his own name ‘EBENEZER SCROOGE’. Scrooge is terrified at what the spirit has shown him and he does not want to die “Why show me this, if I am past all hope?” Scrooge now understands that the ghost were teaching him a lesson so that he can become a better person , but he doubts whether he can change “Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me”. The portrayal of the future is the thought provoking most for Scrooge this is because when Scrooge sees what people are saying about him and how nobody cared about him all they cared about was “What has he done with his money”, Scrooge was disturbed at what he was hearing, the men were so disrespectful and they laugh and make jokes about his death “It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral”. Scrooge realizes that it was his fault for treating people so badly that nobody cared about him “for the sake of such a man he was”. The way in which people treat Scrooge forced him to re-evaluate his treatment of others “I see, I see. The case of this unhappy man might be my own.” Scrooge now understand that if he does not change the way he is he will end up a lonely, sad , miserable, abandoned, old man who nobody cares for, this concludes Scrooges transformation.
When scrooge realizes that that it was still Christmas day he is ecstatic “he was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions” he scrambles out of bed and says The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me” Scrooges good deeds begin with, the first good thing that he does is he buys a big turkey and send it to Bob Cratchit. Scrooge then goes to Fred’s house and is very nice to the girl and he is really happy to see his nephew Fred. “Will you let me in, Fred? Said Scrooge. He now appreciates how nice nephew is to him even though he had been bad to him. Scrooge does everything he promises to do and even gives Bob Cratchit a raise and becomes like as second father to Tiny Tim, who fortunately does not die. Scrooge is able to redeem himself by becoming a better person; from cruel and cold-hearted man to a kind loving person. This links back to the idea of the Christianity and redemption and the religious term referring to being saved. I n this case, Scrooge is being saved from dying a lonely, sad, old man.
Scrooge’s story relates to society because it people that if a man as bad as Scrooge can change and transform himself for the better , the everyone else can as well then our society would be a much better place for us to live in. The moral lesson that Dickens wants to convey is not to be greedy, don’t let money obstruct your good judgement and money does not buy you happiness. Another lesson Dickens wants to teach his reader’s is that even if you haven’t been good all your life just like Scrooge you could also change.
