The first of the three spirits was soon to come. Scrooge woke up in the middle of the night. It was so dark that he could not see. He could not distinguish one item from the other. Soon the clock struck 12 and the ghost of Christmas past came in the presence of Scrooge. The ghost told Scrooge that he would show him his past. The spirit took Scrooge to a place that Scrooge remembered well. There he saw his younger self. Scrooge remembered all of this and he felt sad. The ghost asked him what was the matter and Scrooge said “There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: that’s all.” On this the ghost smiled to himself, knowing that Scrooge was changing.
The ghost took Scrooge to another Christmas, where Scrooge was at school and Sister came to get him. The ghost commented on his sister that she had a large heart. Scrooge admitted that. He said that she had one child and the ghost said it was true. The ghost said that the child was Scrooge’s nephew. Scrooge suddenly seemed uneasy in his mind (which shows he felt bad because he had not been very nice to his nephew and he was the only family he had left) so Scrooge answered briefly to the ghost, “yes”.
They next went to a warehouse where it showed scrooge all jolly like his old self. Here Scrooge felt uneasy too. Scrooge saw his old friends Mr & Mrs. Fezziwig. Scrooge saw how these people got so much joy out of something so small and remote. The ghost commented to Scrooge that
“ A small matter to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.” Scrooge argued about this and he remembered about his clerk. Scrooge once again was upset and the ghost asked him what was the matter and he told him that he felt like saying a few words to Bob Cratchit (his clerk).
The ghost told Scrooge that here was not much time, so they went to a place where Scrooge saw himself and his previous love. Here he was faced with the question of his love. The young girl asked him what idol has displaced him. Scrooge replied “ A golden one”. And so she left him and they parted. We could see there that Scrooge had lost all interest and that his only love from then till the present was his love for money.
The ghost then showed Scrooge the life he could have had if he had not left his love. Scrooge then heard the husband say that he saw an old friend, Mr Scrooge. Scrooge asked the spirit in a broken voice to take him away from this place. The ghost told scrooge that these shadows were not to be blamed on him but On Scrooge himself. Then Scrooge was put back into his room.
The next ghost s due, the ghost of Christmas present. The ghost took Scrooge to the streets of London. There they saw how everyone was happy but there was nothing very happy or cheery in the town. The ghost took Scrooge to the Cratchit’s house. There Scrooge saw the Cratchits very cheery and merry. The Cratchit’s clothes as Scrooge saw were threadbare and hanging off of them. Then Scrooge saw Tiny Tim. Scrooge felt instantly sorry for him. Scrooge asked the spirit with an interest that he had never felt before, if Tiny Tim would live. We can see here that Scrooge’s attitude as a person is changing dramatically and he is starting to care for other people again. The ghost then told Scrooge that if things stayed the way they were, Tiny Tim would die. Scrooge was in such deep sorrow for Tiny Tim. The ghost then reminded Scrooge of something. In the words that scrooge had said earlier in the book he said to Scrooge “If he be like to die, he had better do it and decrease the surplus population.” Scrooge felt so horrified by what he had said and he hung his head in shame and he was overcome with grief. We can see now that Scrooge is really changing into a person with feelings for other people apart from himself. During this The Cratchits were celebrating Christmas and they were celebrating to Scrooge. This amazed Scrooge because he had not been nice to Bob. From this we can see that the Cratchits represent the Christmas spirit which we all should have. This seriously changed Scrooge.
The Ghost then told Scrooge to hold on to his robe. They were transported onto a boat. There every man on board, waking or sleeping, good or bad had a kind word for everyone. Scrooge saw then his own Nephew. He said that his uncle was not that bad, but that his offences carry their own punishment. His nephew said that he might be rich, but that wealth could not buy happiness. Scrooge’s nephew played games with everyone. Scrooge was amazed when Scrooge’s Nephew wished him a merry Christmas wherever he was.
The ghost hen told Scrooge to look at the children. Scrooge was shocked by the sate they were in. They were tatty and yellow. Scrooge asked if they had anywhere to stay. The ghost replied to make Scrooge feel ashamed, “are there no prisons, are there no union workhouses” This really got Scrooge. As he looked around for the ghost he saw it not. As the bell had its last strike, a horrific phantom approached Scrooge and he was scared for his life. The phantom was darkly robed and resembled ironically death. Scrooge got on his knees and asked him if he was the ghost of Christmas yet to come. The ghost did not answer. Scrooge asked the ghost to lead on and so he did. The ghost stopped as Scrooge listened to the dialogue between the men. A great fat man with a monstrous chin was talking. He was talking to two men. One had a very large nose and the other was red-faced. From what Scrooge heard, someone had died the night before. They talked about how they had no more debts to pay back and how cheap the funeral would be. Scrooge knew who these men were. They were men who he had done business with. This was the life he had. Dealing with monstrous men. The phantom glided into another street. Scrooge knew these people too; they also talked about this person who had died and how they would not have to pay back debts. The couple talked about him for only a few seconds. This shows that who ever this person was nobody cared about him and did not want to know about him. The phantom then took them to the place where the corpse of the body was. Scrooge listened in horror to these people as they took the belongings of this person. Scrooge turned to the phantom and said he understood that the unhappiness of this person might be because of himself. The phantom then continued to point his finger at the head of the corpse. Scrooge did not have the strength to pull back the cover and look. This shows that scrooge as a person is now scared for himself. The phantom then spread his robe and they were in a different place. There was a mother waiting for here husband. When he came he explained that this person was dead. They were uneasy at first but were glad. Scrooge was then taken to Bob Cratchit’s house. Everyone was silent. Poor Tiny Tim had passed away. All of the Cratchits the year before were full of joy and were running around. Now they were motionless. As Bob came in he talked to the family. He mentioned that nobody would forget Tiny Tim. All of the Cratchit’s kissed Tiny Tim. His spirit was one of God’s. He was a God given child.
Scrooge asked the phantom about the body in the bed, who was it. The phantom pointed away from Bob Cratchit’s House. They came to a graveyard. The phantom pointed to a grave. Trembling with the most fear he had ever experienced in his life, he bent down and read the name on the grave. The name on the grave read “ Ebenezer Scrooge”. Scrooge fell to his knees as he cried. We can see now that Scrooge has fully changed. He is prepared to change. He begged the phantom to let him go. He said that the lessons from these three ghosts would stay with him his whole life. He would enforce the Christmas spirit all year round. He said he would honour Christmas in his heart and he would rid the writing on the grave.
The phantom collapsed and dwindled into a bedpost.
The bedpost was his own. Scrooge swore that from this moment onward would live in the past, present and future. We can see that Scrooge’s attitude as a person and businessmen have changed for good. He has given up his selfishness. He will care for others as much as himself. Scrooge then felt rejoiced. He was a new human being. Full of emotion and care. Scrooge then cried down to a young boy and asked him to buy the prize turkey for him and he would reward him with half a crown. Scrooge then decided to send it to Bob Cratchit and he would let him rejoice. Scrooge went over to Bob Cratchit and gave him the turkey. He offered him a raise so he could afford to keep his family on the go.
Scrooge did more than he said he would. We have seen from this book that a man can change. Scrooge proved that he could be kind hearted. His attitude at first as a person was disrespectful and shamming. The same applied for his attitude as a businessman. In the end both of these changed. Scrooge is now a kind-hearted man full of joy. Scrooge now is a very generous businessman. As we saw he gave his employee Bob Cratchit a raise to support his family for many years.
As Tiny Tim observed he noticed the kind heart of Mr. Scrooge and said, “God bless us, Every One!”
