Fred is the exact opposite of his uncle Scrooge. Fred symbolises the joy and happiness of Christmas. Fred is undaunted by Scrooge’s refusal to dine with him on Christmas. Fred says that Christmas is ‘the only time I know when men and women seen by one consent to open their shut up hearts freely’, Fred shows the true joy of Christmas.
Bob Crachet is a worker for Scrooge and is dependant on him, even though Scrooge doesn’t really care for him in the slightest. ‘Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s (Bob) fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal’ this proves that Scrooge never cared for anyone not even his own employees.
The counting house along with Scrooge’s cold, bitter greed strengthens Scrooge’s appearance as a hollow man even though not much is said about his work place ‘Counting’ brings money into sight which is the only thing Scrooge really cares for.
When Marley’s ghost appears and talks to Scrooge, he sees the large chain around his body. Scrooge notices that it is made out of ‘catch boxes, keys, padlocks, ledges, deeds and heavy purses wrought in steel’. This is to symbolise everything that Marley ‘forgot in life’. He ‘made it link by link and yard by yard…and of my own free will I wore it’. Marley goes on to say how Scrooge also beers a large heavy chain himself but really it symbolises his conscience as that is what Marley is ‘the conscience of mankind’.
When Marley leaves, Scrooge goes to the window only to see the sky full of phantoms like Marley all wearing chains similar to his and all had a partner. Marley’s partner was Scrooge but he was still alive so Marley was alone for now as if Scrooge didn’t change his ways then he would be joining Marley and the other phantoms, as they all symbolise what would happen to man if they carry on there bad ways. The partners were all ‘linked together’. Scrooge knew most of them from their lives, as they must have been in the same trade as Scrooge.
Stave two doesn’t introduce many more characters. The first ghost that Marley warned him of came at one o’clock at night, ‘the Ghost of Christmas Past’. The ghost appears to Scrooge as a child ‘like a child: yet not so like a child as like an older man’. The first place that the ghost takes Scrooge is to his old school. Scrooge’s old school room represents his lack of love, as the classroom was cold, plain and boring. Ebenezer now starts to feel emotion, his lips tremble, ‘what’s that on your cheek…? a pimple’ but as you can see it was a tier not a pimple but being Scrooge he would never show the slightest of emotion, but being Ebenezer and seeing his past he feels regret.
Fam his sister symbolising family life, comes into the vision saying how his father has changed, ‘father is so much kinder than he use to be, that, home’s like heaven’. This is probably another reason why Scrooge turned out like he did, as a result of an unhappy childhood, but his dad, like Ebenezer, shows regret and how a person can change. As Ebenezer had an unhappy childhood he use to lock himself off from the world around him and go into his imagination, living in side his head as he never had joy outside.
Fezzivig was a businessman like Scrooge and a friend. Fezzy, unlike Scrooge, didn’t care about wealth and riches and treated Scrooge the way he wanted to be treated. Fezzivig represents employment in a good way and treats Scrooge who formally worked for him as a friend while Scrooge treats Bob Crachet with a total lack of consideration.
Later in the second stave young Ebenezer becomes an avaricious in his attempt to avoid poverty and this is why Belle (the girl Ebenezer once loved) left him. Scrooge feels deep regret when he sees Belle with her husband and child at Christmas all pitying him. ‘Slight drue very dim’ Scrooge begins to weep.
In the end Scrooge just wants to go home and tries to extinguish the light on the top of the ghost’s head as this light symbolises the joy and happiness inside Scrooge. He cannot extinguish it as once joy and happiness have been felt they can’t go away as his conscience is a living thing.
The third stave describes Scrooge as a different character. When the clock strikes one and the second ghost doesn’t appear, Scrooge goes and looks for the ghost in the next room. This symbolises Scrooge trying to find himself, he knows that he must change. The whole of stave three symbolises looking for opportunities, live like this day is your last. The room in which the ghost appears does change once Scrooge enters, being coloured and bright. The Jolly Giant symbolises the present, ‘come in and know me better’ meaning know your present as the ghost also ages quickly as does the present. ‘He was not the doged Scrooge he had been’ which shows that he is changing. This ghost also symbolises freedom ‘free as his general face’, ‘his locks hung free’, the words free used twice next to each other shows true freedom lies in the present moment, ‘tonight if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it’. This shows a reforming Scrooge as for once he doesn’t mean money by the word ‘profit’.
The weather symbolises the atmosphere in Dickens’s novel. As in stave one the weather in cold and miserable but changes through the novel as Scrooge’s mood swings.
Scrooge now has changed as he begins to argue with the ghost about the Sunday ruling that nobody is allowed to have fun. ‘I wonder you, of all the beings in the many worlds about, should desire to cramp these peoples opportunities of innocent enjoyment…remember that, and charges their doing on themselves, not us’. In the end it turns out that it is man who has forbidden fun on Sunday and this shows that Scrooge blaming others for his mistakes.
The ghost takes Scrooge to visit Bob Cratchits’ home. The Cratchit family symbolise the working class. Even though they are poor, unhappy and hungry they are determined to have a happy Christmas. Tiny Tim Bob son symbolises the weak, trusting of society, ‘Tim will die’ Scrooge can prevent Tim’s death if he changes his present. Scrooge at the beginning of the novel says ‘let them die’ referring to the poor, starving and suffering, but now he is quite emotional crying sometimes. Like Bob Cratchit the man in the lighthouse, sailors all poor but have hope at Christmas and forget their worries.
Two of the most important characters in stave three are Ignorance and Want who symbolise impoverished spirits of man. They are hideous to look at, both children, and are both Scrooge’s sprits inside him.
There is no waiting for the last ghost as it appears as soon as Scrooge returns home. It is clearly that the Ghost of yet to come symbolises fear of the future. Scrooge sees his own death, his name on his tombstone, but h is changing, he has control over his future, Scrooge can shape his destiny.
The ghost never speaks, never shows its face and never answers Scrooge, this symbolises the fact that only Scrooge can change his future and one can assist him on the way. Scrooge is witnessing his own death but only realises this at the end of the stave. Scrooge has just started to change, decided not to live as he did. The final ghost doesn’t seem needed but is really the final push.
Tiny Tim even though he is poor has no wealth and is a small child. When he died he left rich, happy and joyful memories in the Cratchit’s household. It’s true to believe that Tiny Tim was actually based on Dickens’s younger brother, called Tiny Fred. Dickens’s family were classed as the squalids, the poverty class, thieving from people even dead bodies to survive, as Scrooge sees this happening to his own body. Had Scrooge been kinder, nicer and generous then people might have left his dead body alone.
The tale is just about to end happily as long as Scrooge changes. Then his spirit unlike Marley’s will be saved. Stave five sees Ebenezer Scrooge a reformed character, embracing Christmas, ‘A merry Christmas to everyone! A happy new year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!’. If this were Scrooge before he had had the three visits then he would have said no more than his famous words, ‘Bah Humbug!’.
It’s quite interesting to know that before Dickens’s novels came out that many people celebrated Christmas like they do now, with trees lights and decorations up everywhere. His tales helped to bring back the spirit of Christmas.
Dickens was not just a writer but helped many children get an education, making many stands and announcements. Ignorance and want were his major targets as he wanted them eradicated. In 1870 Dickens died and never got to see what an impact he had made as later that same year education for all was made compulsory. ‘A Christmas Carol’ wasn’t the only novel where these concerns about children can be found. In Oliver Twist they are symbolised by the ‘Fagon’ and his boys. Dickens knows about all that goes on with people like this as he has had past experience, such as Tiny Fred his brother. It is said that by his death, one of Britain’s greatest writers was lost.
