Stave 2 is a major turning point within the book as it shows us the first signs of repentance and emotion from scrooge. As the ghost of Christmas past takes scrooge to the place of his upbringing scrooge became “conscious of a thousand odours floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, hopes, and cares long, long, forgotten. Scrooge’s lip begins to tremble and a tear falls upon his cheek. When questioned about this emotion scrooge replies ‘with an unusual catching in his voice that it is a pimple”. The ghost walks with scrooge through his old village as scrooge recollects memories that he thought he had lost forever. As the spirit takes Scrooge to his old house, Scrooge sees himself as a young boy, reading on his own, a lonely boy. It all becomes too much for Scrooge as he sits down upon a form and weeps to see his poor forgotten self as he had used to be. This shows a dramatic change in Scrooge’s character. Here Dickens gives the reader a clearer and fuller picture of Scrooge and clearly points out the reasons behind Scrooge’s behaviour.
Stave two continues drawing the reader into one of Scrooge’s childhood fantasies. As Scrooge exclaims “Why. It’s Ali Baba!” we see that this is someone Scrooge is very familiar with. Ali Baba first visited Scrooge during the Christmas season many years ago when Scrooge was a mere child, in particular a “solitary” child. Scrooge was so alone as a child that he invented fictional characters that became his friends. He became so caught up in theses fantasies that he began to believe they were real. Scrooge shows further emotion as he ‘laughs and cries’, to see his heightened and excited face which would have been a great surprise to his business friends in the city.
I was surprised to witness Scrooge’s first signs of repentance and guilt, which are shown almost immediately after recalling his childhood fantasy. As Scrooge dries his eyes with his cuff the spirit asks him what is troubling him, to which Scrooge replies “There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something that’s all”.
Further on in the book whilst the ghost of Christmas Present is visiting Scrooge they have a conversation about the poor, intended to awaken compassion within Scrooge. As they speak of the ‘seventh day meal’ the spirit says “to any kindly given. To a poor one most” to which Scrooge questions “Why to a poor one most?” and the spirit simply replies, “Because it needs it most”. Following that the spirit takes Scrooge to the Cratchit’s house on Christmas day where we witness a remarkable sense of strength, which I’m sure, touched us all when reading it. Therefore the impact it must have had on Scrooge would have been immense. When Bob Cratchit and his son Tiny Tim return home from Church Tiny Tim is escorted to the washroom by his elder sibling. As Mrs Cratchit asks her husband how Tiny Tim behaved in church he tells her “As good as gold” and continues saying “He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant for them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see”. It was so inspirational to see a young child, a young crippled child wanting to use his disability to create something good and to help other people. To see a small child with such faith in the miracles which Jesus has performed, even though he could have taken the other approach and been angry with Jesus or God for being an invalid. This shows an obvious mental maturity, which Tiny Tim holds and good heartiness which is an extreme contrast to the character of Scrooge and meant to draw attention to his selfishness and bring about a deep repentance.
Scrooge questions the ghost of Tiny Tim’s future and of what it holds for him. Unfortunately Scrooge does not receive the answer he wished for as he is told that Tiny Tim will die. Scrooge is troubled by this and cries “No! No! Kind Spirit! Say he will be spared” to which the spirit replies “If these shadows remain unaltered by the future none of my race will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”. Here we see Scrooge displaying more emotion as he hangs his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spriti and is overcome with penitence and grief, something that I never thought Scrooge would feel.
The Cratchit’s teach Scrooge a further lesson before he leaves with the spirit, a lesson of gratitude and forgiveness. As they seat themselves around the table and praise God for the little food they have, having a Goose on the table for them to feast on brings excitement and delight to the whole family. As they toast Christmas and their family Bob Cratchit makes a surprising toast to Scrooge! As he raises his glass he says “Mr Scrooge!”. His wife, however, takes a completely different approach and says “I wish I had him here. I’d give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope he’d have a good appetite for it.” Bob calmly replies “My dear. The children, Christmas Day”. Even though Mrs Cratchit had protested to Mr Cratchit’s toast, she still manages to overcome her anger; “I’ll drink to his health for your sake and the sake of the day’s she says. As Scrooge realises he is the ‘Ogre’ of the family discussion and that he has never displayed such generosity of spirit he is put to shame. Scrooge turns to leave with the Spirit leading him to his next vision.
As they enter another house Scrooge immediately realises that it belongs to his nephew. Scrooge recognises his nephew’s words, “Christmas was a humbug” and that his nephew and his friends are mocking his own attitude towards Christmas. As Scrooge’s Niece, (By marriage), calls out “More shame for him!” Scrooge’s nephew then makes an extremely precise judgement which obviously strikes a harsh reality with Scrooge as he says, “His wealth is of no use to him. He don’t do any good with it. He don’t make himself comfortable with it. He hasn’t the satisfaction of thinking-ha, ha, ha! – that he is ever going to benefit us with it!”. Then his wife tells the room that she has no patience with him. But then Fred expresses the exact opposite “O I have, I am sorry for him; I couldn’t be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims! Himself, always. Here, he takes it into his head to dislike us, and he won’t come and dine with us. What’s the consequence?” This whole episode brings Scrooge to the realisation of his true character and how he has appeared to those around him. Fred’s response, which displays a humane and compassionate response, is surely meant to bring him to shame.
However, theses constant attacks on Scrooge’s character did not anger Scrooge but had Imperceptibly made him gay and light of heart. As the bells rang and the spirit was leaving Scrooge, he pointed out something underneath the Spirits robe. As two children immerged; “wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable.” As the knelt down at its feet and clung upon the outside of its garment. He became aware that they were a boy and a girl “Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostate, too, in their humility.” The spirit introduced the boy as ignorance and the girl as want. The children represented the Victorian society and in particular Scrooge. On the forehead of the boy a word was imprinted the word reading “Doom”, “Deny it!” cried the spirit. Here the ghost is showing Scrooge the consequence of society’s attitudes and actions. An ignorant society breeds ignorant people, in particular Scrooge, and innocent young children are living in extreme poverty as a result of this.
Scrooge was left alone once again until the bell struck twelve, then a Phantom “draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, towards him.” The ghost did not speak and only gestured with his hand, this silence worried Scrooge and the presence that the Spirit could not handle it any longer and exclaimed “Ghost of the Future! Ii fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear your company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?” The underlined sentence shows a complete character reversal, such a drastic change in Scrooge’s character in comparison to that at the beginning of the book. We are shown a person who gains an insight into his true character.
At the onset of the book some may have seen it an impossible task to change a seemingly impenetrable character such as Scrooge into a good man and that he was past redemption. However, Dickens shows that no matter whom the person is, irrespective of what that person has done in the past, everyone is able to have a second chance and that forgiveness is an attribute which we should all ourselves hold.
The spirit takes him to the Cratchit’s house once again. However, there is no laughter this time, just silence. Scrooge is eager to find out what is troubling the Cratchit’s and this is revealed when Bob Cratchit returns to the house. It is then that he remembers the empty stool by the fire and the crutch resting upon the floor. This is a shocking reminder that Tiny Tim has died. It now lies heavily on Scrooge;s conscience as he could have prevented it. As the family is torn apart and he witnesses Mr Cratchit break down into tears he also sees his children rushing to his side. There is still a lot of love within the family even though there is not happiness.
Scrooge felt that he had been through enough and that nothing else could shock him especially after all he had seen so far. But Scrooge couldn’t be more wrong. As the Ghost takes him to see his own grave Scrooge releases a loud cry. Prior to this the ghost takes Scrooge along the streets where he lives. He makes Scrooge listen to the conversations people are having on the street about a recent death; “It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral,” said one speaker; “For upon my life I don’t know of anybody to go to it. Suppose we make up a party and volunteer?” Scrooge feels pity for the fellow who has died as no one misses him and no one feels sorry that that he has gone. He listens as a few men decide that they will volunteer to go to the funeral but only if there is a large spread put on for lunch. Hhe also witnesses people bringing many items to the pawnbrokers from the deceased man’s home, pulling down curtains and removing bed linen and even removing the shirt which the man is laid to rest in whilst in the coffin. These sights disgust Scrooge especially when he realises that it is he who he pities. The change in Scrooge’s character is shown within one line “I am not the man I was. Ii will not be the man I must have been” which he cries to the spirit whilst clutching at its robe.
Dickens uses a very clever comparison when he shows the reader the future detailing Scrooges death and Tiny Tim’s death. As Tiny Tim’s family long for him to be with them and cry in sorrow, Scrooge only has people stripping him of his materialistic possessions and a few businessmen volunteering to go to the funeral as long as they are fed. Theses two deaths show a boy who was loved dearly contrasted with a man who was hated within his town. This shows that even after death our relationship with other people and the way we have behaved still live in.
The harsh scenes that Scrooge has witnessed throughout this night have left a deep impression on him, significantly changing him and his life. The following morning being Christmas Day, Scrooge awakens displaying many new, startling emotions. He says, “I am as light as a feather. I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy, I am as giddy as a drunken man. A Merry Christmas to everyone!” As Scrooge buys a large turkey and sends it to the Cratchit’s house for dinner he then dresses and arrives at the house of his Nephew who greets him warmly shaking his hand and offering him a seat. As the room fills and they sit down to eat Scrooge feels great warmth, for the first time he can truly see again and he forgets about his business and about money and begins to live his life opening his heat to those around him.
The Following morning on Boxing Day, Scrooge makes a conscious effort to get to work early so that he can catch Bob Cratchit arriving late for work as he did every year. He acts like he would have usually done pointing out that he is late and asking his for his excuses and then he says “I am not going to stand for this sort of thing any longer, and therefore, I am about to raise your salary.” It is then that Bob realises Scrooge is not the miserly cold man he one was, but is now transformed.
Dickens talks of Scrooge’s actions which followed and how he kept the word he had given to the Spirits, he informs us that Tiny Tim did not die and that Scrooge became a wonderful citizen and a great friend to the Cratchit’s as he did to he Nephew. When Dickens published this book he aimed it not at the poor but at the upper class. This was obvious as the poor in Victorian times would not have been able to read such books as these. He wanted to change society’s views and create awareness of the poverty that existed. His emphasis on Children’s ignorance and want I think is a brilliant use of imagery. Dickens subtly insults the rich calling them ignorant and greedy. Despite this, however, Dickens did not receive criticisms for this book but received high commendations and it is still regularly referred to and read by children and adults of our generation. This book is just one of the wonderful creations of Dickens’ imagination, carrying a powerful and profound message that will educate all generations to come.
