Marley’s ghost teaches him about the consequence of having a bad life, and warns Scrooge about it: 'I wear the chain I forged in life,' replied the Ghost. `I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”
After Jacob Marley’s ghost disappears, Scrooge tries to fool himself that he was just imagining things, and because of this, the reader feels superior to him.
We see more of this “new” side of Scrooge when he is taken on a journey by the Ghost of Christmas Past. When he begins to cry, the reader feels sorry for him, then superior when he denies that it is a tear, because he refuses to show his emotional side. The reader gets a really big shock when Scrooge remarks, “Why, it’s Ali Baba! It’s dear old honest Ali Baba!” and then goes on to make a really long speech using language such as “poor boy!” We are shocked because it seems like this is a completely different, sympathetic, almost kind hearted character from the one we met at the beginning of the story.
“Then, with a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usual character”, he says something that makes the reader feel sorry for him and almost regret their feelings of dislike for him at the beginning of the book. He regrets not having given the carol singer any money: “I should like to have given him something: that’s all.” This is the first real change we see in Scrooge, and it is quite significant as the turning point in his character.
The Ghost of Christmas Present makes quite a big impact on Scrooge when they first meet, as they are practically completely different sorts of people. Scrooge tells the spirit that he has “learnt a lesson which is working now,” and the reader feels sympathetic towards Scrooge for having undergone the “torture” of seeing what he was like at a younger age (unsociable, lonely, cold hearted, etc.)
The Ghost takes Scrooge outside to the street, and Scrooge learns a lot from what he is told. The reader feels superior to Scrooge because he seems rather naïve when he asks the ghost why he spreads happiness to “a poor one [person] most?” He does not seem to realise that poor people are needier than others, and he begins to see the outside world in a different light.
“There are some upon this earth of yours who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, bigotry and selfishness in our name; who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”
This speech that the spirit makes is a very important feature of the book, as it really teaches Scrooge and the reader a lot. We notice that what the ghost is saying applies strongly to Scrooge, because he is one of the people “who lay claim to know us”, yet the ghost does not tell him this, but makes him out to be one of the good people, by using the words “their doings” and “us”. This is a more effective way for Scrooge to learn that what he did was wrong, rather then telling him off for being that way. Scrooge also considers himself to be one of the good people, because he “promised he would”. The reader is not sure whether he knows or not that what the ghost said applies to him, but is likely that he did.
When we see Bob Cratchit and his family celebrating Christmas as best they can, in a very humble way, we immediately feel sorry for them and dislike Scrooge for not paying Bob enough to have a better Christmas.
But then we see that Scrooge regrets what he has done to cause this, and the reader feels sorry for him as well. We see Scrooge’s sympathy when he asks the spirit, “tell me if Tiny Tim will live.” The ghost makes him feel even worse by quoting his earlier comment: “If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” He we feel sorry for Scrooge, but pleased that he is ashamed of himself.
Finally, Scrooge is shown something quite shocking to him: two children called Ignorance and Want. They are Man’s children – they are seen as the cause of poverty, and Man’s obligation to them. The reader sees aspects of Scrooge presented in these children, and for the first time, Scrooge gets to see his old personality from outside. He is “appalled” by what he sees, yet he is filled with sadness as they have no refuge or resource. The reader pities him and our fear and understanding of what is to come in the future increases with Scrooge’s uncertainty. Scrooge wanted to send these children (i.e. the ignorant and poor of society) to workhouses and prisons. When he sees what they endure, he is horrified. By ignoring what happens, by ignoring the boy, suggests the spirit, it will be made worse.
Scrooge learns to “become gay and light of heart” with the second of the three spirits, who “taught Scrooge his precepts” which contributes a great deal to his final change. He becomes more kind hearted, and this is shown when the Ghost of Christmas Present grows old and begins to die. The Ghost represents abundance, but like its existence in humanity, it begins to slowly die.
Scrooge finally encounters the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. Throughout his journey he has a constant fear of the final Spirit, and the reader is also affected, because by feeling so close to Scrooge at this point, we also fear the uncertainty. His emotions are probably a great contribution to how he changes. He becomes frustrated with curiosity because the Ghost does not speak or tell him who it is who has died. We feel close to him and share his sadness when we finally know that he has changed from the money grabbing-horrible old man he was after seeing his gravestone and when he says, “I am not the man I once was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse…Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!”
Scrooge is a completely changed man by the end of the book, which shocks other characters he interacts with. To the people around him, he was the cold hearted, grouchy Scrooge (screw + gouge), but he suddenly transforms into a happy, “good man” who shouts “Hallo! Whoop! Merry Christmas!”
Overall, I think the different ways which he was treated by the Ghosts altogether were very important in the contribution to his final change. Without the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge would not have learnt that experience was what made him who he is. Without the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge would not see the opportunity he has to care for others, and show love and happiness. Without the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, he would not fear the future, therefore would not bother to change what he cannot see. Throughout the book, the reader mainly feels sympathetic for Scrooge, but at very intense moments, we can step into his shoes and feel his emotions for real.
As a reader, the change in Scrooge has given us mixed feelings. In some ways we feel happy and close to him for being so brave and showing that he is a kind hearted person. On the other hand, we might feel superior to him and laugh at him for such a rapid change and his extreme elatedness when he becomes good. A nineteenth century reader would have been aware that new ways of life in the city was weakening the closeness of society, and would be able to associate Scrooge with the replacement of love and goodwill with money and trade.
Mainly the reader is satisfied, because Scrooge represents the greed of humanity, and his change symbolizes hope for the human race, and that is the main message that Darwin is trying to put forward to the reader. This makes the reader, especially a contemporary reader; feel hopeful for strength in relationships in society in the future.
