The first spirit is of Christmas past. At first Scrooge is rude to the spirit. This is the Scrooge we'd expect who is easily irritated "Who, and What are you?" Scrooge demanded." But after that Scrooge is very polite to the spirit which is a complete change of character.
The spirit shows Scrooge his childhood. We see that Scrooge was neglected as a child which gives Scrooge empathy. He even sheds a tear at the beginning which is very different from the earlier Scrooge who was incredibly hard hearted. Scrooge is reminded of his loneliness and feels great sadness. Later on Scrooge really starts to feel upset and he even sobs. Scrooge also starts to feel empathy to other people. For example the little boy who was caroling outside Scrooge's office. "There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something." This shows he has found remorse as well.
Later on he is shown his sister Fan who died. Scrooge feels great sadness as he treated his sister's son so badly earlier on (his nephew.)
Although Scrooge has experienced new or rekindled despondency he soon experiences great joy. He is taken to a place where he used to work. His boss was called Fezziwig and he enjoyed Christmas enormously. Scrooge even cried with such excitement. We see that Scrooge once enjoyed Christmas and his feelings for it are beginning to be re-awakened. Scrooge even wants to be nice, "I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now." Seeing Fezziwig being so kind and caring probably makes Scrooge feel bad as he reflects on how he has treated people.
During the spirits last few minutes with Scrooge he shows him his fiancée. Scrooge is extremely depressed by this as he loved money more than his wife to be. Money destroyed the couples relationship and he regrets leaving his fiancée. He then sees his fiancée enjoying family life married to someone else. This badly affects him as he realises what he has missed out on. Before Scrooge never cared for a family, (he neglected his own nephew) but now he seems to what that comfort and safety provided by a family.
Scrooge, again, shows mournfulness when he says "Spirit!" He said in a broken voice, "remove me from this place."
The second spirit is a mirthful man. He beckons Scrooge into the room. "Scrooge entered timidly and hung his head before the Spirit." Before Scrooge would never have entered any where timidly he was not stubborn. Scrooge was being very humble which is unlike his old self and couldn't even look the Spirit in the eye. However when the Spirit asked him to look at him he "reverently did so." Which mean s he almost worshipped the Spirit religiously which the Scrooge we met in the beginning would never had done.
Although Scrooge does change gradually in a positive way, he does sometimes revert back to his old ways. The Spirit told Scrooge that he had more than eighteen hundred siblings and Scrooge replied, "A tremendous family to provide for!" muttered Scrooge." This implies that Scrooge is still thinking about money, and he still had thrifty habits. However this seems to be the only case which is very obvious that Scrooge still cared for money. On the other hand Scrooge was very eager to learn from the ghost of Christmas present which implies he was eager to switch characters and willing to learn.
The ghost if Christmas present shows Scrooge the Crachit household. They are a loving affectionate family who, although they do not have much money, make the most of Christmas. Scrooge sees Crachits youngest son, a cripple called Tiny Tim. Scrooge was very concerned about Tiny Tim. "Spirit," said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before, "tell me if Tiny Tim will live." The old Scrooge, I doubt, would not care very much for anybody other than himself but the new Scrooge seems kind and anxious. Before Scrooge believed that if you were going to die you should hurry up and to it to decrease the overgrowing population. The Spirit said this to him and "Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief."
Later on Scrooge was shown his nephew and family. They were enjoying Christmas very much and having a wonderful time. During their party they wished Scrooge good health, if Scrooge could talk to them he would have thanked them and wished good health back. "Scrooge had imperceptibly become so gay and light of heart, that he would have pledged the unconscious company in return, and thanked them in an inaudible speech." We can see that on page five Scrooge did not even reply to his nephews well wishes which is a complete transformation.
Before the Spirit leaves, he shows Scrooge two more things. Two children who represent ignorance and want. The children are wretched, skinny creatures. Again Scrooge shows genuine concern for them. " Have they no refuge or resource?" Cried Scrooge."
The Spirit replied by quoting what Scrooge had said about sending poor people to prison or workhouses.
The last Spirit was the ghost of Christmas yet to come. Before the Spirit could show him anything scrooge said he was grateful for his lessons and he was ready and eager to change. We see that people had stole Scrooge's belongings to sell which implies that Scrooge was not worth respect or care. Scrooge was very upset by the way they were treating this man unknown to him that it was in fact himself who was dead. I think that the old Scrooge would have sold a deceased persons items to get money as before he was very cruel. Scrooge asked to see some emotion towards the death of this man. He is shown a couple who owed debt to Scrooge. When the wife is told Scrooge is dead "she was thankful in her soul to hear it." The reaction of this women disquiets Scrooge, and he wishes to see some "tenderness" connected with a death. The Spirit takes Scrooge to Crachits house where Tiny Tim had just died. Mournfulness is suppressed by the whole Crachit family. By this time Scrooge wants to know who the man that no one cared about who died was. The Spirit takes him to a grave yard and points to a grave stone saying EBENEZER SCROOGE. "Am I that man who lay upon the bed?" he cried, upon his knees." By this point Scrooge would do anything to ensure that he would not die so soon. He was willing to change and be kinder to people. He tells the Spirit many things about how he will change. "I will honour Christmas in my heart." he hated Christmas before as it was a pointless waste of money but now he wants to keep it special. Scrooge even gets so desperate to switch characters he "holds up his hands in one last prayer to have his fate reversed."
The Spirit left and Scrooge awoke the next morning not knowing what day it was. He called down to a boy who replied that it was Christmas Day and Scrooge had not missed it. Here we see Scrooge's first act of kindness. He told the boy to g and get the prize turkey and in return he would give him some money. He then asked someone to take the turkey to Bob Crachits house in a cab.
After Christmas Bob Crachit arrived for work late. Scrooge played a joke on him pretending he was angry. "It's only once a year, sir," pleaded Bob." Scrooge then raised Bob Crachits wage.
Crachit is surprised by this act of kindness that he thinks Scrooge has gone mad.
Tiny Tim did not die and Scrooge became a second father to him. Scrooge stayed kind for the rest of his life and never had another Spirit visit him again.
Comment on the Social Conditions of the time in A Christmas Carol.
Charles Dickens was forced to work in a factory at a very young age to support his family so Dickens was very concerned with the social conditions of poor people in Victorian England. He was very aware of the strong capitalism that many rich people believed in which was to make money. In England there was a huge class division. The richer people would live tin luxury will the poor people would live in filthy slums. A Christmas Carol was written by Dickens to draw attention to the poor people of England. Dickens also wrote other novels to emphasise this point, for example Great Expectations and Hard Times. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens combines the sadness of people forced to live in terrible conditions with the joy of Christmas. Charles Dickens probably thought most people who were like Scrooge to begin with, should change as Scrooge did.
In the novella, the first proof we have of Dickens feelings towards towards the social conditions is when we read about Bob Crachit. We see that he had to work in "a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank." These conditions were what most poverty stricken people were forced to work in to earn a pityful amount of money. Dickens says that the only one time that rich people seem to care about poor people is on Christmas as it's a time "when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys." Dickens obviously feels like once a year is not enough to give to the poor and needy. Although in England there were not many people willing to help the many people who were living in poverty, there were some charities. Scrooge is asked to give to a charity. Scrooge declined and believed that poor people should be sent to prison or workhouses because he could not be bothered with them. When told that they would rather die than go to either he said "if they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population," which is a very cold hearted and barbarous thing to say.
It's not just the fact of the strong class division that annoyed Dickens, but the fact the poor had to live in cold, cramped, dirty conditions. Dickens reminds us of how some people don't have a home to go to and had to try and warm themselves in whatever way they could. "Some labourers were repairing the gas-pipes, and had lighted a great fire in a brazier, round which a party of ragged men and boys gathered warming their hands." This is quite upsetting as these people had no where to live.
When Crachit asked for one day off in the whole year to celebrate Christmas with his family, Scrooge begrudges this. Workers as poor as Bob Crachit weren't allowed much free time off.
When Jacob Marley visited Scrooge he gave him the message that he should have thought about other people. Marley said that he wanted to help people now " [he, the ghost] cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched women with an infant." This is about a single mother with no where to go and how now the ghost wanted to help her when before he wouldn't have.
Next we see in Bob Crachits house how Bob's daughter had to work through out the night on Christmas day to earn money for the family and although they were very poor they still managed to enjoy Christmas as much as rich people which showed that poor people did not feel sorry for themselves which is a very noble thing to do.
