Scrooge then had two visitors. They were portly gentlemen who ask Scrooge if he will donate money for the poor and destitute Scrooge didn’t give them anything. This shows how tight fisted and selfish Scrooge is. Scrooge suggests to the men that work houses and prisons are the place where the poor should go, Scrooge is showing that he does not believe he has any responsibility to help others. This was a common attitude in Victorian England, which Dickens wants to challenge.
When Marley’s ghost appears for the first time he suspects the ghost is a figment of his imagination. He tries to hide his fear of it by assuming it is an upset stomach which is causing these disturbing images. However when the ghost speaks he begins to believe it is true. The arrival of the ghost disturbs him. The ghost tells him he is going to be visited by three spirits. Scrooge takes this news and replies to it as a chore or menial task. The ghost speaks of why he is weighed down by chains and shackles. He told Scrooge these chains represent all the bad things he did in his life. He also told scrooge that he had a similar chain but longer. His reaction to this is of disliking. He doesn’t like what he hears. He asks the ghost to speak comfort to him, but the ghost cannot speak comfort to him because he has done nothing good or pure in his life. His greed and loathing for everything has turned him into an evil bitter man who has no time for friends of family and he is heartless to his employee Bob Cratchit. Now Scrooge has had a terrible warning about what may come to him if he does not change his ways.
Stave 2
Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Christmas past in stave 2 who takes him back in time to see his childhood. This is a very effective way of enabling the reader to see how Scrooge was when he was younger and bring the reader to understand why Scrooge is so mean and to show he hasn’t always been like that. Scrooge is shown sitting in a classroom on his own while all the other children have gone home for Christmas. This is because Scrooge and his father didn’t get on very well and his father didn’t want him home for Christmas. We know this because his sister comes to take Scrooge home one Christmas and she says ‘father is much kinder than he used to be’ Charles Dickens uses this to show the reader that scrooge was very used to being alone and this might explain why he is so solitary when he grows up. This would have had a great affect on Scrooge at an early age and could be the reason why he is so cruel, mean and bad tempered. At this point the reader starts to have some sympathy for Scrooge and care about his future life.
The first change in Scrooge’s personality is when Scrooge looks back at his younger self and is reminded of the carol boy he saw earlier that night. He feels guilty for not giving the boy anything. We can tell this because he says ‘I should have liked to have given him something that’s all’. This is the first example of kindness and regret we see from Scrooge, reinforcing the point that Scrooge is not completely heartless and cold and shows he is able to change. Dickens involved Scrooge’s sister fan to remind Scrooge of his nephew because they are similar generous characters. We can see that Scrooge cared about fan. This may be a sign that there is the potential that Scrooge’s view of his nephew may also change.
Dickens next includes a visit to Fezziwig, Scrooge’s old employer. This is to show a contrast between how scrooge as an employer treats Bob Cratchit and the way Fezziwig treats Scrooge. Whereas Fezziwig threw a party for Christmas. Bob Cratchit had to ask Scrooge for the day off and Scrooge was still reluctant to give it to him. We can see that Scrooge liked Fezziwig by his reaction when he first saw him. He exclaims, ‘Why it’s old Fezziwig alive again’. This makes Scrooge think of Bob Cratchit. He says ‘I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just know.’ Again Dickens involves this episode to show that a change in Scrooge’s personality is possible.
Stave 3
In Stave 3, which presents the second of the three spirits, The ghost of Christmas present, Scrooge tells the spirit that he has learnt from the last ghost. ‘I went forth last night on compulsion and I learnt a lesson.’ Scrooge wants to be taught from this ghost as well. He wants to change his ways. ‘ Tonight if you ought to reach me, let me profit by it.’ Scrooge wants to learn and he shows signs that he wants to change.
Notably in this stave, Scrooge questions the spirit about the health of tiny Tim. Scrooge asks the spirit this question with an interest he had never felt before. The reply to Scrooge is negative and Scrooge pleads to the ghost to spare his life. He feels that he does not pay Bob Cratchit enough money. The spirit uses Scrooge’s words ‘If he be like to die he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.’ This suggests that tiny Tim will soon die. Scrooge is then overcome with penitence and grief.
Dickens then presents a poor family’s Christmas to his readers.
The Cratchit family do not have a lot, but what they do have they make the most of. The food they have at the table for Christmas dinner is not nearly enough to feed them all properly. The goose was cheap, which indicates it was small. Mrs Cratchit is wearing a ‘twice turned gown but brave in ribbons which are cheap.’ All these are example’s of how poor the Cratchits are, but they are generous and loving to each other and Bob Cratchit even tries to thank his harsh employer for the holiday in a toast to ‘Mr Scrooge’.
Scrooge has been visited by two of the three spirits now. The reader senses that he has learnt a lot and his personality is beginning to change for good.
Stave 4
The final spirit the ghost of Christmas yet to come appears in stave 4. He is described as a ‘phantom’ and was ‘shrouded in a deep black garment’, much like the Grim Reaper.
The atmosphere in this stave is extremely dark, especially at the beginning. The ghost is also mysterious and unlike the other ghosts. This one doesn’t speak which adds mystery. Also much like Scrooge, it spreads coldness. This spirit is dark in contrast to the first two, who were bright. We sense that Scrooge is on the road to repentance, but he has not yet transformed himself. Scrooge wants to know if he can change his future, or whether he has already made the chains he will carry in his afterlife.
Some businessmen talk about Scrooge’s death for a short time with no real care. They soon change the subject. This shows that nobody cares if Scrooge is alive or dead. Dickens makes it clear that it is Scrooge’s death they are discussing, but until the end of the stave, Scrooge is shown as not realising that he is witnessing the events after his own death.
Later, the spirit shows Scrooge that people were stealing his belongings while he was lying on his bed, dead. One woman stole his best shirt when he was lying dead and another stole his curtains. When they sell these items Scrooge’s reactions show how much he is affected.
The spirit then takes Scrooge to a dead body and a graveyard. Scrooge is then faced with his dead body and his gravestone. Scrooge takes to this very badly and starts to plead with the ghost, ‘I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this if I am past all hope?’
This shows that Scrooge’s personality has changed a lot and is continuing to change. He knows he must keep this personality or he will die with a chain. ‘I will not shut out the lessons they teach’. He will not forget what the spirits have taught him.
Stave 5
Stave 5 starts with Scrooge waking up in his bed. He is very jolly and merry. He then opens his window and cries out to the world, ‘A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy new year to all the world!’ This is a big contrast compared with stave 1 where Scrooge’s nephew says Merry Christmas to him and Scrooge replied ‘bah humbug’. This shows a complete change in Scrooge’s personality.
Scrooge starts his new ways by buying the biggest turkey he can and sending it to Bob Cratchit and his family. This is a big change from when Scrooge argued with Bob about having a day off on Christmas day. The boy who Scrooge asked to buy the turkey for him was the carol singer that came to Scrooge’s door in stave 1 and Scrooge scared him off with a ruler, but in stave 5 he gave the boy at least a shilling extra to keep.
Later that day he met the portly gentlemen who asked him for a donation to charity in stave 1. This time Scrooge gave them a very generous donation. This shows that Scrooge’s happiness isn’t based on wealth anymore and he is much more sharing and giving.
Scrooge then remembers his nephew’s invitation for Christmas dinner. He is quite nervous, which is a feeling that we haven’t seen Scrooge have before. He then had to pluck up his courage to go and knock on the door. He went into the room where Fred was and asked permission to come in. Fred jumped up and shook his hand. This shows that even the worst person can be forgiven. Scrooge is at home in a matter of minutes. This is a remarkable change in Scrooge he now appreciates Christmas.
The next morning Scrooge is working and Bob Cratchit comes in late. Scrooge growls, ‘hallo’ Bob then starts apologising. Scrooge then makes it seem like he is going to fire Bob but instead he raises his salary. This also shows that Scrooge’s happiness doesn’t revolve around wealth anymore.
It also says in the book that tiny Tim did not die and Scrooge became a second father to him. Scrooge helps other people and charities. He talks to people in the street and becomes a cheerful man. This is a change from stave 1 where people avoided him in the street and even a blind mans dog stayed away from him.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the novel carries a powerful message both to Dickens’s original Victorian readers and to us today. It shows us that Christmas is not just about opening presents, but is about being with family and friends who love us and having a jolly time with them. Whereas today people only seem to worry about what they get for Christmas. Perhaps Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’ still has a valuable message for us all. It is about our responsibility towards those who are less fortunate. Dickens wanted Victorian society to be transformed not just his character ‘Scrooge’. There is a clear resemblance between the deformed children ‘ignorance’ and ‘want’ and the starving children we see in ages of today. Overall this novel clearly has relevance to today’s society
