What he says to his nephew could be quite hurtful for him. I say this because all he came to do was to wish him a merry Christmas and to invite him around for Christmas dinner and he has ended up being laid into about his financial state by his own uncle.
Scrooge is also ruse to the charity men.
“ ‘What shall I put you down for?’
‘Nothing!’ Scrooge replied”
Scrooge says this in reply to when the charity men have just spent some time explaining about the poor people at Christmas time, who have next to nothing, and they just asked him how much he was going to donate to them. This shows us that not only does Scrooge have complete lack of respect for the charity men, who have given up there time to collect money for the poor, but also shows he is a very cold hearted man. I say this because he is one of the richest men in that time and he can’t spare a penny for the poor.
Another person Scrooge isn’t very nice to is Bob Cratchitt. When Mr Cratchitt asks for Christmas day of, Scrooge lets him have it off but that doesn’t stop him trying to make him feel guilty about it.
“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December.”
What scrooge is doing here is trying to make Bob Cratchitt feel bad for wanting to take Christmas day off work to spend time with his family.
What all this tells us about Victorian life is that for one thing, not all people get Christmas day off as a bank holiday.
In Victorian times there was no minimum wage so scrooge could give as little money as he wanted to Bob Cratchitt.
With the charity men, who were looking for money for the poor, the reason why they were doing this is because in Victorian times the government didn’t give any money to the poor, unlike these days. What this means is that if know one collected money for charity the poor would be even poorer.
4. The ghost of Jacob Marly showed Scrooge a metaphoric chain for his life.
“I wear the chain I forged in life.”
What Jacob Marly is saying here is that when you die you have to live with all the bad things you have done during your life. This is shown by a chain, so for every bad deed done in your life a link will be added to the chain. He tells Scrooge that already his chain is much longer than his is, and he hasn’t even finished his life yet.
The effect that the ghost of Jacob Marly has on Scrooge is that he makes him very worried about what’s going to happen when he’s dead and also makes him nervous about the three ghosts coming to see him.
The ghost of Christmas past shows Scrooge how he was when he was a boy.
He makes Scrooge regret bad things he had done earlier on that week.
“There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: that’s all.”
This shows us that the ghost of Christmas past is starting to make Scrooge feel remorseful ll about some of the bad things he has done before. This could be because what the ghost is showing him about how he was when he was a young boy.
The ghost of Christmas present shows Scrooge Christmas day. In particular the ghost shows Scrooge that even if you are poor, you should have a good time at Christmas. This is what the ghost says to Scrooge:
“To any kindly given. To a poor one most.”
This is a quote from when Scrooge is asking about what the Ghost is sprinkling on the families. Scrooge asks him if the water that the ghost is sprinkling on people would make any body happy and the Ghost replies yes but a poor family need it most. This helps show scrooge that poor families are just as important at Christmas as rich ones, and they should all have a good time.
The ghost of Christmas yet to come shows Scrooge shows how people would react if he were to be dead. This makes Scrooge want to be a better man and join in with the Christmas sprit every year.
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
This ghost has the most profound effect on Scrooge, as he seems to be a totally different person when he has finished with him. This could be because the thought of people not caring when he died really shocked him. The ghost showed him people not being sad at all when he died, and he also showed him people only coming to his funeral because there was free food. This really made Scrooge change his ways.
5. I think that Scrooges character starts to change when the first ghost comes to visit him. This is when he first shows signs of remorse for things that he has done in the past and starts showing signs of change.
Here is a quote I used earlier on in the essay:
“There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: that’s all.”
This shows that Scrooge is starting to see the error of his ways and he is actually starting to change. It may not be a big change at first but it is some from of change.
We learn that Scrooge was a lonely, unhappy child and was maybe bullied in his past.
“A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is still left there.”
The solitary child, left at the school at the Christmas holiday is Scrooge. This tells us that when he was at school he had very little, if not no friends. This is maybe where he started to get so moody and unhappy.
I think the ghost of Christmas yet to come has he most effect on Scrooge. I say this because when the ghost of Christmas yet to come has finished showing Scrooge the future, he has a total change of heart and now he really wants to be nice and to honour Christmas every year.
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
This is why I think the Ghost of Christmas yet to come has the biggest effect on Scrooge.
6. Towards the end of the novel Scrooge is described in a much nicer way. He seems very happy and joyful.
“I am as happy an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.”
This is how Scrooge feels when he comes back from the last ghost trip. He is happy because he has a chance to change the things he has done wrong and he is happy because the things the ghost of Christmas yet to come showed him haven’t happened yet.
He is also very nice to other people in the book.
“What a delightful boy!”
Scrooge says this to a child who he asks to go and by the prize turkey. Scrooge buys the turkey so he could give it to Bob Cratchit, so they could have a good Christmas dinner. This is a complete turn around from how Scrooge acted at the beginning of the novel. I say this because at the beginning he wouldn’t have even talked to that boy, yet alone call him delightful! If you remember also at the beginning Scrooge doesn’t give any money to help the poor, whereas here he spends a lot of money on the turkey for a poor family.
7. The text does have a satisfying ending for the reader. I say this because people who read stories usually want them to have happy endings, such as this one. Another reason that the novel has a satisfying end is because as well as the ending being happy, the poor people in the story (the Cratchits) get to have a nice Christmas dinner and you get the feeling that little Tim will live much longer.
Other stories which have a happy, moral ending include most fairy tales and books such as the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In this story good wins at the end and also they are able to find out that Lucy (the little girl) is not lying and she is happy again. This is another story that has stayed popular over time.
There are a few reasons why this story has remained popular especially at Christmas. One of them is that the whole book is all about Christmas sprit and what it should be about. It also could help people who are a bit like Scrooge to also to see he error of there ways. It is also quite a good child’s story as well as being popular with adults.
8. My own personal response to this text is that it is a very good novel. It has all the characteristics of a good novel and it keeps the reader turning the page. I did enjoy reading the text because it was interesting and it’s very original. It is a perfect story for around the Christmas time and it is a brilliant example of Christmas sprit.
