In Stave one, Scrooge’s treatment of Bob Cratchit is very cruel and negative, which is reflected in his personality. This is highlighted when Scrooge answers his clerks question about having Christmas day off with, “If I was to stop half a Crown for it, you’d think yourself ill used, I’ll be bound? And yet, you don’t think me ill used when I pay a day’s wages for no work.” This quotation shows that Scrooge has no appreciation or understanding of Bob’s struggle to maintain his family. He fails to realise that, for Bob, a day’s wage could be crucial for the survival and welfare of his family. Alternatively, he does realise, yet is such a cold character that he does not care about this; he is only interested in making money. Charles Dickens put extra emphasis on the word “me,” which again shows that Scrooge is only able to see from his point of view, and is only able to see whether something benefits him. He always puts himself first. Again he is unable take in to account other people’s needs, and is more importantly he is unable to sacrifice his own greed for other people’s need. This shows how greedy he actually is.
In stave two, Scrooge begins to feel very differently about his nephew, and this is partially due to the spirit of Christmas past showing him his now dead sister, Fan. This is an important part of the story as it’s the first time he is shown to care about someone apart from himself, both his nephew and Fan. When Charles writes, “She had a large heart!” “So she had,” cried Scrooge, “You’re right. I will not gainsay it. God forbid!” he uses some Victorian language in the word “gainsay.” This is when something is declared untrue, so in the quotation Scrooge is refusing to declare it untrue that his sister had a “large heart.” The reference is relevant to Scrooge realising his love for his nephew because Fan is the mother of Fred, who he recognises within her.
In Stave two there are episodes with Belle, Scrooge’s ex girlfriend. There are various reasons for Dickens including them into the Stave. Firstly, he may have wanted the reader to connect with Scrooge in some way, so that they can appreciate that he is human, and that he does have reasoning to be as he is. He could also want this so that they are able to be happy for him when he successfully changes in stave 5. Charles could also have included the episodes to help Scrooge realise how his life has effectively been ruined by his pursuit of wealth. This is backed up with the third episode in which the spirit is literally showing him what he has missed out on. In this episode, it shows Belle and her daughter enjoying themselves at a chaotic and energetic Christmas party. Belle’s husband then walks in, and mocks how separate Scrooge has become from the world. Dickens wrote this with, “There he sat alone. Quite alone in the world, I do believe.” The simplicity of this statement would have had a serious impact on Scrooge. It would have made him realise some of the extent of his loneliness and unpopularity, as well as disturbing him to see the husband and the girl he once loved talking so badly of him. This is also of great relation to Scrooge starting to realise that money isn’t as important as some other things in life. Although Dickens doesn’t specifically write this, it becomes clear throughout the Belle episodes that Scrooge regrets choosing the path of money over Belle.
The spirit’s appearance in Stave two is also relevant to Scrooge, as it symbolises what he is, was, or will become. Dickens implements this symbolism with the quotation, “From it’s head there sprang a huge bright light.” This symbolises the opposite of how Scrooge currently is. The bright light is reminiscent of warmth and enlightenment, which is what Scrooge is hoping to achieve, and opposes what he is currently. The light could also symbolise the fact that the spirit is showing him the way to enlightenment, like a torch. Another relevant factor is that Dickens wrote the spirit as being “a strange figure, like a child; yet not so much like a child as an old man.” In this quotation, it is of importance that Dickens described the ghost as child like. This is because of the numerous qualities associated with a child, such as delight and unawareness of the future. Because of these qualities, a child is able to live in and enjoy the present, which is a part of being enlightened and achieving full understanding. The quotation also compares the spirit to an old man. This could possibly be a representation of peace, which is associated with many elder people.
Later in Stave three, Scrooge and the reader meets the Cratchits. There are numerous reasons for Dickens doing this. Firstly, he may have wanted the reader to connect with lower class families. To back up this idea is the quotation “A merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!” This reference shows that throughout the stave, the Cratchits are generally jolly and thankful. This would be very useful for getting the reader to connect with the Cratchits. The most relevant section of this quotation is the part where Bob says “God bless us.” This would have been crucial to get the Victorian community on the side of the Cratchits, due to how extremely religious most people were. This helps to prove that the Cratchits were religious because the quotation hints that they have trust and faith in God. Also, Bob wishing his family “a merry Christmas” helps to portray the family as warm, which again helps the reader to connect with them. He also may have implemented the meeting to help Scrooge connect with the poorer families.
Charles Dickens would have wanted to do this because one of the worst attributes of Scrooge’s personality was his immense dislike of the poor. This section of Stave three therefore becomes one of the most important parts of the book, because it is here that Scrooge’s attitude to the poor changes. Mr Dickens showed this when the spirit directed Scrooges earlier words back at him in his reply to whether Tiny Tim will live. “If he be like to die, he’d better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” Scrooge reacts to this by hanging his head and becoming “overcome with penitence and grief.” This shows that Scrooge’s attitude to the poor has changed purely because he was curious as to whether Tim would survive. This is strengthened when he shows grief and remorse at the spirit’s answer. There are various reasons for the spirit to quote Scrooge’s own words to answer the question. Firstly, it would have had a large impact on Ebenezer, forcing him to realise the extent of his cruelty in lack of enlightenment. It also makes him regretful of his previous actions and attitude, which furthermore helps him to change.
At the end of the Stave, the spirit shows him the children “want” and “greed.” The two children are described as “yellow, meagre, scowling, wolfish and prostate.” This is an extremely important part of the book, as this is where Scrooge is truly terrified into changing his main flaws. The spirit tells him to “beware most of all the boy, for on his brow I see that written which is doom, unless the writing be erased.” This frightens Scrooge greatly. His largest problem is that of ignorance, which is what the boy represents. And it is the boy that the spirit says will cause “doom.” By this he means that it is ignorance that will force Scrooge’s spirit to wonder the Earth forever, much like Marley’s. This is the exact fate Scrooge is trying to avoid, so it is crucial that he avoids ignorance. While the Spirit and Ebenezer discuss the children, the spirit again directs Scrooges words back at him. He answers “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” This helps to show that Scrooge has at least slightly changed, because he bothers to ask whether or not the children have any “refuge or resource.” This shows that he is now beginning to care for other people, and not just himself. This actual quotation is said by the Spirit to make Scrooge horrified at him being so cold, that before he would have denied Children shelter.
In Stave three, the Ghost looks very different to that in Stave two. Whereas the first ghost was described as having “a child’s proportions,” The Ghost of Christmas present is said to be a “giant.” This gain in size from the first ghost could possibly symbolise that the present is more important then the past. Another vital feature of this spirit’s appearance is how quickly it ages. “It’s hair was grey.” There may be many meanings behind this. Firstly, it could interpreted as a sign that Scrooge’s life is running out. There is more evidence for this in Stave four. It also could again be seen to symbolise that Scrooge must “live in the present.” This would make sense as this is one of the things he must do to avoid his fate. There is more evidence for this in the next Stave, which will be analysed later.
In the fourth Stave, Scrooge realises the truth about himself, in different ways. Firstly, he realises the true extent of his unpopularity when he dies and no one cares, and those that do care think that it’s a good thing. When they are discussing the funeral for Scrooge, Dickens writes “I don’t know of anybody going to it. Suppose we make up a party, and volunteer?” Another person replies, “I don’t mind going if a lunch is provided.” The most important thing about this quotation is how Scrooge fails to realise that these people are talking about him. This is a theme throughout the first part of the stave, and shows that he is not yet enlightened. In this actual quotation, the first speaker says that he doesn’t “know of anybody going” to the funeral. This makes Scrooge look extremely unpopular because during his entire lifetime he has had an impact on no one. The second person makes him look even less popular because he says that he will go “if a lunch is provided.” In saying this he is effectively stating that, to him, lunch is more important than Scrooge. He also still doesn’t say that he’d like to go, merely that he wouldn’t mind going. Eventually Scrooge does realise that the unbothered conversations are about. He tells the Ghost of Christmas to become, “Spirit, the case of this unhappy man might be my own.” Despite this showing that Scrooge has at least partially realised how unpopular he was, it also demonstrates that he is not yet completely enlightened. This is because he says the dead man “might” be him, and doesn’t say for certain that it is.
When he realised that he has died, and died horribly, Scrooge’s language changes significantly. A good example of this change is “Good Spirit, your nature intercedes for me, and pities me.” When he says that the nature of the spirit “intercedes” for him, he is saying that the spirit’s nature pleads for him. In saying this, he is showing that he is no longer scared or intimidated by the ghost, and instead has accepted the fact that what it is doing is on his behalf. This also applies when he gets it’s attention by calling it “good spirit.” This is one way that his language has changed. Also, his language has changed in the way that he has become more polite. Before he fully realised it was he who had died he had said to the spirit, “Are these the shadows of things that Will be, or the shadows of things that May be?” In this reference he does not bother to politely address the spirit before speaking to him. He also does not say “please,” which he does say with questions after he has seen the grave. This provides a sign that he has gained more respect for others.
In the final Stave, Scrooge is fully transformed. He is no longer miserly, and seems exceedingly generous. He tells Bob Cratchit that “therefore, I’m about to raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family.” Apart from this quotation showing that he now at least partially appreciates the work Bob puts in to his job (to the extent he raises his salary,) this sentence shows that Scrooge is no longer miserly. Firstly, he earlier said that time is money, and here is not only offering money to the Cratchits, he is also offering them his time. This shows that he is not miserly and in more ways then one he is now generous. To go with this, he now is caring for the poor, which helps to show that he is no longer a misanthrope in his actions and attitude. His sense of humour has also been overhauled. He now doesn’t make cruel jokes to heighten his opinion of himself, instead he is seen making jokes for the pleasure of other people. An example of this is when the boy delivers the turkey, he exclaims that “Why, it’s impossible to carry that to Camden Town, you must have a cab.” Following this he chuckles, which again shows how his attitude has improved.
To conclude, Scrooge changed significantly throughout the story. Whereas at the start of the story Ebenezer was a miserly loner, by Stave five he was very different. Instead of being miserly and preferring to “keep himself to himself,” he instead is very outgoing, trying to help other people in any way he can. Arguably more importantly, he tries to make friends with everyone he meets, and is pleasant to everyone. I think that Dickens had numerous different reasons for writing the novel. Firstly, he may have wanted the more wealthy readers of his book to be aware of how the poor lived, thus urging them to donate to them. He also may have written it to show the evolving society that the most important principles are still family and friends.
