When Bob comes into work, upon seeing his uncle he remarks “a merry Christmas uncle! God Save you!” but Scrooge replies with his famous phrase “Bah humbug”, this shows that Scrooge is cold but that he hates people that are warm and could not care less for any kindness or good deed from any one and shows that his heart has become so hard to become able to be able to block such warmth so ungraciously. After the ghost of Marley had come and gone Scrooge examined carefully all the windows and doors as he did not believe that this was a ghost. Dicken’s shows the emotions of Scrooge by saying ‘he tried to say ‘humbug!’ but stopped at the first syllable.” Clearly, frantic with emotion, Scrooge could not say humbug as a sign of disbelief towards Marley’s ghost, and in all the shock, he could only say half of it and realising that Marley may have been telling the truth and therefore that was the last time he ever says his famous words of “Bah humbug” and this is the commencement of the change in Scrooges personality.
Then Dickens gives a list of reasons for him being in such shock from Scrooge’s point of view and says it as though he was Scrooge like it is an excuse for not being able to say humbug, Dickens says “ And being, from the emotion he had undergone or the fatigues of the day, or his glimpse of the Invisible World, or the dull conversation of the ghost, or the lateness of the hour, much in need of repose; went straight to bed, without undressing, and fell asleep upon the instant.”.
Their conversation carries on illustrating how bad Christmas is but the significance in their debate on whether Christmas is pointless and foolish or whether it is a joyful time for families to come together and for peace is when Scrooge bitterly declares “what right have you to be merry? What reason do have you to be merry? You’re poor enough” and his nephew replies and flips the confabulation round and perfectly tells you Scrooge’s existence and retaliates by questioning wittily “What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.” And typically Scrooge can only say “Bah! Humbug!” as he knows he has been beaten yet feels no guilt.
Once Scrooge having dismissed his nephew from work, he comes upon two charity workmen or “two portly gentlemen” who are “pleasant to behold” in his office. They kindly ask for a donation from him, but Scrooge would have none of it and says confidently “I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make isle people merry” showing that let he has not a car in the world for any charity, for any ones feelings and was full of dereliction and was guiltless for what he had just done and we all know that Scrooge could have easily given as much as he wanted to and he would not have to change his life style for it, and worse than that he rudely gives them a list of reasons why the charity is not needed and tells them to leave. Continuing their argument one of the gentlemen says after Scrooge advising them to get the poor men to work in the poorhouses “Many of them can’t go there; and many would rather die.”
Then Scrooge remarks cunningly “if they had rather die, they better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” Scrooge says this as though it was a small thing and that their lives are worthless and were not human beings.
When the first ghost arrives, Scrooge having met Marley’s ghost and the first changes in his personality start to show when he says in an unusually polite manor ‘are you the spirit sir whose coming was foretold to me?’ Scrooge normally thinks he is the boss of everyone and yet he calls the ghost ‘sir’ which demonstrates the start of the change (for the better) of Scrooge.
Scrooge, upon being taken to his home town by the ghost of Christmas past says ‘good heaven!’ showing his delight of being back in his home town and then shows the excitement of where he grew up and remarks ‘I was bred in this place! I was a boy here!’ Dickens’s use of the word ‘boy’ in Scrooge’s comments is done on purpose and used very skilfully. It shows that Scrooge is beginning to soften because one would not usually associate Scrooge with a boy or even having ever been a young boy as boys are warm hearted and loveable where as Scrooge has a frozen heart and could not care for love.
Dickens describes Scrooge’s emotion in a detailed sentence which is striking to the reader because of the repetition and Scrooge uses repetition to emphasise his rush of childhood memories through Scrooge’s changing mind as Dickens says ‘he was conscious of a thousand odours floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares, long, long forgotten!’ The ghost comments to Scrooge and says ‘your lip is trembling, and what is that upon your cheek?’ It is meant to be a tear but Scrooge mutters “that is a pimple” as he is embarrassed about the emotions that he is feeling and says this in ‘an unusual catching in his voice.’ This shows that Scrooge has a lump in his throat and is feeling sad for his lost boyhood.
Dickens uses such adjectives as ‘cold,’ ‘bleak,’ ‘biting,’ ‘dingy,’ ‘small.’ These are very hard, cold words with harsh consonants. He uses these words in the beginning of the book before Scrooge comes across the ghosts and before starting his change of mind; whereas after he uses much softer, lusher words.
When Scrooge is walking with the ghost of Christmas past Scrooge recognises when they come across ‘every gate and post, and tree; until a little market town appeared in the distance, with its bridge, its church and its winding river.’ This is not the type of town that you would ever imagine Ebenezer Scrooge living in as Dickens portrays it as to almost be like a fairy tale town. When Scrooge sees all his old friends he is ‘rejoiced beyond all bounds’ and was ‘filled with gladness’ and Scrooge wonders why ‘did his cold eye glisten and his heart leap up as they went past.’ This emotion through Scrooge seeing his old friends depicts to miss them as he probably has had no friends for a long time and shows he deep down does have feelings as he did once have friends.
When Scrooge made acquaintance with the second ghost, he “timidly hung his head before the spirit” and does not attempt to say “Humbug” or be rude and respects the ghost and respects what the ghost is there fore and knows that they are there to change him and teach him a lesson as Scrooge says “conduct me where you will. I went forth last night on compulsion, and I learnt a lesson which is now working, tonight, if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it.”, showing that he knows that he has realised he was always in the wrong and that he is eager to learn more lessons on how he can be good and shows the clear difference to the Scrooge that once said “Bah Humbug”.
When Scrooge is taken to his nephews house where his family is having a Christmas meal, Scrooge is happy to see such a loving, dedicated nice family and is described as “so gay and light of heart” and when he has sorrow for two young, scrawny children that he is shown by the second ghost, the reason why the ghost showed these children to Scrooge is because they are the children that he refused to donate money to help when the two charity workmen came into his office, therefore, whilst he is feeling sorry for the two boys, the ghost repeats the statement of Scrooge’s own words “are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?”. Being sarcastic, the ghost shows how nasty it is to talk like that and how horrible it is to not give at all and the ghost shows
Scrooge what he was like before so that he can see and mend his ways before Scrooge is left in his room again, alone, after the ghost having vanished forever.
Dickens elaborates the most and describes in depth the third ghost as the most frightening and intimidating of all the ghosts as he uses adjectives such as “the phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached” which sounds like it has a flow to it when read, and “beheld a solemn phantom draped and hooded” which depicts him to be as though he was a devil or grim reaper, with this flow and use of adjectives creates a dark, scary atmosphere that would be when someone has just died at a sad funeral or when you are in trouble with someone. Scrooge can feel this atmosphere as her furthers the maleficent description with his scared peruse “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen” he then says optimistically “but I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear your company, and do it with a thankful heart.”. Scrooge declares his will to change and the fact that he will go through a bloodcurdling ordeal with the third ghost to change from a miserable, cantankerous, old man to be a new, happy, man full of life and spirit. One clear change of Scrooge is that he says thank you even before he has gone to see the future with the ghost and assures that he will do it willingly.
The main statement that Scrooge makes is when he declares that he will forever keep his new ways is when he is standing over his very own grave stone and emotionally vows to “honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year! I will live in the past present and the future” he then goes on to say “The spirits of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut away the lessons that they teach!”. This is interpreted that he has declared the keeping of his new ways once he sees himself dead and alone with an empty funeral and is very enthusiastic about keeping it and shows he wants to be also kind and charming like people are on Christmas all year round! He shows that he has not only changed his personality and his vocabulary but he changes his flow of sentences and rhythm of words, he now sounds like a delightful, courteous more amiable gentleman.
Once Scrooge has awoken after the visits from the ghosts, it is evident that he is using different sentence structure contrasting with how he used to speak when he was so melancholy, but he is now very jolly, you can tell straight away as it is as clear as his change in view and personality, even the way Dickens writes is different as he is no more depressing and dickens does this gradually though the book at the same rate as Scrooges change. Dickens says “YES! And the bed post was his own, the bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the time before him was his own, to make amends in!” , this shows the way in which dickens comparing him owning the time that he can change which is not something you can physically which you can even pay someone else to do and do nothing yourself, whereas you cannot have someone change time for you, you must change it yourself and keep to the change in which he is meaning to make amends. This is showing that he is now permanently changed from the old Scrooge and is a new one that is euphoric and benevolent and has gone through a full transformation completely.
Now that the change has happened, Dickens has changed his language as he only uses gay, warm, positive words consistently to describe everything and is as though he is in a good mood whilst writing and uses similes to illustrate how Scrooge is feeling as he says "so fluttered and so glowing in his good intentions" and "laughing" and then Scrooge himself then says "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as a schoolboy. I am giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody!" by say this he is showing his Christmas spirit to the whole world and is clearly enthusiastic and proud of who he is now, he has now changed his small phrase "humbug" to more lively phrases such as "I shall love it, as long as I live!" and "what a delightful boy" which is warm and shows that he has picked up a pleasant spirit when he speaks or does anything. This all makes the moral have greater effect especially because we don't know what happens when we die! Also the narrative effect is improved by this as Dickens always sounds like he is always jubilant and content when you read the book aloud.
I therefore conclude that Dickens Shows the change of Scrooge clearly through out the book by changing the language he uses and the way that Scrooge acts towards people and the way people act towards Scrooge all change gradually in the book. Dickens also puts forward a clear moral which is one must live your life to the full and be as benevolent as one can be because other people can be effected by what you do and say, and if you have nothing to say then don't say anything at all because no one wants to hear something horrible and be with a miserable old man. When Scrooge has changed, Dickens shows how much Scrooges life changes for the better
