In this same scene, Dickens under-mines the whole reason for the importance of Fred and Bob. Fred, although not as rich as Scrooge, still manages to “enjoy his wealth” and be a jolly person. Scrooge is unbelievably wealthy, and yet he does not spend even the smallest amount of his money to enjoy himself. “What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.” This shows that Scrooge thinks all happiness is to do with wealth, yet if that were true, he would be happy himself, would he not? It is apparent, therefore, that Dickens created Fred as another side of the ‘Rich Man’ character that we see in Scrooge, the stereotypical miserable rich loner. Bob, unlike Fred, is the ‘Poor Man’ and the antithesis of Scrooge in the story. Thus, Dickens created a symbolic character to emulate the Lower classes. He is treated so unbelievably cruelly by Scrooge, yet, he remains a cheerful man who enjoys his Christmas. Without Fred and Bob, the story would not show that money means nothing in terms of happiness.
We meet Fred again at his Christmas party, as people put Scrooge down with horrible but vital words to the moral, “His wealth is of no use to him. He don’t do any good with it.” This action helps us to understand that although Scrooge could give pleasure with the wealth his possesses, he does not and is miserable. Fred helps the reader to understand, by explaining that Scrooge should not be “despised but pitied”. Fred quietly explained to us the first time we met him, Scrooge’s money does him no good and that “his offences carry their own punishment.” Fred is almost the complete opposite of Mr. Scrooge and the scene shows how compassionate he is and how caring he can be. This is important to the story because it gives Scrooge a chance to redeem himself from the mistakes he has made and shows us that someone in the world still cares for him. It also shows us what Scrooge can become, for both Fred and Scrooge come from very similar backgrounds. If Fred can enjoy Christmas, why can’t Scrooge?
Although Bob is unlike Fred in the sense that they do not own the same amount of money, they are similar when you compare their loving nature. Bob cares so much for his family that when he is told his daughter is not coming for Christmas dinner, his joyous nature collapses and he has a “sudden declension of high spirits.” Also, when Bob gives a toast to “Mr Scrooge” his wife insults Scrooge; Even though Scrooge depreciates Bob, Bob honours his authority by standing up for his dignity and demonstrates his loyalty to Scrooge. This character, like Fred, is caring but makes the reader believe that Scrooge is an awful cold-hearted man and to be so hurtful to such a joyful man is inhumane. That is why at the end of the story we understand that scrooge has changed because he now shows that he can also care for these characters and that by giving others money and caring for his workers, one of the morals of this story is explicated. Such an important personality cannot be missed for many of the morals throughout these staves.
The importance of these characters cannot be put on a scale, but I can say that these characters are needed for the story to progress and without them; such significant messages cannot be made. I conclude that, although the names of the characters may not matter, the overall situations and characters of Fred and Bob, are pivotal because they show that it does not matter how much money you have, you can still be happy, honour others and make others happy. Fred and Bob are employed by Charles Dickens to show this in antithesis to Scrooge.
