Scrooge was a social outcast by his own choice. He was a “tight fisted, squeezing wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching old sinner.” He was so cold hearted and divided from the rest of the society beggars didn’t even bother to “implore” Scrooge for spare change. Scrooge is put across to be a very forceful powerful character because when Charles Dickens describes him and his physical appearance it puts a strong picture in your head giving you an example of how selfish and mean he is, it helps bring the story to life. Scrooge’s physical appearance is just as bad as his personality. In Victorian times they judged people by their physical appearance. If people had a nice friendly happy face they were nice people and if people had an ugly grumpy face they were bad.
Scrooge had an old skinny pale grumpy face “The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his lips blue.” This means that the cold-hearted personality he had showed on the outside had made his old features ugly. Dickens also compares his characters and the atmosphere with the weather “No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he”. Which means that no matter how horrendous the weather is it is never as cruel or as cold as Scrooge and no warm weather could warm his cold personality. The foul weather seemed to follow him. “The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet could boast the advantage over him.” The bad weather hung over his house, almost like it had decided to sit there giving a gothic feel to it and making it very dark, “the fog and frost so hung about the black old gateway of the house, that it seemed as if the Genius of the weather sat in mournful meditation”. Scrooges house as well as being dark and gloomy was isolated “it must have run there when it was a young house, playing at hide and seek with other houses, and forgotten the way out again.” Which means it is isolated and lost.
The Portly Gentlemen.
The two nice friendly potly gentlemen walked in to scrooges office asking & collecting donations for the poor & charitys they ask scrooge and tell him what the charity is about but scrooge doesn’t care and makes his feelings clear by pointing out that “” and workhouses are all the poor need & nothing more, The portly gentlemen reply saying that many would rather die then go to a workhouse & scrooge bitterly replies with "If they would rather die ... they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population." When scrooge mentions the surplus population who is poor but cant get the health care he needs.
There is a big contrast of light and dark between Scrooge’s office and the other shops in the street “the labourers lighted a great fire, round which a party of ragged men and boys were gathered warming their hands and winking their eyes.”
Bob Cratchit was an employer of Scrooge he was underpaid & treated unfairly, he copies letters by hand in a cold dark "dismal little cell", "a sort of tank", and in his house with his family on Scrooge visits invisibly with the and the . He is described as "little", and cant even afford a coat.
Even though he is treated badly by Scrooge and underpaid with a weekly salary of "fifteen " is not given enough to feed his family a proper Christmas dinner he is so nice he even stays loyal to his mean boss and when his wife and family are mean about him he sticks up for scrooge. Also he has to work hard and be loyal through concern about his frail, small, helpless and crippled son, . But even though Cractjicts son is very ill him and his family are still thankful for what they have.
Fred is 's nephew and only relative left. He isnt at all like his uncle, he is a kind-hearted, cheerful, and optimistic person.. “He was all in glow; his face was ruddy and handsom; his eyes sparkeld and his breath smoked again”. Fred believed that there is a good in everyone, even his uncle Scrooge, he invites scrooge to christmas dinner every year despite always being rejected. Fred believes that the Scrooge is good & he can change like charles dickens he belives that change is possible. Fred is one of the only people who isnt afraid to argue with scrooge.
Fezziwig is the owner & boss of an old warehouse which Scrooge worked in as an ; he and all his work friends have a Christmas ball organised by Fezziwig, He is a very friendly warm & encoraging boss, unlike scrooge.
Scrooge revisits Fezziwig with the Ghost of Christmas Past, during the Fezziwigs' Party.He is one of the only people Scrooge is thankful to, he says that “Old Fezziwig could make life a great, ladened pain for them, yet he makes it joyous.” Scrooge realises and remembers how much he appreciated Fezziwig "Was there ever such an employer?" asks him self as a young man. Fezziwig as a boss is Scrooge's opposite in lots ways in kindness, generosity, affection for his employees, relationship with family and apparent happiness & he encourages his employers & insists they have christmas eve off, But scrooge was just angry that bob cratchit even wanted christmas day off.
The messenger.
Marley was scrooges old partner in his business and After he passed away, Marley's spirit had to walk the for eternity. The first sign of supernatural is when scrooge goes to open his door and sees the ghostly face of marley on his door knocker.
Marley appears before scrooge & came to realize how wrong he had been in life. He also saw that Scrooge, was following the same path. What was worse was the fact that since Scrooge was alive seven years longer than Marley, Scrooge's chain would be much longer and heavier than his own when he died. Wanting to save Scrooge's soul, Marley helped Scrooge avoid it by arranging the visits of the three ghosts.
At first Scrooge did not believe that Marley's ghost was real, "Why do you doubt your senses?" Scrooge explained to him that he was nothing more than a figment of his imagination- "a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of , a fragment of an underdone . There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!" Marley's only reply was “spine chilling” howl that brought Scrooge to his knees, begging for mercy. Satisfied, Marley delivered his message of the three hauntings and then vanished from sight.
The Three ghosts.
The Ghost of Christmas Past was the first of the three spirits that visited scrooge it appears to Scrooge as a white-robed child like spirit.
It first showed Scrooge his old boarding school where scrooge was so shocked to see it because he had forgotten all about it “I could walk it blindfold.” This means he is able to remember it well. Scrooge recognized and knew all the school boys. “He rejoiced beyond all bounds to see them! Why did his cold eye glisten & his heart leap up as they went past”. Scrooge was filled with gladness. The Ghost showed him that their was on boy sitting on his own. “A solitary child neglected by his friends, is left there still. Scrooge knew it. And he sobbed.” This is the first time in the novel scrooge repents. Scrooge “wept to see his poor old self he had forgotten all about how he used to be”.
The 2nd spirit was the ghost of Christmas present he helped scrooge see himself, how he is today and how people see him and what they think of him, which is as a …
The ghost of yet to come showed scrooge his fate and how no one would care about his death and it also showed the saddening fate of tiny Tim.
I Think That the message in a Christmas carol is conveyed very well, using characters, settings, weather, appearances’ and very good descriptive language.
