Scrooge’s view of Christmas is also shown when the gentlemen from charity come to Scrooges office in search a small donation for those in need. “At the word ‘liberality’, Scrooge frowned, and shook his head”, shows that Scrooge has no intention what so ever in making a donation, and this the gentlemen’s presence is not appreciated. Scrooge also asks “Are there no prisons?” which is a rather cruel thing to say given the circumstances, and shows his true colours rather brightly.
In comparison to Scrooges’ dismal view of Christmas, the other characters in the story celebrate Christmas at the complete other end of the spectrum. Characters such as Bob Cratchit and his family, although quite poor, go all out at Christmas. Their Christmas celebration could not be more opposite to Scrooge, including the meal. Whilst Scrooge would be sat next to his fire of one log, enjoying a bowl of lukewarm gruel, the Cratchits’ would be enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding, all hand prepared by Mrs Cratchit. This shows remarkable evidence to the way the Cratchit’s celebrated Christmas. “Hurrah! There’s such a goose, Martha!” and “God bless us, every one” back up this point superbly. From the enormous goose and Christmas pudding, served by Mrs Cratchit, to Scrooges Christmas meal of warmed over gruel, their two views of Christmas could not be more opposite. I think that Dickens drew the Cratchit family and their views of Christmas from his own personal experience as a child, because of him coming from a large and rather poor family, and so made this story very personal.
The three spirits in ‘A Christmas Carol’ are portrayed in many different ways, each contrasting from it predecessor in a multitude of ways. The fact that there are three spirits also implies that the story could be based in relation to the Christmas story, with Mary and Jesus, and that the three spirits could be portrayed as the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or as the three wise men, who came bearing gifts to Jesus birth.
The ghost of Christmas Past is described in very vague detail, but enough to develop an image of what he or she may have appeared to look like to Scrooge. It is described as “a head without a body: of which dissolving parts, no outline would be visible in the dense gloom wherein they melted away”. This creates an image of the stereotypical ghost which has evolved throughout the centuries from the middle ages, as a floating spectre, with no inner mass. This seems to make the spirit seem evil and unwelcoming, but Dickens writes, ““Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me?” asked Scrooge. “I am” The voice was soft and gentle”. This completely inverts past opinions of the ghost and now portrays it, as the description states, as ‘soft and gentle’.
The second spirit, the ghost of Christmas Present is introduced in an entirely new and non-script way, as a Jolly Giant. “”Come in” exclaimed the ghost, “Come in!”” are the ghost first words as Scrooge ‘timidly’ entered the room, which was now filled with a plentiful bounty of food and drink, and decorated, maybe overly for the Christmas season, with “turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages” and the list goes on. The point where Dickens writes “long wreaths of sausages” also ties into the Christmas theme, because a wreath is a traditional circular decoration hung at Christmas, so the usage of the word ‘wreath’ strongly enforces the seasonal feeling in the room.
