The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a dark phantom, and the only part of this ghost that Scrooge sees, beyond his black robe, is a hand with which he points at the things Scrooge is to take notice of. This ghost shows Scrooge how he will die, and it is a sad scene. Scrooge begs the ghost to tell him that this fate can be changed if he changes his ways, but the ghost doesn't answer him. Scrooge is left only with the knowledge that he must change and become a more charitable person if he is to alter the fate that the ghost revealed to him.
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Charity Collectors: Two men collecting donations for charity come to Scrooge expecting that such a wealthy businessman will contribute to their cause, but Scrooge refuses. He insists that there are government-established forms of aid, and if more is needed to help the poor, it's the government's responsibility. Later when Scrooge is converted, he donates a large sum of money to one of the men. The collector is greatly surprised by Scrooge's generosity after facing such hostility when they approached him the first time. Fan Scrooge: Ebenezer's younger sister whom he loved dearly but who died young. She was the mother of Ebenezer's nephew, his only living relative. Fezziwig: Fezziwig was Scrooge's kind and generous employer. He revisits the memory of his employment with Fezziwig when the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him Fezziwig's great Christmas party. The memory of this kind employer makes Scrooge feel a twinge of regret at how poorly he treats Bob Cratchit, his own employee. Belle: Belle is the young woman who once loved and was loved by Scrooge. Unfortunately, his love for her was replaced by his love for money, and she did not want to be second in favor to gold. She left him and went her own way after that and married. Scrooge remained alone. The Ghost of Christmas Past reminds him of why Belle left him and shows him where his life began going the wrong direction. The Thieves: These are poor people who rob from Scrooge when he dies because he had no one in his life to whom he could leave his wealth. They took many of his valuable possessions to sell them, and they have no remorse for their thievery because he was such a cruel, cold man. Scrooge sees them without knowing that he is the man from whom they steal, and he is disgusted by their greed. But he also pities the man they have robbed because he sounds like a miserable wretch despite his wealth. The Debtors: A young couple who is indebted to Scrooge for some amount of money that they cannot presently repay, rejoices in his death, because now they may find some leniency in the creditor who takes over Scrooge's business. Although the couple knows that it is wrong to rejoice in someone's death, they cannot help but feel relieved that they no longer owe Scrooge money. Small book...big themes!
This story deals with some pretty big topics, things that were particularly of interest to Dickens. He explores some hardhitting themes that tend to focus on morality and what it means to be a good person.
Dickens wanted to write a story to show people the error of their ways, and to encourage people of all backgrounds to be more understanding of others. Click the link or the button below to listen to a podcast about the themes of the story. Listen here! Because the novel is set during Christmas, the reader expects certain themes, ideas and connotations: generosity, love, happiness and forgiveness. However, Dickens contrasts these positive emotions with greed, poverty, sickness and sadness. What a clever man! Examples of Christmas Spirit:
Scrooge's effect on Christmas Spirit:
Scrooge's revelation
Scrooge's heartlessness is representative of Dickens' view of Victorian society. He believed that the middle and upper classes ignored, exploited and criticised the nations poorest people. Many people in the Victorian era believed that the poor should take care of themselves, and felt that charity wasn't helping as it didn't allow/encourage people to take care of themselves. Scrooge mistreats the poor:
Scrooge fears poverty
Ignorance and Want
The issue of charity was an important concern to Charles Dickens. It was his belief that charity was linked closely to religion and Jesus Christ. Dickens was a Unitarian Christian, which meant he was more interested in morality and ethics. Dickens believed that Jesus was the perfect example of a good, honest and giving character. This message is the driving force behind A Christmas Carol and is shown in the transformation of Scrooge, who becomes kind, charitably, honest and giving. Lack of charity and compassion: Scrooge:
Mrs Dilber (Stave Four)
Collecting for Charity
Kindness to strangers/ compassion
These two themes represent the consequences of living a life of ignorance and material obsession. In Stave One, the ghost of Jacob Marley offers Scrooge a very vivid image of the fate of those who succumb to greed. Scrooge and Greed
Sickness and Tiny Tim
This theme is one of the driving forces of the novel, and Dickens shows how all men are capable of change. Dickens imagines the most miserable and hard-hearted man he can, and shows how he can be reformed if he sees his responsibilities. Marley visits to warn Scrooge that he must change his ways, and he does this with the unknowing help of all of the other characters. At the start of the novel, Scrooge seems to resist change
Changing Scrooge Stave Two
Stave Three
Stave Four
Stave Five
Families were very important in Victorian times, and tended to be quite large. Dickens had a large family and was one of eight children. Despite being relatively well-off, Dickens saw himself as a “very small and not-over-particularly-taken-care-of boy", and at the age of 12 his father was sent to a debtors prison and Dickens had to work to help support his family. Because of this, Dickens felt that he could empathise with all families, and sought to highlight the plight of struggling families in much of his writing. Scrooge's attitude to family
The Cratchit family
A Christmas Carol is full of symbols and metaphors. Sometimes, there's more to Literature than meets the eye! The main symbols that you should be aware of are:
Symbols - the Three Ghosts A Christmas Carol is one of the most famous allegories of all time. An allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. The Ghost of Christmas Past:This figure is a personification of memory. In order for Scrooge to grow as a human being, he must remember his past and learn both positive and negative lessons from it. The light that shines from this Ghost's head symbolizes the "illumination" which can come from reflecting on one's past, and the cap which the Ghost wears symbolizes the ability each person has to extinguish the light of memory, if he or she chooses to do (as Scrooge attempts to do at the end of Stave Two). The Ghost of Christmas Present: This figure is a personification of generosity. All the details of this figure's appearance-its large, exposed breast; its cornucopia-like torch; the abundance of food on which it rests in Scrooge's rooms-lead readers to conclude that this Ghost symbolizes generosity, which for Dickens is at the heart not only of Christmas but also of a truly human life. A sprinkling of seasoning from the Ghost's torch enhances the flavour of meals and of relationships at Christmas. The Ghost stands for generosity not only of material goods, but also and especially of spirit; it alone, for example, protects the "children" Ignorance and Want, and warns Scrooge-and readers-that they must do so as well. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: This figure is a personification of the relentless march of time towards both a fixed and an unfixed end. Resembling nothing so much as traditional depictions of the Grim Reaper, this Ghost may be seen as symbolizing death, the common lot of all human beings; see Fred's comment on Stave One, that all people are "fellow-passengers to the grave." When Scrooge asks to erase the writing on his own headstone, however, he is not asking for immortality; rather, he is asking that his life before his inevitable death be of a different quality than it would be otherwise. Therefore, the Ghost's austerity and imposing manner symbolize the unstoppable passage of time. The Ghost does not engage in conversation or reflection; it simply leads Scrooge from scene to scene, pointing always forward with its outstretched hand. Its stern presence warns readers that-as the saying goes-time waits for no one; should you wish to change your life, do so today. The fact that your life will end is fixed; the meaning that your life will have had is up to you. |
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