Scrooge's Transformation in A Christmas Carol Essay

A Christmas Carol Essay

A Christmas Carol is one of Dickens most famous books alongside Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities or David Copperfield. A Christmas Carol was written and set on Christmas Eve 1834 (Victorian times)

Dickens may have written it because his experience made him want to make others aware of the misery of the poor and injustice of the law. He wanted to fight poverty and criticise the attitude of the greedy.

In this essay I will explore how Scrooge changes as a result of the visits of The Three Ghosts.

At the beginning of the book Scrooge is isolated of the community. Everything he cares is money which he doesnt even spend. The main feature of Scrooge is avarice. He has no friends; he is cut of his family he was scared that family means costs.

But someday he totally changed himself. It happened because of the visit of the three ghosts.

At Christmas Eve he had been visited by the Ghost of the Past. He reminded him about the past, which Scrooge wanted to erase from his mind. He reminded him about the times when the cheap-skate was a small, innocent and rejected boy. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a bright, merry creature, representing joy and goodness. He is described almost as mystical and angelic, and the purpose of his visit is to make Scrooge feel remorse using previous events. Scrooge is terrified, and very reluctant, but then acquiesces to the Spirits prodding. As Scrooge tours his past he begins to feel remorseful, after every event he sees. Upon observing his sisters kindness, he is overwhelmed by feelings of her death, and remorse for his poor treatment to her son. When observing the youth of himself, he regrets his actions towards the caroler, and all through the night, he observes that he wished he could speak to each of those people, and apologize for his behavior.

There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something: thats all

She died a woman one child your nephew (Scrooge seems uneasy at the mind).

I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now.

The scenes then shift to a younger Scrooge with his fiance. She breaks off the engagement saying that Scrooge was displaced by another idol the idol being an insatiable thirst for money. As the scene closes Scrooge cries out in emotional distress, moved by this scene, and pleading with the spirit to continue no longer. However the spirit continues and Scrooge sees the girl, now much older, with the family, and happiness, that could be his. Enraged, Scrooge shoves the spirit into a cap, a representation of his last futile attempt to revert to misanthropic nature. However, the light still shines through, a symbolism that the initial transformation is complete.

Its only once a year, sir I was making myself rather merry

The second of the spirits is the Ghost of Christmas Present. He is conveyed as royalty and carries a staff filled with Christmas spirit, also aging as the night continues. The purpose of his visit is to show Scrooge that regardless of the isolation or poverty of an area, the joy of Christmas can still be found. Scrooge is a bit calmer around this Spirit, though still very anxious. The Spirit shows Scrooge a variety of frivolous scenes, depicting mines and ships, where despite their isolation, they are still merry with Christmas spirit. However the most effective scene is that of the Cratchits. Despite their poverty they enjoy a wonderful feast. This goes on as Scrooge notices the ailing Tiny Tim. Now partially emotionally transformed, Scrooge inquires solicitously to the Spirit about the longevity of the boy. I see an empty seat at the Cratchit table, and a crutch that bears no owner. And if hed like to die hed better do it, and decrease the surplus population! This strikes Scrooge, and he is overcome by grief, hearing his hateful words lingering in his ear. And though Scrooge treated them both with disrespect, he was toasted at Christmas dinner by both Mr. Cratchit, and his nephew. The two proceed to an area where two children reside, Ignorance and Want. This is a raw example of Dickenss reformist writing, the representation stating that a needy and uneducated society will not last.

I fear you more than any specter I have seen.

The spirit fades away, and a hooded phantom glides into the misty air. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to come represents death, and is meant to show Scrooge how others would react to his own. Scrooge hands himself over to this ghost, very changed, and pleads for his aid, knowing now that he must change. The two travel the city, listening to gossip of the death of an allegedly evil person. Subconsciously Scrooge is aware that the man is him, but conceals it from himself. They appear at the Cratchit residence, in mourning over the death of Tiny Tim. The immense sorrow and grief felt by the Cratchits aggrandizes the negative comments made about the deceased Scrooge. The Spirit and he then approach a gravestone, and Scrooge reads his name etched in the rock. He cries out for forgiveness, signifying the climax of the story. He is now a changed man.

Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on the stone.

Upon awakening on Christmas morning, Scrooge is filled with glee and merriment. He sends a magnanimous turkey to the Cratchits and pays the deliver generously. He stumbles upon the charity worker whom he promises a grand donation. He spends the rest of the day dining with his nephew, even after promising against the latter. Scrooge quickly became a role model in his society, and also gave Cratchit a raise. The two most effective and painful memories for Scrooge were those of his ex-fiances family, and of the happiness lost after the death of Tiny Tim. Scrooge rectified both in a single motion, becoming like a second-father to Tiny Tim, and in turn, inheriting the entire Cratchit family as his own.

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

Throughout the story A Christmas Carol Scrooge underwent an intense series of psychological changes. In the beginning a misanthropic hermit, Scrooge evolved through several phases and mindsets into an amiable, courteous gentleman. Through his reformist writing Dickens shows us that a society must unanimously consent to make social changes for them to develop to their full potential. Dickenss writings arouse interesting inquiries when thought about in comparison to American social issues today such as minimum wage, welfare, and prison sentences. But most importantly, the central theme of A Christmas Carol is that no matter how young or old you may be, it is never too late change.