How Does Dickens Present Christmas Spirit

He wanted people to believe there should be equality towards everyone and understand how some could be wealthy while others are dying of starvation. A Christmas Carol can be viewed as a heart-warming story of Christmas happiness, but it was also a devastating time period for Dickens. Scrooge is a very wealthy person and in the story Dickens wanted to show that the wealthy, such as Scrooge could learn something from the poor. “It is required of every man," the ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death.” This quotation Dickens wrote meant that he wanted to show the readers that each member of society should be concerned of each other’s well being.

This idea is greatly embedded in the Cratchit family, in particular Bob Cratchit. In the form of the character, Bob Cratchit, Dickens tries to represent that money, class and rank are unreliable guides to determining a human beings worth and happiness especially among those who have nothing. Further to this, Dickens explores the happiness and jovial spirits of the lower classes, represented in the acts of Bob Cratchit slaving away for a meagre earning to barely be able to feed his family. However, though despite this there is still shown a table that is full of hope and love represented fluently throughout the family. Bob Cratchit's priorities are properly focused on family, love and companionship. “A merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!” By capturing the responses of the Cratchit family Dickens shows that the poor can be jubilant and jolly even though they are suffering hardships. Dickens also writes about the Christmas spirit within the Cratchit family "after a while they played at forfeits for it is good to be children at Christmas" which is used to represent, not all in life has monetary value. Tiny Tim, the Cratchit’s crippled and vulnerable, yet equally loved child, “Bob held his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child and wished to keep him by his side”, is expressed by Dickens as a directive to the

One difference is that people loved Charles Dickens and people remembered him for, “His intense energy, his polite manners, and his cultured way of speaking…. He was ambitious, determined, compassionate toward those in need, and quick to anger at injustice,” (Warren 38). However, nobody liked Scrooge and he was described as, “Scrooge hates Christmas cheer, warm wishes, and the spirit of giving,” (Dickens back cover). Charles and Scrooge are opposites when it comes to personality and what people think of them. Another difference is that Dickens shared his money with the poor, whereas Scrooge did not. Dickens often gave money to those in need, “Dickens gave them money for a night’s lodging,” (Warren 127). He also donated to organizations to help the poor. Scrooge, on the other hand, did not give money to the poor. When two portly men came to Scrooge’s office asking for donations, he refused to give them money and says, “Are there no prisons?… And the Union workhouses, are they still in operation?” (Warren 9). He didn’t want to give them money and thinks that the poor should fend for

Two other business men come to visit Scrooge to collect charity money off Scrooge, but they are not collecting to give Christmas presents they are collecting for common necessities. When Scrooge tells the two gentlemen he does not want to give any money the two business men suggest Scrooge wants to remain ‘anonymous’ but Scrooge replies ‘are they no prisons ‘or ‘workhouses, Dickens is showing us just because you are a business man you do not have to be cruel like Scrooge. Towards the end of the novel Scrooge changes and kindly gives the two business man a large amount of money and the two businesses are astounded that Scrooge has changed and are wondering if he is another man.

In A Christmas Carol, an allegory of spiritual values versus material ones, Charles Dickens shows Scrooge having to learn the lesson of the spirit of Christmas, facing the reality of his own callous attitude to others, and reforming himself as a compassionate human being. The reader is shown his harshness in the office, where he will not allow Bob Cratchit enough coal to warm his work cubicle and begrudges his employee a day off for Christmas, even claiming that his clerk is exploiting him. In the scene from the past at Fezziwig’s warehouse, Scrooge becomes aware of the actions of a conscientious, caring employer and feels his first twinge of conscience. The author suggests an origin for Scrooge’s indifference to others as Scrooge is portrayed as a neglected child, the victim of a harsh father intent on denying him a trip home for the holidays and only reluctantly relenting.

In the beginning of the book, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge is a cold, selfish and greedy man. He owns a business and is rich, but never does anything good with his money and keeps it to himself. He thinks of Christmas as a useless holiday and does not care to talk or smile to anybody he sees. However, as the spirits of the past, present and future visit him, Scrooge becomes much kinder and wants to become a better person. He learns to care for others and becomes more engaged in his community.

Ebenezer Scrooge was a slave to his desire for wealth would be an understatement. His very innate being was controlled by this one all consuming want, and it infected and ruined every relationship he was ever part of. However, Mr. Scrooge isn’t remembered necessarily for his greed, rather he’s remembered for his drastic change at the end of the novel. In the beginning of the novel when Mr. Scrooge is approached by two gentleman in order to make a Christmas donation Scrooge says that, “If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”(11). Mr. Scrooge does not care about his fellow people, all he cares about is their cash. He is a foul and nasty character. However after being visited by three ghosts he starts to become a better person. His transition begins when the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him how he alienated his love and how he lost his sister as well. This starts to put a crack in his psyche and is the beginning of his transformation. Next he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present who shows him the awful conditions that his employee Bob Cratchit is suffering, no thanks to Scrooge. The fact that Mr. Cratchit’s son Tim may soon die because of him wears away at Scrooge’s facade of heartlessness even more, but the transition isn’t yet complete. Although he asks the Ghost of Christmas Present whether Tim Cratchit will live and is “overwhelmed with penitence and grief”(63), his despair at the young child’s

He first was annoyed and put upon that he had to be visited by them. Secondly, Scrooge whispers to himself “I’ll send it to Bob Cratchit”and says to the boy ”Come back with the man and I’ll give you a shilling, come back with him in less than five minutes, and I’ll give you a half a crown”. This shows that Scrooge has changed financially as well. This is because in the beginning Scrooge won’t buy anything for himself or others and now, he is willing to be generous with his money to those around him and is thoughtful of others less fortunate than him, he shows this through his thoughts when he thinks about how Bob Cratchit only could afford a small turkey for his large family and decides to help him and purchase a massive turkey so that his family would be fed well on Christmas and afterward with leftovers. In The Christmas Carol Scrooge changes through his

Scrooge, for once is beginning to care for people, asking the spirit “....if Tiny Tim will live”. The emotions that Ebenezer Scrooge expresses indicates that he is starting to care for people and not just his property. Scrooge hopes that “....the child will be spared”, from the death that awaited him. Meaning Scrooge cares about whether Tiny Tim was going to die. He “hung his head to her his own words quoted by the Spirit”, and grieves when the Spirit reminds him of the decrease of surplus population. Dickens here tries to explain that Ebenezer does feel the same as he did before about his views of the population. At this moment, Ebenezer Scrooge begins to feel compassion towards

In the beginning of the novel, 2 people walked into Scrooge’s shop to ask him to donate to the less fortunate. Scrooge responds by saying the less fortunate deserve to be poor if they can’t make it on their own, and if they want to die, they better do so to decrease the surplus population. However, after the spirits show the terrible conditions the less fortunate had to live in, Scrooge develops compassion towards them and starts giving to charity and helping out wherever he can (giving Bob Cratchit a raise and buying them a turkey). Not only does Scrooge’s new ability of compassion help his personal, it also helps people around him. Doing the one small thing of giving back to the less fortunate could mean the lifetime to the person receiving the help, and Scrooge’s change to becoming compassionate did just

Additionally, when Scrooge's nephew, Fred, comes into Scrooge’s place of work with Christmas spirit, Scrooge gets really annoyed and tells him to leave because he thinks that they should be working and not be that merry. Although Scrooge is not a nice person now, he still has room to change and grow, and if he does, he will save himself and many other from a bad life in the

In Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol there's many themes and symbolism that are compelling to the novel. Such as Scrooge character development through a miserable man that hates Christmas and people around him that would rather be in his little cocoon of a shell then commute and gather with the people that loves him and would want to share the holiday spirit with him. Scrooge in the story is cold as ice and does some inherent and despicable Things in the story. Such as showing how uncaring he is to the poor and people who lower then Him in class. In the depiction of the book, a man ask Scrooge for money many times for donation to the needy but Scrooge neglects him time after time. This summarize how uncaring he is to the poor and how selfish he is

In the story A Christmas Carol it states (I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!) (Stave IV). He has a better attitude and it starts to make other people happy. In the story A Christmas Carol it states (No, no," said Scrooge, "I am in earnest. Go and buy it, and tell 'em to bring it here, that I may give them the direction where to take it. Come back with the man, and I'll give you a shilling. Come back with him in less than five minutes and I'll give you half-a-crown!" The boy was off like a shot. He must have had a steady hand at a trigger who could have got a shot off half so fast.) (Stave V). The evidence explains how he is willing to give a lot of money to a

Scrooge is a symbol of the Victorian aristocracy who viewed the poor as a scourge upon the earth and thought the world would better if they died, as Scrooge alludes to in the Carol

Dickens conveys Scrooge’s personality change based on fear that is influenced by surrounding characters, as he fears that no individual will remember him on earth. As Scrooge is a part of the upper class, Dickens refers back to the audience who were the middle/working class as they are full of joy even though they are treated without respect but they have the best values as they are hard working and kind. Due to Scrooge treating his employees with no compassion as he has a heart, “...as hard as a flint…” this allows the fear that Scrooge feels to become apparent towards the reader. The catalyst of his fear is the entrance of Marley who displays the consequence of living a mean-spirited life, “...the chains I forged in life..” but Scrooge doesn't