How Does Ebenezer Change In The Ghost Of Christmas Past

“I am not the man I once was…” (Dickens 675) might be the most famous words of Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” Written by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge is a horrible man who is haunted by three spirits overnight in hopes to make a new man out of the old miser. Throughout this story, Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by three spirits ,Christmas present, past, and future, and during this time he learns about his greed, what joy he missed on christmas, and that he had a chance to become better.

A Christmas Carol is the classic story by Charles Dickens about the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. He is guided by three spirits, as they conduct him on his travels through time, teaching him to move beyond his earlier cruelty and hatred of mankind. With the guidance of the spirits, Scrooge learns the true meaning of family, love and Christmas. The spirits all influenced Scrooge in unique ways and taught him different lessons. The spirit that was the most significant in Scrooge’s transformation was the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was first published in London on the 19th of December 1843, the novella was instantly popular and still is to this day. Dickens inspiration for the short story seems to come from his childhood experiences and his sympathy for the poor. In the story a miserable old man, Ebenezer Scrooge, is shown the error of his ways and what will come of it if he doesn’t make drastic changes. Various ghosts and spirits slowly transform him into a kinder more pleasant man. A Christmas Carol is a powerful novella that uses symbolism like the children Ignorance and Want, Scrooge’s transformation, and Scrooges nephew Fred, to reinforce significant themes like social isolation, rebirth, and family.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserable and greedy old man, who focuses mainly on his business and continues with his greedy ways on Christmas Eve. He is always grumpy and yells at his employees, and most of all at Bob Cratchit. Scrooge’s desire is to be by himself on Christmas Eve, and rejects his nephew Fred’s, invitation for dinner. One night, the ghost of Jacob Marley, a former colleague of Scrooge, who has passed away seven years ago, visits the old man. Marley reminds Scrooge of his cruel lifestyle and encourages him to change it before it is too late. He tells Scrooge that three spirits will visit him. When Scrooge falls asleep, The Ghost of Christmas Past visits him first. The Ghost shows him scenes from the past the reveal Scrooges’ live; from a lonesome young boy to a man who has allowed greed to overcome his life, a man who does not know love and compassion. Scrooge is touched by what he has seen and even allows emotions to overcome his stone-cold heart. Secondly, the Ghost of Christmas Present visits Scrooge. The Ghost takes Scrooge to several Christmas celebrations, including the party at Fred’s house. Also the Ghost takes Scrooge to the Crachit’s house, and warns him that unless the future is changed the crippled young son of Bob, Tiny Tim will die. The ghost warns Scrooge to be carful of his ignorance. Lastly the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come visits Scrooge. The old man becomes aware that several people discuses the death of someone. At last, he learns that this is

Foremost, Scrooge regrets not appreciating his clerk’s work. For instance, when Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past visit Scrooge’s old boss, Scrooge whispers, “No. I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now” (40). Scrooge mistreats his clerk due to his off day on Christmas. He does not enjoy other people mooching off of his money. However, the events of his past life change Scrooge to the point of thinking about others. He imagines his clerk who can barely support his family and works cold as ice in his working quarters. Furthermore, when Scrooge meets his former self when he visits his past, he mutters, “I should like to have given something” (33). Scrooge strangles a kid who comes caroling to his door the night before. He hates Christmas with all his heart. However, after seeing his lonely self he imagines what that caroler felt. He regrets not granting that kid a gift of some sort. Hence, Scrooge regrets his hasty

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, is a story of Christmas spirit and repentance. Ebenezer Scrooge is a hard-hearted businessman who thinks that the less attention he pays to mankind’s problems the better. He is cruel to his clerk, feared by almost all, and repulses the friendly advances of his nephew. However, on Christmas Eve, Scrooge gets a start that begins to jolt him into seeing the errors of his ways. He sees the ghost of his old partner Jacob Marley, who is doomed to walk the earth in a chain that he made in his unkind dealings with mankind, and who tells Scrooge that, in order to have hope of avoiding this, he will be visited by three spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows him memories of the man he used

Dickens used a lot of description to guide the reader through all the emotions displayed by Scrooge in this visit and the surroundings the visit brought them to, such as “and called out, in a comfortable, oily, rich, fat, vocal voice....” and “bright a ballroom as you would desire to see upon a winter’s night!” Happiness is one more emotion shown during the visit, “Why, it’s old Fezziwig! Bless his heart, it’s Fezziwig! Bless his heart, its Fezziwig alive again! This shows that Scrooge still is capable of being happy once again and it also shows the reader the lighter side of Scrooge that the reader has never seen before. The final emotion seen in this visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past revealed by Scrooge was sadness.”Quite alone in the world, I do believe.” This shows how Scrooge’s “journey” into loneliness and bitterness began at the point where

the needs of many suffering out on the streets. The Spirit of Christmas Past teaches scrooge some

Scrooge struggles to learn a lesson and insists the ghost to tell him who the dead man was and becomes horrified when he realizes it is himself and asks for redemption as he 'will not be the man [he] must have been for this intercourse', thus realizing that he still has a chance to change his fate.

The author illustrates that Scrooge who is depicted as "hard and sharp as a flint" is a greedy miser whom is so old and coldhearted that nothing other than his profits will phase him. Dickens uses the scene when the ghost of Christmas past, "a child-like old man" uses flashbacks to show Scrooge of the memories he once made to show the nature of the much younger character. This is evident when Fan "a little girl much younger than Scrooge" had brought out the affection of her older brother as they planned "to be together all the Christmas long, and have the merriest time in all the world." What is important about this example is not just that it shows the compassion Scrooge once felt but also that Scrooge is not truly crooked and horrible to the core establishing the uplifting and inspiring feeling to readers.

Charles Dickens, renowned social critic and celebrated author of the Victorian Era. In his most cherished yuletide novella, Dickens’ explores the idea of transformation and man’s ability to redeem himself. By observing Scrooge’s conversion from misanthrope to humanitarian, the reader can understand that Scrooge is only able to transform because of the ghost’s intervention. Each spirit’s visit secures a part of Scrooge’s developing social conscience. As the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come exits the narrative, the initial antagonist of the novella, Ebenezer Scrooge, does transform into “as good

As soon as Jacob left, Scrooge went to bed but to only be awaken by the ghost of Christmas Past. The ghost was a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head. The boy took Scrooge out through the window and travel back in time to revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Each past recollection that he hold caused scrooge to rethink where did he go wrong and caused him to tear up and sob and even regret not giving to someone who today ask for money for the poor. The ghost then returned Scrooge to his bedroom after his time travel through his past.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, is about a selfish and grouchy man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who dislikes Christmas and charity. In order to fix his undesirable qualities, Scrooge is visited by three spirits, the Spirit of Christmas Past, the Spirit of Christmas Present, and the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. These three spirits use their differences and similarities to teach Scrooge lessons that would change his egocentric ways. The first Spirit that visits Scrooge is the Spirit of Christmas Past, a peaceful, wise, and kind character.

old sinner! Hard as a steel and sharp as a flint, from which no steel

“ Spirit, hear me. I am not he man I was. I will not be the man I have been for so many years. Why show me all of this if I am past all hope? Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me. Let the boy live! 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.” (Scrooge, p.140). A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is an important story as it has a meaningful theme of change, as the quotes states above. But that isn’t the only theme that this beautiful story shows us. Many different spirits encounter him to help him realize why Christmas is important (I’m pretty sure that is the meaning of the spirits). When the first spirit of the past encounters him, he realizes what he has done, and regrets some of the things he did. The second spirit helped Ebenezer Scrooge recognize how what he has been doing has had an impact in other peoples life. When the frightening third spirit came and showed him his future and others futures, he discovers about himself and how people didn’t care that he died. When we read A Christmas Carol, we learn that it can have many different themes that can be a very important component to the story and even our lives.