Grumpy Old Men and Ghosts in A Christmas Carol
Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Charles Dickens’ Popular Novella
Nov 13, 2009
To understand Charles Dickens’ story, A Christmas Carol, one must understand the man Scrooge is before the visitation by four ghosts. One must also understand what the ghosts say and show to Ebenezer Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge
Scrooge is the protagonist in Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol. He is an evil man who doesn’t care how his actions affect those around him. He believes that death is a fitting end for those who do not succeed in life.
The narrator describes Scrooge as a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!” whose death will cause sorrow for no one but might cause happiness for many.
At the beginning of the story, Scrooge’s old partner Jacob Marley, who has been dead for seven years, visits him. Marley was as evil as Scrooge when he lived but has been serving penance for seven years. He has come to give Scrooge a chance to escape the same fate. This chance will be given through the visitation of three ghosts.
The three ghosts, The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, show Scrooge his Past, Present, and Future in scenes that sometimes include him and sometimes are indirectly part of his life. Through these well-chosen moments, Scrooge begins to reevaluate the value of his life and the lives of those around him.
He realizes that he wants to make a positive difference in the world. After his time amongst the spirits, Scrooge promises to live in the past, the present and the future at all times. At the end of the story Scrooge is described “as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.”
The Ghost of Jacob Marley
Jacob Marley is Scrooge’s partner. He died seven years prior to the beginning of the story. The narrator assures us that Marley is dead and spends three paragraphs reiterating the fact. The narrator argues that if Marley is not dead then the story is not miraculous and is, therefore, meaningless.
Marley was as evil as Scrooge. He tells Scrooge that when he died seven years ago, Scrooge’s chain was the same length as his. However, Scrooge has had seven years of living in which to lengthen the chain that he carries. These chains are made from the greed and selfishness in their lives and are represented by cashboxes, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and purses.
Since his death, Marley has been forced to wander the earth and watch the suffering of mankind but is not allowed to intercede on behalf of those who suffer. He explains to Scrooge that it is the price paid by everyone who does not help others during his lifetime. Marley has procured a second chance for Scrooge. The second chance will come in the form of three ghosts who will visit him.
The Ghost of Christmas Past
The first ghost is a small figure that seems to be both an old man and small child at the same time. From his head a jet of pure light streams forth and under his arm he holds an extinguisher for a cap.
He acts as a guide to Scrooge’s past. The tour includes the following scenes: his time abandoned at a boarding school by a father who blames him for his mother’s death, his time as Mr. Fezziwig’s apprentice, his courtship and break-up with Belle, and the death his partner Jacob Marley.
As he visits the past Scrooge feels both the pain and true joy of his life at that time, feelings he has long forgotten. The emotions he feels causes him to try and join in the activities he sees in his memory. However, he cannot because they are only shadows of the past.
At the end of his visitation, Scrooge looks at the ghost and feels as if pieces of everyone he has just seen are visible on the ghost’s face. Scrooge decides that the Ghost’s influence over him is connected to the light streaming from his forehead and he tries to stifle it under the cap.
The Ghost of Christmas Present
The second ghost is a giant figure. He wears a green robe, which exposes his chest and carries a torch that resembles Plenty’s horn. He takes Scrooge on a tour of Christmas Present. He shows Scrooge the activities of family and acquaintances. He allows Scrooge to see the joy that he has shut himself off from.
During a visit to his clerk’s house, Scrooge learns about Bob Cratchit’s invalid son, Tiny Tim. The Ghost suggests to Scrooge that Tiny Tim might be more fit live than Scrooge. Later, they visit Fred’s home where Scrooge’s nephew defends him as being worthy of compassion.
The ghost and Scrooge travel across the earth visiting the meek and mild. As the night passes, Scrooge notices the Spirit growing older. He also notices feet that do not belong to the Spirit under the Spirit’s robe. The Spirit opens his robe and reveals two children so ragged and malnourished they look monstrous. He names the children Ignorance and Want and claims that unless mankind does something for them they will be the Doom humanity.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
The third ghost wears a black robe that hides everything but one hand. He doesn’t speak. He leads Scrooge through a tour of the future. It features scenes of people laughing over the death of an unidentified man, stealing the dead man’s belongings to make money, and people who weep from relief not sorrow when they find that the man is dead and they might be free. In the end, Scrooge is taken to a cemetery where he finds a tombstone with his name on it and realizes that he is the unidentified man.
Read a Summary of A Christmas Carol.
Read about the Minor Characters in A Christmas Carol.
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