His all-consuming lust for money destro ys his love for Belle and completes his reversion to a niggardly venomous recluse. The tour through his memories forces Scrooge to recall the emotional episodes of his past.
This dreamlike series of hallucinatory home movies brings the otherwise hardened man to tears. This breakdown and the reconnection with his feeling self initiates the process of melting away Scrooge's cold bah-humbug exterior. An important aspect of A Christmas Carol which is probably today's most popular Christmas tale, save for the seminal holiday story of Christ's birth is its modern view of Christmas as a joyous holiday rather than as a solemn holy day.
Eschewing the religious ideals of asceticism and austerity, the story promotes the more earthly values of universal brotherhood, communal good spirit, and prosperous celebration. It is not immoral to possess riches or to throw lavish Christmas party or to enjoy a great feast, precisely because these things have the potential to spread joy and happiness--the purpose of the holiday season. One violates the Christmas spirit of goodwill when his desire for material pleasure--money, luxuries, sex--prevents them him from sharing himself with others.
Dickens first sketches this perspective on moral standards with the Christmas party at Fezziwig's shop, which includes an exhilarating dance that bears little relation to the Birth of Christ or the Christian tradition. The religious underpinnings of Christmas are always present in the story's backdrop--like the church clock that keeps time throughout the tale--but, in general, Dickens uses them to refine and reflect his more contemporary conception of the holiday and his commentary on the plight of the poor.
SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Mini Essays Suggested Essay Topics. Dickens uses two wretched children, called Ignorance and Want, to represent the poor. Thus, ignorance and want were the two social evils that Dickens believed posed the biggest threat to society. While Fan and Fezziwig help Scrooge to see the effects of generosity, Ignorance and Want force Scrooge to confront his own worldview in a way that he has never had to.
The effects of this encounter terrify Scrooge, and his terror continues through the final part of his journey with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of the things that May be only? It doesn't say a word to Scrooge, but glides along and points out scenes to him. The spirit first shows Scrooge a funeral scene, with businessmen wondering about the money that the dead man has left. The Ghost then takes him through dark alleyways to a scene of three people picking through the belongings of the deceased.
Scrooge recognises that his own death could be met this way. Since Scrooge thinks of himself as reformed, he doesn't realize that he is seeing his future self. When he sees the life of some man described, Scrooge feels sorry for him. Businessmen don't care about him enough to come to his funeral, his servants rob him, and he has no family by his deathbed. The spirits showed Scrooge his past, present, and future and made him change his mind about how he acts.
The final spirit showed Scrooge his death and how he did not want to die mean, grumpy, and realizing how rude he was to others. Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it.
The presence of this ghost makes Scrooge afraid. His trembling legs and inability to stand firm show how he is worried about the future that the ghost will show him. He is so relieved to not only be alive but also to have another chance at life. He sets about changing his ways immediately as he has a large turkey sent anonymously to the home of his clerk, Bob Cratchit. Scrooge learns that if he does not change he will be the miserable man in the casket who no one loves or cares about.
Overall the three spirits teach Scrooge to be a better man. At the beginning of Stave Five, Scrooge is happy that the "time" before him is his own. Marley's Ghost can be seen as a physical representation of the Christian belief system of heaven and hell and the importance of repentance and redemption. When she was engaged to him, he kept pushing the wedding back until his finances were no longer poor.
What emotions has Scrooge felt during Marley's visit? What is his mood like after Marley leaves?
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