A Christmas Carol is a novel written by Charles Dickens. It is set in London in the 19th century.
The novel deals with the idea of charity and kindness and how the rich can help the poor and
how festivals are a time for showing mercy and kindness. The novel is divided into five chapters.
Ebenzer Scrooge is the protagonist of the novel. When the novel opens his friend and business
partner Jacob Marley dies on Christmas Eve.
1. Stave One: Marley's Ghost
Charles Dickens portrays Scrooge's stingy character through his interactions with the people
during Marley’s burial. After seven years Scrooge is seated in his counting-house and his clerk
Bob Cratchit is working in cold and harsh conditions. He is not allowed to use coal for the
fireplace because of the expense. Scrooge is visited by his nephew Fred. Scrooge does not like
Christmas because he does not believe in charity. Fred invites him to his house for Christmas
dinner and leaves. Scrooge refuses to donate money to help poor people celebrate Christmas
and protect themselves from the harsh winter. He also refuses to part with his money because
he feels the poor do not deserve it because they did not work for it.
As Scrooge goes home his lonely existence is emphasized, with his cold, dark home a proof
of his emotional isolation. He then witnesses Marley’s ghost. Marley's ghost is described in
detail, with his ghostly appearance and the haunting sound of his chains echoing through
Scrooge's chambers. Marley's message to Scrooge is one of warning and regret. Marley is
guilty of his own choices that he took when he was alive. He warns Scrooge to change his ways
before it's too late. He informs him that he will be visited by three spirits who will help him
change his manners.
2. Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits
The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first spirit that visits Scrooge. It looks like a candle and has
a child-like figure, with light glowing from its head. The spirit guides Scrooge through a series of
memories, starting from his childhood in his boarding school where he was left alone by his
father. His sister Fanny came to take him home for Christmas. Scrooge is projected as a lonely
child.
Scrooge worked as an apprentice at Mr. Fezziwig’s warehouse. Fezziwig's Christmas party is
filled with warmth and enjoyment, and Scrooge also sees himself happily dancing. It is exactly
opposite to Scrooge's current lonely existence. Scrooge remembers how good an employer Mr.
Fezziwig was and feels guilty for the way he treats his employee Bob Cratchit.
Scrooge had been in love with a girl named Belle and had also engaged her. But Belle
realizes that his love and greed for money was more powerful than his love for her. She then
breaks her engagement with him saying that he would not have married a poor girl like her if he
had the choice now. The spirit then takes Scrooge to Belle’s home where he sees her happy
with her husband and children. Scrooge is deeply hurt and extinguishes the light of the Ghost.
3. Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits
The second spirit that visits Scrooge is the Ghost of Christmas Present. It immerses Scrooge
in the sights, sounds, and smells of the holiday season, from the crowded streets of London to
the cozy warmth of family homes. Scrooge witnesses the Cratchit family's simple and poor
Christmas celebration with a mixture of pity and admiration. He is unable to believe how they
find joy in being a family and celebrating Christmas although they are poor and have only
chicken instead of turkey for dinner. Bob Cratchit’s son Tiny Tim's innocence and physical
disability touch Scrooge's heart, forcing him to confront the harsh realities of poverty and illness.
The Ghost tells him that Tiny Tim will surely die if the current situation does not change. The
Ghost then takes Scrooge to Fred’s house where his family and friends are making merry at his
expense. Scrooge finally sees two sickly children crawling out of the Ghost’s dress. The children
are Ignorance and Want, the children of human beings. Scrooge is terrified and witnesses the
death of the Ghost of the Present because the Ghost has a very short lifespan.
