Scrooge and His Moral Dilemma It could be argued that Charles Dickens meant to raise aristocratic awareness for England’s poor and the plight they suffered when he wrote “A Christmas Carol” in 1843. The main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, has no warmth in his soul and seems to care only for himself and his money. As the story unfolds, Scrooge prepares to close his counting house on the evening of
Christmas Eve. He nastily declines an invitation from his nephew for the Christmas meal the next day and voices his dismay at having to give his only employee, Bob Cratchit, the day of
Christmas off. Scrooge wishes to pass the evening and Christmas day, in peace and quiet, alone. Just before leaving his counting house on that Christmas Eve, Scrooge …show more content…
Scrooge scowled and asked “are there no prisons?” and
“the Treadmill and Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” (18). It was during this time in Victorian
England that the poor were left to seek out their existence in prisons and work in
Donofrio 2 brutal factory conditions just to stay alive. For some, going to prison was their only means of being fed. Dickens was able to show how selfish and cold-hearted Scrooge was as he was so blunt to point out that the poor were still able to survive in prisons and in factories. Just as before with his nephew, Scrooge nastily dismissed the men and departed for home. Scrooge was visited that evening at his home by four spirits. The first was his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who warned Scrooge that he would be haunted by the visits of three more spirits. Scrooge pleaded for this not to happen or to at least have the option to receive all three Spirits at one time but he was denied. Marley’s visit represented his plea for Scrooge not to make the same miserly mistakes he did during his lifetime. So against his pleas to Marley, the Spirits visited Scrooge one by one. The first was …show more content…
And then the Spirit vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Donofrio 3 The last spirit that appeared was in a hooded cloak with reaper like qualities and floated mysteriously. Although the Spirit never spoke, Scrooge guessed it was the Spirit of Christmas
Yet To Come and the Spirit gestured in a positive manner that it was. Scrooge and the Spirit traveled around the town hearing the town’s people speak of a man’s passing with absolute disinterest. They overheard a couple rejoicing and thankful that a man they owed money to had passed away. Street people were seen selling and trading the items of a recently deceased man.
The Spirit ultimately leads Scrooge through the foggy night to a graveyard where Scrooge is shown a gravestone that bears his own name. Seeing this overwhelms Scrooge and he begs the
Spirit to smear his name from the gravestone and vows “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.” (106). At that very moment the Spirit evaporates leaving only a collapsed cloak lying on the floor. Scrooge awoke the next morning feeling more alive than he could remember in years
Christmas Eve. He nastily declines an invitation from his nephew for the Christmas meal the next day and voices his dismay at having to give his only employee, Bob Cratchit, the day of
Christmas off. Scrooge wishes to pass the evening and Christmas day, in peace and quiet, alone. Just before leaving his counting house on that Christmas Eve, Scrooge …show more content…
Scrooge scowled and asked “are there no prisons?” and
“the Treadmill and Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” (18). It was during this time in Victorian
England that the poor were left to seek out their existence in prisons and work in
Donofrio 2 brutal factory conditions just to stay alive. For some, going to prison was their only means of being fed. Dickens was able to show how selfish and cold-hearted Scrooge was as he was so blunt to point out that the poor were still able to survive in prisons and in factories. Just as before with his nephew, Scrooge nastily dismissed the men and departed for home. Scrooge was visited that evening at his home by four spirits. The first was his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, who warned Scrooge that he would be haunted by the visits of three more spirits. Scrooge pleaded for this not to happen or to at least have the option to receive all three Spirits at one time but he was denied. Marley’s visit represented his plea for Scrooge not to make the same miserly mistakes he did during his lifetime. So against his pleas to Marley, the Spirits visited Scrooge one by one. The first was …show more content…
And then the Spirit vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Donofrio 3 The last spirit that appeared was in a hooded cloak with reaper like qualities and floated mysteriously. Although the Spirit never spoke, Scrooge guessed it was the Spirit of Christmas
Yet To Come and the Spirit gestured in a positive manner that it was. Scrooge and the Spirit traveled around the town hearing the town’s people speak of a man’s passing with absolute disinterest. They overheard a couple rejoicing and thankful that a man they owed money to had passed away. Street people were seen selling and trading the items of a recently deceased man.
The Spirit ultimately leads Scrooge through the foggy night to a graveyard where Scrooge is shown a gravestone that bears his own name. Seeing this overwhelms Scrooge and he begs the
Spirit to smear his name from the gravestone and vows “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.” (106). At that very moment the Spirit evaporates leaving only a collapsed cloak lying on the floor. Scrooge awoke the next morning feeling more alive than he could remember in years