\n<\/a>Christmas According to Dickens<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n
Why Did Ebenezer Scrooge Change? Stave I<\/h2>\n
As A Christmas Carol<\/em> begins, Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the most unlikable characters in all of literature. Here, once again, is the full version of Charles Dickens\u2019s classic description:<\/p>\n Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn\u2019t thaw it one degree at Christmas.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t you love that description? Now there\u2019s a man in need of an attitude adjustment, or, indeed, a life adjustment. And that\u2019s exactly what happened to Ebenezer Scrooge . . . in less than 100 pages! By the end of the story, here\u2019s the new Scrooge:<\/p>\n Scrooge was better than his word [to Bob Cratchit concerning help for his family]. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became 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. . . . [A]nd it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.<\/p>\n What in the world can explain such a transformation? Why was Scrooge able to change? How did it happen?<\/p>\n We might begin by saying that nothing in this world can account for the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. He needed, and indeed, received supernatural assistance. The change in Scrooge is a direct result of the impact of four ghosts upon him, the spirit of his departed colleague Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future. The metamorphosis of a man like Ebenezer Scrooge requires other-worldly influence. In this regard, Ebenezer Scrooge is like his literary forefather Gabriel Grub (see my post from a couple of days ago, \u201cThe First Ebenezer Scrooge\u201d), though Scrooge was haunted by ghosts rather than goblins. And, unlike poor Grub, Scrooge didn\u2019t get physically pummeled into submission. The ghosts worked on Scrooge\u2019s heart, not his body.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the mere fact of ghostly visitors that changed Scrooge, however, as if he were scared into repentance. Rather, it was what he experienced with the spirits that made all the difference. Indeed, the ghosts weren\u2019t really necessary for Scrooge\u2019s transformation. It could have all been just a dream with the same result, although would have been much less fun.<\/p>\n Before Scrooge is visited by Jacob Marley, he shows not the slightest bit of kindness or tenderness. His heart is hard. His focus is utterly self-centered. He has nothing to offer others but scorn and an occasional \u201cHumbug!\u201d In his interaction with Marley\u2019s ghost, however, Scrooge first shows the tiniest morsel of positive feeling to anyone.<\/p>\n When the ghost of Jacob Marley visits Scrooge, at first he doubts the veracity of his visitor. In one of my favorite lines from A Christmas Carol,<\/em> Scrooge argues that his vision is probably \u201can undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There\u2019s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!\u201d Yet with loud cries and a horrifying change of appearance, Marley\u2019s ghost prevails upon Scrooge\u2019s good sense. He finally believes that the ghost is real.<\/p>\n Scrooge\u2019s first response to this recognition is fear and trembling. His fear grows when he learns that he is destined to wear even heavier post-mortem chains than the onerous ones that Marley himself is forced to carry. \u201cSpeak comfort to me, Jacob,\u201d Scrooge begs, in his first real demonstration of some sort of human vulnerability. Yet Marley can offer no real comfort.<\/p>\nThe Impact of the Spirit of Jacob Marley<\/h3>\n
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