Scrooge’s transformation
Scrooge at the start
‘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…The cold
within him froze his old features…He carried
his own low temperature always about with
him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and
didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.’ (p. 34)
Scrooge – a changed man
‘He became as good a friend, as good a
master, and as good a man, as the
good old city knew…’ (p. 116)
Portray the change in Scrooge (see Stave 5).
Include the contrast in how he treats:
• Bob Cratchit
• His nephew
• The portly gentleman
Use words/quotes, pictures, symbols to
show the contrast on poster paper or A3
page or PPT.
Change in Scrooge:
Stave 1:
Stave 5:
Bob Cratchit:
He treats Bob Cratchit, his clerk, poorly and at the start of
the book leaves him to a small fire of one coal keeping
the coal box in his room so he can’t keep himself warm.
He also told him “Let me hear another sound from you,”
said Scrooge, “and you’ll keep your Christmas by losing
your situation!” when he applauded.
Bob Cratchit:
His Nephew Fred:
He is cold towards Fred and does not accept any of his
Christmas wishes. He insults him calling him “poor
enough” and insults him indirectly by saying, “every idiot
who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips,
should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a
stake of holly through his heart. He should!”.
His Nephew Fred:
The Portly Gentleman:
He ignores the gentleman asking for money for the poor
and he toys with them asking about prisons and union
workhouses finishing with “Oh! I was afraid, from what
you said at first, that something had occurred to stop
them in their useful course,”. He then says “I wish to be
left alone,”.
The Portly Gentleman:
Stave 1:
1. His face was the same, same pigtail, waistcoat, tights and boots but he was
transparent. A long chain wound about him and clasped about his middle.
Metaphor:
The Insect on the leaf
Ghost of Christmas Present to Scrooge: “Will
you decide what men shall live and what men
shall die? It may be, that in the sight of Heaven,
you are more worthless and less fit to live than
millions like this poor man’s child [Tiny Tim]. Oh
God! To hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing
on the too much life among his hungry brothers
in the dust.” (p. 82)
What changes Scrooge?
• Sees what he has lost (especially by the Ghost of
Christmas Past). Note importance of memory.
- relationships/family, including fiancé (p. 65)
(the life he could have had - read p. 67-70)
- celebration/fun (Fezziwig’s party) – read p. 64
• Reminded of what it is to be human (especially by
the Ghost of Christmas Present)
- the value of relationships (nephew)
- empathy for others (Cratchits; Tiny Tim)
- read p. 82
• Warned of the consequences of his
priorities and actions (especially by the
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come)
- for himself (torment of Marley’s
ghost and others; reaction to his own
death)
- for society (Ignorance and Want)
The redemption of Scrooge:
Redemption: ‘the act or result of being redeemed’
Redeemed:
1. To buy or pay off (such as debt)
2. To recover something (pledged or mortgaged) by
payment
3. To convert (bonds, etc.) into cash
4. To carry out (a pledge, promise, etc.)
5. To make up for (eg. He redeemed his lie by later telling
the truth)
6. To obtain the release of, as from captivity, by paying a
ransom
Which of these definitions do you think most applies to
Ebenezer Scrooge?