A pill bug is an insect that forms a hard shell around its soft flesh whenever startled or scared. Just like this pill bug, humans guard themselves from anything that hurts them without realizing that they are shutting out the most precious moments of their lives. Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, is a cold man. He finds what he defines as true happiness in the form of money and wealth. At first he only seems to be a machine living in a human form, but as Scrooge's true journey and hardships are revealed, it becomes difficult to blame only Scrooge for his independence. It is inevitable that Scrooge's rudeness and impudent ferocity towards people led to the mistreatment of his dead body, but Scrooge's walls were not built for nothing. As the story progresses, and his true story from start to finish is revealed. There is no one person to blame, for it was the wrong of everyone. As Blaise Pascal once said, “All of humanity's problems stem from a man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” At first glance, Ebenezer Scrooge is a strange man. In his old age, he lives alone in a manor that was once owned by his deceased business partner, the only person he ever interacted with. His thoughts are always cruel and thoughtless as it is displayed when Scrooge says, “ 'If they would rather die,' said Scrooge, 'they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population' ”(10). At the story's start, Scrooge is an antisocial person who avoids interactions with people claiming that they are useless. He is viewed by others as a demeaning figure who is to be shunned because of his uninviting manner. People who were content with their lives were surrounded by their peers and neighbors and never encour... ... middle of paper ... ...p to humanity. He once dared to venture to the depths of darkness, where all hope of ever returning would be lost, but he was saved by the the Spirits who helped him realize that he was terrorizing himself. In the end, Scrooge lived with a bigger smile, louder laugh, and jollier step than anybody else; it was a happy ending. Had Scrooge not changed, it would have ended on a dark note with many forgotten deaths and unfortunate stories of dead bodies. Everyone has a choice. Which path of Scrooge will you take? There is no way to limit what society gives us and what problems we are presented in the beginning, but they way we handle and solve these problems become the basis of our everyday lives all the way to our last breath. Every moment in between will cherished as if the last and no person will ever go unfullfilled. Works Cited A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Scrooge generally disregards or outright denies the needs and welfare of the less fortunate and the challenged, which fits in perfectly with an objectivists view on the less fortunate. An objectivist view on the poor is that, “Every honest man lives for himself. Every man worth calling a man lives for himself. The one who doesn't - doesn't live at all.”(Ayn Rand). What this means is that because the poor cannot provide for themselves and their families they are not men at all and why should the rest of the population help them if they cannot help themselves. This is the same ideology Scrooge subscribes to and is best shown when two men appear at Scrooge’s counting house and ask him if he can, “make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries… [Scrooge has] help[ed] to support the establishments I have menti...
Scrooge is just a normal guy who went to border school when he was a kid. He didn’t spend to much time with his family. He only got to see them on Holidays. Now, he is a grumpy old man.
Ebenezer Scrooge is the major character in the story, A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol is about how a “cold-hearted, tight fisted, selfish” money grabbing man is offered an opportunity of a life time, to change his behaviour, attitude... to have a second chance in life.
When we first met Scrooge, we are informed, and also observe that he is cold, miserly, and bitter. However, after the visit of the Ghost of Christmas future, Scrooge changes into a generous and cheerful man. It is clear that something must have caused a man who is really nice, turn into a mean and nasty person, in this case it was the Industrial Revolution.
One way Scrooge was causing a bad society was because of his greed and selfishness. When Charles Dickens wrote this book he was using Scrooge to refer to the communist government
Scrooge lacks relationships, and leads a lonely, isolated life. Through the help of the Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, he transforms into a jovial, charitable, and generous gentlemen. On page 10 Dickens describes Scrooges personality and physical features. “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 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.” (pg. 10) Scrooge’s greed gets in the way with his relationships. “Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s fire was so very much smaller, that it looked like one coal.”(pg. 11) Scrooge is also very lonely. For example on page 10 it says “Nobody ever stopped him in the streets to say, with gladsome looks,” my dear Scrooge how are you? When will you come see me?” No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o’clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such place of Scrooge.” (pg. 10) This personality of Scrooge changes when he meets the
Ebenezer Scrooge is a grumpy old man and is a very broadened character and he develops very well throughout the story, Scrooge believes that Christmas is a charity, he thinks that it is a time for people to beg and be happy for no reason. Scrooge also doesn’t understand the concept of giving, he has the money to do it. So, the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future all have different things to show scrooge in order to make him believe in the spirit of Christmas. Let’s start out by stating, Scrooge didn’t have a very happy childhood, he and his father never really got along. His father sent him off to boarding school and every time the students were given time off Scrooge would stay at school. For example, every year during Christmas the students were allowed to go home and spend the holidays with their families.
Scrooge is cheap and money is very important to him. From the Ghost of Christmas Past, he remembers that his fiancé broke up with him because he only had passion for his money. He is also not interested in giving money to charity. Scrooge wants the poor to go to workhouses. “I help support the prisons and the workhouses—they cost enough—and those who are badly off must go there” (7). Scrooge prefers to support workhouses rather than help people and give money to those around him. When people came to ask for charity, Scrooge “wish to be left alone” (7). Without Marley, money is all he has. After the spirits visit Scrooge, he realizes how sad and lonely his life really is. He realizes that he lost many things in his life, including his fiancé, because of his love for money. Most of all, I think he finally appreciates that happiness is worth more than money. So, when he needs help shopping, Scrooge finds a little boy, and asks, “come back with the man, and I’ll give you a schilling. Come back with him in less than five minutes and I’ll give you half a crown” (33). Scrooge realizes that it is okay to share his money. Hoarding his money made him become the miser that he is. He decides that if he gives money to other people, he will be happier. Scrooge finally opens up his heart and helps people instead of pushing them away. As the book goes on, Scrooge changes his
In conclusion, Ebenezer Scrooge was a heartless, grumpy, and self-centered person. He later became a man who cared for others and was less selfish, and realized what he was doing that affected others in a hurtful way. After being visited by the three spirits of Christmas, he wanted to start over with a new meaningful and successful life. He started to appreciate Christmas and not dismiss it and its meaning. Scrooge learns to care for others and warms his soul with the gift of giving and not only taking.
In the story “A Christmas Carol” Scrooge; the main character, was an old stingy man that goes through many changes over one night. At the beginning of the story, he is found to be seen by many as an old miser with no care for others. During the period of a single night, his whole life changes. The past, present, and future of Christmas make him be the man that no one expected him to become.
Although he didn’t reach this point his business partner Jacob Marley did. When Marley died he had to wear a chain link for every bad deed he did. So his punishment was bearing the weight of his actions. Scrooge was also headed down this path but lucky for him Marley and the ghosts helped him to shun his path. The ghost of Christmas yet to come showed him the reaction of people when Scrooge was going to die. This was one of consequences, since he was mean and cold-hearted to everyone people seemed happy and joyous at the fact of his death. Some people said they would only go to his funeral if there was food and because they could wear their fancy black gloves. “It's likely to be a very cheap funeral,'' said the same speaker; ``for upon my life I don't know of anybody to go to it. Suppose we make up a party and volunteer?'' ``I don't mind going if a lunch is provided,'' observed the gentleman with the excrescence on his nose.” In the end though Scrooge was able to shun his path and started treating people kinder with more respect. His was able to change his attitude towards people from being rude and nasty to being kind and found that people liked him a lot better that
In the beginning of a story called A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a greedy, cold hearted, and unfriendly. One way we know Scrooge is a greedy and cold hearted man is because when a man asks him for money to donate to the poor, Scrooge refuses to give any. Instead he asks whether or not the work prisons are still in business, he then says if the poor would rather die than go to prison, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. We know Scrooge is unfriendly because the story says “To edge his way along the crowded path of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing one call ‘nuts’ to Scrooge.”
Scrooge’s unsocial and anti-charity actions are evidence of how Scrooge feels that everyone should fend for themselves and that there should be no support for the poor and needy as he believes that it is not his “business” to care about them. Furthermore, he feels as if he does enough work for the poor by paying taxes to support workhouses and prisons. He also believes that we must decrease the “surplus population” and, therefore, I strongly believe that Scrooge doesn’t view poor people as humans. This inhumane thought is driven by his negativity embedded in him by his traumatic experience sin the
Everyone goes through changes. Some of these changes are welcomed and some are detested, but changes must take place for one to the best version of themselves possible. Ebenezer Scrooge is a tight fisted hand on the grindstone, a self contained, covetous old sinner. The bitter, refractory, and pitiless Ebenezer finds love ridiculous, but not nearly so as Christmas. Having no apparent positive feelings, opinions, or behaviors of any sort, Scrooge is as unpleasant as they come.
Dickens shows us truth, beauty, and goodness through the miraculous transformation of the character, Scrooge, in his story A Christmas Carol. In the final chapter of Dickens’ story, we are privileged to witness a complete and total alteration of the personal identity in Scrooge that exudes all that is good, all that is beautiful, and all that is true from the depths of his core; revealing a genuine heartfelt conversion.