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Scrooge's character according to Dickens
Scrooge's character according to Dickens
How does scrooge's personality change
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Ebenezer Scrooge, “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”, is a hyper virulent, misanthropic ancient moneygrubber. In addition to this, he is “secret and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster”. His materialistic, cold-hearted, unsympathetic, uncharitable, Thomas Malthus- style makes him the “Old Scratch”. Furthermore, he despises his own nephew, who is the only family he has. This sort of rejection is labelled as unusual as it seems to make no sense at all. To find the roots of his hatred I have dug into his past to see if any events from his past have shaped him to be the “miser” he is today. As I uncovered information about his past, it became much easier to comprehend why Scrooge is like he is. The shocking events of his past have clearly moulded him into the person he is at this present day. As “a …show more content…
Scrooge commented on Belle and said “She left me because she thought that money was an idol to me and that I worshiped it like it was a god!” This is how Scrooge rephrased what Scrooge had told him when she called of their engagement. The heartache endured by Scrooge has played a huge factor to his bitter, self-secluding personality. 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
Dickens displays guilt as the main form of how Scrooge’s character develops into a compassionate person by the end of the novella. As Scrooge feels this quilt, it's purely based on the visions that the ghosts provide which further causes Scrooge to realise the consequences of his actions. His alienation from specific characters that he used to love such as Belle, “...has displaced me…” whom left Scrooge, due to his desire for money and wealth which grew. This desire grows with him as he is rejecting the christmas joy and spirit as he continuously states that Christmas is a “humbug,” but by stating this it provides comparison. Dickens depicts that Scrooge has become a better person because of fear but in the end he has become kinder. As the
Scrooge was and owner of a factory and made a whole bunch of money, but he did not care about anyone else. “Merry Christmas said his nephew, what right do have to be merry you are poor enough”. This shows that scrooge is mean to family and does not care about Christmas.
If Scrooge did not change his mean old ways, then he is only to look
In the beginning of the play in spite of being selfish Scrooge is also cheap, cold-hearted, and cruel. Scrooge behaves in this manner to his nephew, Fred. One way of proving this is when Fred said “Merry Christmas.” Scrooge replied salty saying “Humbug Christmas is just a time for spending and wasting money.” Not only he treats Fred badly but many more people. For instance take one of his quotes towards the Gentleman Visitor, “Are there no Jails for the poor, are there no
An example of this is shown in his bitter attitude towards the cheerfulness of his nephew Fred and by thinking Christmas a "humbug." And then, moments before he bitterly declines his nephew's friendly invitation to come dine with him, he says crossly to him, "'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.'" Lastly, an instance that illustrates the cold heart of Scrooge is when he speaks of the poor, "'If they would rather die, they better do it, and decrease the surplus population.'" By these demonstrations, Scrooge exposed the coldness of his own
In this essay I am going to distinguish the personality of Scrooge also show you how he was at the beginning of the novella in the 1st Stave to how he changes at the end in the 5th Stave.
He is like Victor and chooses to be isolated for how he treated others. For example, Scrooge says, “I wish to be left alone. Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas, and I can’t afford to make idle people merry” (Dickens 16). Scrooge is showing the reader that he is an ungrateful and a non-friendly man. The author wants us to know that he has no Christmas sprit and is selfish man that is also very stingy with his money. He also is rude to the people that come to his store. Charles Dickens describes him in A Christmas Carol as “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel has ever struck generous fire; secret, and self contained, and solitary as an oyster” (Dickens 12). This description of Scrooge shows that he is a very negative person, that chooses to isolate himself, and keeps things all to himself. He does not care about anyone other than money and himself. He loves money and also watching his clerk; “the door of Scrooge’s counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk” (Dickens 13). Scrooge was always watching what his clerk was doing; he was not a friendly guy. There is an example of this in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein also, where Victor was being watched constantly by the monster, everything victor did the monster was watching. Scrooge
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.
In this essay I am going to distinguish the personality of Scrooge also show you how he was at the beginning of the novella in the 1st Stave to how he changes at the end in the 5th Stave.
On page 64, we see how Scrooge shows sympathy in the quote, “There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something. That 's All.” After being shown a memory of himself as a boy, Scrooge regrets being harsh to the boy caroling and not giving him any money. Seeing his own sadness as a child made him realize it would have been nice to give the boy something to make him happy. He will probably do nicer things in the future because he now realizes that the boy would have been upset because of how Scrooge turned him away so harshly. He is changing his actions, and regretting bad actions in the past. He wants to fix what he did wrong, and he feels sympathy for the boy. People want to be shown compassion, so in the future if he helps people out and is kind, he will not be as isolated. Another quote to show how he becomes less detached from humanity is on pages 92-93, ‘”Spirit,” said Scrooge, “Tell me if Tiny Tim will live.” Scrooge feels sorry for Bob Cratchit because the spirit says if the future remains unaltered he will die. He feels upset that Tiny Tim will die, and sympathy for Bob because his son will probably die. He probably regrets not giving Bob more time with his son. He had made a comment earlier that if someone will die they better go and die to decrease the population, when the donation collector
In this Stave, Dickens shows the importance of kindness by showing Scrooge’s absence of it and the effects of his harmful indifference. Scrooge is taken into his own past and shown memories of when he was young. The Ghost shows him scenes of when he was small and alone on Christmas. This memory makes him regret his harshness towards a young caroler that had come to his door the previous day. He sees that he lacked kindness and wishes he gave something to the caroler. His indifference towards the caroler insured that Scrooge would remain alone. The Ghost also reminds Scrooge of his beloved sister, Fannie who had died and left only her son. “’Always a delicate creature, whom a breath might have withered,’ said the Ghost. ‘But she had a large heart!’ ‘So she had,’ cried Scrooge. ‘You’re right. I will not gainsay it, Spirit. God forbid!’ ‘She died a woman,’ said the Ghost, ‘and had, as I think, children.’ ‘One child,’ Scrooge returned. ‘True,’ said the Ghost. ‘Your nephew!’ Scrooge seemed uneasy in his mind; and answered briefly, ‘Yes.’” (pg. 33-34). Scrooge’s only connection to his kind and gentle sister is his nephew, who also shares Fannie’s sweet nature. Scrooge is then filled with regret because of his callous treatment and lack of relationship with his nephew, who only wanted to be kind and spread the joy of the season. Scrooge’s sheer indifference and lack of kindness towards his nephew prevented
It’s December of 1801 and the whole town is decorating, dancing, singing, and laughing as they get ready for a near holiday: Christmas. All but one pessimistic, obdurate cripple of a man. His name is Ebenezer Scrooge, an undermined old male swathed in dark clothing. He is typically found strolling the streets on Victorian London with poor posture, eyes locked on the cracked sidewalk beneath the soles of his shoes. Slumping along, carolers cease to sing near him and nobody speaks when in his presence. Scrooge is a prejudging business man who hurries to be left alone and disregards cheer. He is obdurate and blind to the consequences of his actions. Sudden wealth brings a snobbiness when his business partner dies, and as a result, his one true love divorces him, sending him into a state of hatred and regret. With this evidence to back it up, Scrooge can be perceived as a negative, crippling man with little tolerance to change. However, things are bound to change with the visitation of the wraiths: the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, an inevitable change that be...
Scrooge is a great example of the wealthy, who never gave to the poor and would rarely put money into charities. Dickens was appalled by the conditions the working class had to endure. “Dickens felt that self-interest, uncontrolled, subject to the passions and desires
Charles Dickens’s powerful novel encompasses the notion that generosity involves more than just the giving of money, it requires the giving of one's goodwill and compassion, this required for Scrooge’s own redemption as well as attempting to insinuate within the reader a reflection of their own values and behaviours. Dickens’s novella also acts to warn Scrooge and the audience of the ramifications of their actions if they do not take this into consideration, that generosity always involves more than just the giving of money, it requires the giving of one's goodwill and compassion.
Meeting the Ghost of Christmas Past begins the first stage of Scrooge’s transformation: regretting his actions. When Scrooge is shown his younger self alone in his classroom on Christmas, he regrets chasing a Christmas caroler away from his door. The Spirit skips ahead a few years to show him a happier time. His sweet little sister Fan arrives to take him home, and this is his first Christmas in a long time that is spent with family. Unfortunately, Scrooge doesn’t see it that way; seeing this scene makes him “uneasy in his mind” as he thinks about the way he treats his nephew Fred. Instead of treating him like his only family member, Scrooge denies invitations to Christmas dinner every year and is rude whenever Fred speaks to him. He doesn’t have time to dwell on this for long, however; Scrooge has many other important things to think...