Family In A Christmas Carol

Family in A Christmas Carol
Family portrays an important part in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol throughout the entire story. The three main points I am going to focus on are Scrooge’s relationship with Fred and family, Bob Cratchit’s family, and the effect Scrooge’s approach towards finances, work, and peers had on his relationships.
Despite his lofty language and high-handed tone, Ebenezer Scrooge 's grasping ways left him without friends or family. Bob Cratchit, living in his tiny cottage crowded with both children and love, was by far the happier man. Dickens was not, however, advocating poverty as the surest road to contentment. We know that Cratchit will happily accept the assistance Scrooge eventually offers. Rather, Dickens makes

Dickens portrays Scrooge as being a mean old man that wants nothing to do with anyone throughout the beginning of the novel. As a young boy many family members played a huge role in Scrooge’s life. It is easy to tell as a young boy, Scrooge loved his family although his father was extremely hard on him. His sister is the only member of his home-family that has a scene in the story. It seems as if that she was the only one who truly loved him. Whenever the ghost of Christmas past takes Scrooge back to the time his sister came and told him that she was taking him back home he was filled with joy. The ghost was sure to remind him that his sister passed away when giving birth to Fred. This really effected how Scrooge looked at Fred later in life. As hard as Scrooge was towards Fred, Fred never gave up on getting Scrooge to enjoy Christmas. “His nephew, Fred, and Bob Cratchit represent the salving spirit of Christmas. They have never abandoned hope and faith” (Gold 153). Scrooge’s relationship with his family is critical to the plot of the story. All of his hard times growing up led to Scrooge’s jealousy of Fezziwig’s wealth and charm. Scrooge’s determination to be like Mr. Fezziwig turned him into the exact opposite of his goal. “Dickens contrasts Scrooge, “excellent man of business,” with old Fezziwig, the master of his apprenticeship days. Fezziwig was a “reasonable” employer; he worked his men hard and fairly, be he was able to play occasionally, and he did not he did not hesitate to spend money at Christmastime for the entertainment and jollification of his employees” (Davis 122). Scrooge’s drive ended up being his