Scrooge is the main character of A Christmas Carol. He starts the novella as a rude miser - but he ends up a changed character.
Character Profile
At the start of the novella, Scrooge is portrayed very negatively, as someone who only cares about money ā heās described as āa squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, covetous old sinner!ā
Heās so miserly and mean that he begrudges Bob Cratchit his Christmas wages, and wonāt allow him a decent fire.
In a vision of Scroogeās past, we see Belle saying that āa golden Idol has displaced meā.
Scrooge is unsympathetic towards other people, so he has no interest in helping the poor. He refuses to donate to charity - he think heās done enough by paying taxes to support the prisons and workhouses.
Heās indifferent to how poor people might feel, and he believes itās not his ābusinessā to care about them.
Info
Dickens describes Scrooge using cold and icy language - thereās a ācold within himā that āfroze his old featuresā, and heās described as having a āfrosty rimeā (a frosty covering). This association with the cold emphasises Scroogeās cold-hearted nature.
Target Grade 8-9
The Characters of Ignorance and Scrooge show that different types of ignorance can lead to people becoming trapped in different ways. Scroogeās deliberate ignorance of other peopleās hardships means that he lacks friends, so he is trapped in his lonely ways. Meanwhile, the character of Ignorance could suggest that a lack of education leaves the poor trapped in poverty.
As the reader sees more of Scroogeās past, it becomes easier to understand why Scrooge is so cold and bitter ā the events of his past are partly responsible for his present-day personality.
Scrooge is shown sympathetically as āa lonely boyā near a āfeeble fireā at his own school. We learn that heās been left there because his father wonāt let him come home for Christmas. Scrooge is eventually brought home by his sister, Fan.
Itās possible that he isolates himself from Fred because heās sad reminder of the sister Scrooge has lost.
Scrooge is distressed at the vision of Belle leaving him, and this painful memory is made worse by the vision of Belleās happy family. The reader feels sympathy when he pleads āin a broken voiceā to be shown no more. It seems like the heartbreak Scrooge suffered may have contributed to his bitter, closed-off personality in Stave One.
Throughout the visions, Scrooge is forced to see how other people talk about him when heās not around:
- Mrs Cratchit calls Scrooge an āodious, stingy, hard, unfeeling manā
- Fred says heās āa comical old fellowā and ānot so pleasant as he might beā
- A businessman calls Scrooge āOld Scratchā - a nickname for the devil
- A couple, who owe Scrooge money, call him āmercilessā
At the beginning of the novella , Scrooge is selfish - he doesnāt care about how his attitude to life affects others. However, the spirits show him the way other people talk about him, which makes him realise his faults and convinces him to change his attitude.
Seeing Tiny Tim helps Scrooge to feel empathy again. Scrooge asks the spirit if Tim will die, with āan interest hew had never felt beforeā ā Timās situation makes Scrooge start to care about other people.
The Ghost of Christmas Present uses Tim to show Scrooge how wrong his beliefs about āsurplus populationā are, and to force him to think about the poor people as individuals. Scrooge is saddened by how cruel his opinions were.
Scrooge is āovercome with penitence and griefā when he realises how wrong heās been. He starts to accept that helping people like Tim is his responsibility.
Scroogeās character changes completely by the end of the novella. He laughs at himself and says heās āas merry as a school boyā
He also learns to be charitable. He buys the Cratchits a Christmas turkey and makes a large donation to charity.
Scrooge completely changes his mind about Christmas ā the narrator says that he āknew how to keep Christmas wellā
The spirits teach Scrooge to value family and companionship, so he embraces his nephewās family and becomes a father figure to Tiny Tim.