The Three Spirits in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Essay -- English Liter

The Three Spirits in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol In Dickens’ Ghost story ‘ A Christmas Carol’ we are shown a story of redemption. Dickens uses description, sarcasm and many other effects to create the sudden changes of atmosphere in the novel. I will look at how Dickens creates such a structured book and what causes it to be so effective. However before I begin to examine Dickens’ methods I will see how each of the mysterious spirits affect Scrooge and how he responds to them. Ebenezer Scrooge is a miser if ever there was one - grasping and covetous, rich and penny-pinching. Dickens describes how he keeps a clerk, Bob Cratchit, on a measly fifteen shillings a week and a very small fire. His only family, a nephew named Fred, tries to get him to spend Christmas with him and Scrooge's only reply is "Bah. Humbug." The name Scrooge itself sounds sinister in itself†¦ His name screw + gouge shows he is hard -hearted. He is visited by four spirits. The first is of his former partner, Jacob Marley, who arrives on Christmas Eve. Jacob tells him he made his chain link by link and his spirit is condemned to walk the earth desperately trying to help his fellow man to no avail. He tells Scrooge their last hope is to be visited by three Ghosts - the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Scrooge dismisses his vision, saying "there's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are" and goes to sleep. Scrooge is redeemed because he learns how to let his spirit walk among his fellow men. He shows this by becoming 'a better man, a better master' as the good old city ever knew. He reveals his progress slowly by his actions, reactions and emotions. ... ...th the discovery that many think him a monster of a man. Scrooge finds most out about himself from this Spirit, and mixes his joy with his remorse and pain. The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come is perhaps the least accessible character, but the line â€Å"the kind hand trembled† right at the end of its visit shows that it has goodwill. Its lack of violence and terror impresses Scrooge further. It must put the finishing touches to Scrooge, ensuring he is aware of his own mortality and to encourage him to change his life for the good. Scrooge’s dream is a growing process, starting from the one extreme of an old boring humble miser, and finishing up as a model of goodwill and religious generosity. Charles Dickens achieves what he attempted to do. With the use of humorous words and fantastic Ghosts he tells us a deep moral story which is still relevant today.