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- Grateful - Praises 'Mr Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!'. Even though Scrooge does not give him much, grateful for what he does get paid; 'nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for such a large family' - Think positively about what they do have and are not always wishing for more ( opposite of Scrooge)
- Loving - Especially towards tiny Tim - '[Tim] sat very close to his Father's side' - emotional closeness between Bob and his child (contrast to Scrooge, who is detached from family and humanity); when Tiny Tim died, Bob is distraught ("My little, little child!" cried Bob') - grief shows his deep love for his child, opposite to Scrooge's reaction at Marley's funeral who was 'an excellent man of business on he very day of the funeral'
- Obedient - He 'tried to warm himself at the candle' - would rather do that than challenge Scrooge
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- Represents poor - Shows that poor are not 'idle' criminals but are happy, grateful, loving people who will do whatever they can to better their situation; helps Dickens achieve aim of changing peoples' attitude to the poor to become more generous and respectful
- Acts as foil to Scrooge - Poor but still happy, grateful and loving (unlike Scrooge who is rich but cold, harsh and miserly)
- Explores ideas about Christmas - Proves Fred's point that Christmas is about sharing joy with others, rather than wealth
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- Lack of development - Allows reader to focus on Scrooge's metamorphosis; Scrooge's attitudes towards Scrooge change from being reluctant to let him have Christmas day off to buying a turkey which he says he'll 'send to Bob Cratchitt's!' and raising his Salary and assisting his family
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- Bob means a shilling - Reminds reader that Scrooge only pays Bob a few shillings a week (very little even in the Victorian era); it can also mean to mock, cheat, or deceive, which is what SCrooge does to Bob at the beginning of the play
- Cratchitt - Could be from the verb 'cratch' which means to eat heartily, either linked to Christmas meal or ironic as they have little to eat; could also come from the noun 'cratch', meaning a trough that animals (e.g. horses) eat out of. Could show that Cratchitt family are so poor, they are forced to live in the same standards as animals or could show that Scrooge sees Bob as an animal, not a human
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