Bob Cratchit

• Humble
• Hardworking
• Family man

Bob Cratchit is Scrooge's clerk and works in unpleasant conditions without complaint. He obeys Scrooge's rules and is timid about asking to go home to his family early on Christmas Eve.

When the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to visit the Cratchits on Christmas Day, he sees Bob Cratchit carrying his sickly son Tiny Tim, and later raising a toast to Scrooge for providing the feast.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows the Cratchits in a future where Tiny Tim has died and here we see how sensitive Bob Cratchit is. His love for his son is shown through his grief.

In the end, when Scrooge changes his ways for the better, Bob Cratchit is delighted. He welcomes Scrooge's new-found generosity and friendship.

• Ebenzeer Scrooge
• Jacob Marley
• Belle
• Fezziwig
• Fred
• Little Fan
• Mrs Dilber
• Ghost of the Past
• Ghost of Present
• Ghost of Yet to Come
• Bob Cratchit
• (Tiny) Tim Cratchit
• Fezziwig
• Two portly charitymen

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

• Silent
• Dark
• Ominous

The final Ghost is frightening and eerie. It doesn't say a word to Scrooge, but glides along and points out scenes to him.

The spirit first shows Scrooge a funeral scene, with businessmen wondering about the money that the dead man has left. The Ghost then takes him through dark alleyways to a scene of three people picking through the belongings of the deceased. Scrooge recognises that his own death could be met this way.

Next the Ghost takes him to the Cratchit household where Scrooge is upset to realise that Tiny Tim has died.

Finally the Ghost shows him a tombstone engraved with the name: Ebenezer Scrooge. Clutching at the spirit's robes, Scrooge pledges to change his ways if he can avoid this solitary death. The Ghost disappears and leaves Scrooge clutching at his bed curtains.

Jacob Marley is a fictional character who appears in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. He is Scrooge's deceased business partner, now a chained and tormented ghost, damned to wander the earth forevermore as punishment for his greedy, selfish and uncaring attitude towards mankind.

Ebenezer Scrooge

• Miserable
• Tight-fisted
• Redeemed by the end

Scrooge is the main character of Dickens's novella and is first presented as a miserly, unpleasant man. He rejects all offerings of Christmas cheer and celebration as 'Humbug!'.

On Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns that he will be visited by three ghosts. Each of the ghosts shows him a scene that strikes fear and regret into his heart and eventually he softens.

By the end of the story, Scrooge is a changed man, sharing his wealth and generosity with everyone.

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Social and historical context

A courtyard of a Victorian workhouse

In Victorian times, when Dickens was writing, poor children would often be sent to live in workhouses.

In 1861, 35,000 children under 12 lived and worked in workhouses in Britain. Living conditions there were unpleasant and the work was tough such as 'picking out' old ropes. Discipline was harsh and punishments included whipping. Food was basic and barely enough to sustain the children.

The 'portly gentlemen' who visit Scrooge ask for a Christmas donation to help the destitute orphans.

Analysing the evidence

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.

Dickens's description of Scrooge

The Ghost of Christmas Present

• Jolly
• Welcoming
• Prophetic

The Ghost of Christmas Present is a huge and vibrant character who appears as the bell, once again, strikes one. It appears in Scrooge's room, surrounded by a feast. The generous nature of this ghost is reflected in the abundant vision of food.

Scrooge is more humble in the presence of this second spirit and is willing to learn any lessons the ghost will show.

It shows Scrooge visions of the world on Christmas Day, including heart-warming scenes of celebration at the homes of Bob Cratchit and Scrooge's nephew, Fred.

Before it leaves Scrooge, the Ghost shows him two 'yellow, meagre' children who are hiding under its cloak. These are called Ignorance and Want and are a warning to Scrooge to change his ways.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

• Young and old
• Commanding
• Streaming with light

The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first spirit to visit Scrooge after the ghost of Marley. It arrives as the clock chimes one. It is an ephemeral spirit that appears to be both old and young at the same time with light streaming from the top of its head.

It takes Scrooge to scenes from his own past, showing him visions of his own childhood, of his young adulthood and of happier times. The final scene he presents is one that Scrooge cannot bear to witness: his lost love, Belle, with her family.

Scrooge turns on the ghost and demands to be shown no more. He attempts to extinguish the ghost's light with its own cap, wrestling it to the ground. However, the light that shines from the ghost cannot be put out.

Fred

• Cheerful
• Generous
• Kind-hearted

Social and historical context

Many of the Christmas traditions that we enjoy today began during the Victorian era. Before the 19th-century, Christmas was not celebrated in the way that it is today. It was not even considered a holiday by many businesses.

The practice of sending Christmas cards began during the Victorian times, as did the giving of elaborate and increasingly luxurious gifts on Christmas Day.

The Christmas feast has a longer history, though the popularity of turkey can be attributed to the Victorians. The focus on family and spending time with loved ones also came about in the 1800s.

A Christmas Carol was written during this time and played its part in making these new traditions popular.

Tiny Tim

• Kind
• Disabled
• Thoughtful

Tiny Tim is one of Bob Cratchit's sons. He walks with a crutch and has 'his limbs supported by an iron frame'. Despite his physical difficulties, he is a positive and generous child. He thinks of others and is well-loved by his family.

Scrooge is affected by the child and when he is shown the Cratchit family Christmas by the Ghost of Christmas Present, he worries whether Tiny Tim will live. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows a possible future in which Scrooge's fears are realised and Tiny Tim has died.

At the end of the novella, after Scrooge changes his character, we learn that he becomes like a second father to Tiny Tim.

A beautiful woman who Scrooge loved deeply when he was a young man. Belle broke off their engagement after Scrooge became consumed with greed and the lust for wealth. She later married another man.

       Scrooge's sister; Fred's mother. In Scrooge's vision of Christmases past, he remembers Fan picking him up from school and walking him home.

Two gentlemen who visit Scrooge at the beginning of the tale seeking charitable contributions. Scrooge promptly throws them out of his office. Upon meeting one of them on the street after his visitations, he promises to make lavish donations to help the poor.