Monday 3 May 2010

What does Scrooge do on Christmas day?

When Scrooge wakes
up on Christmas morning, he is feeling rejuvenated and his character is completely reformed. We
see evidence of this through his activities on the day, beginning with his purchase of a
prize-winning turkey which he sends directly to the home of his employee, Bob
Cratchit.

Next, Scrooge meets on the street with one of the men who visited
his office in Stave One to request a charitable donation for the poor. Unlike the first time,
Scrooge offers the man an undisclosed amount towards his fund. It is clearly a lot of money as
the man is extremely pleased with the offer:

"Lord
bless me!" cried the gentleman, as if his breath were gone. "My dear Scrooge, are you
serious?"

After this, Scrooge attends Church and
then wanders the street, patting children on the head, talking to beggars and generally taking
pleasure in life. He then walks to the house of his nephew, Fred, and has dinner with the
family. Fred is pleasantly surprised by his uncle's unexpected appearance after he so vehemently
refused his offer in Stave One. Again, this is strong evidence of the strength of Scrooge's
transformation.

From Fred's, Scrooge pays a visit to his employee, Bob.
Scrooge pretends to be angry with him and acts as though he might fire Bob. But, in fact,
Scrooge offers Bob a pay rise, much to the Cratchit family's delight. 


Finally, the reader learns that Scrooge keeps the promises he has made to the charity
collector and to Bob Cratchit and his family:

Scrooge was
better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more.


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