Saturday, 10 July 2010

How does Scrooge's attitude towards Bob Cratchit and their relationship change at the end of A Christmas Carol?

Very simply,
Bob Cratchit changes from being a thing to emerging as a human being in Scrooge's eyes. When the
story opens, Scrooge knows nothing about his employee. He can't do without his clerk, but he
resents having to pay him, and he doesn't even give him enough coal to stay warm. He definitely
resents having to pay Bob for Christmas, Cratchit's one paid holiday of the year. To Scrooge,
Cratchit is nothing more than a necessary machine, and he wants to keep the cost of maintaining
this machine as low as possible.

That all changes when the Ghost of Christmas
Present takes Scrooge to see the Cratchit family's Christmas. For the first time, Scrooge begins
to understand that Bob is a human being embedded in a network of relationships. He realizes that
Bob has a family to support. Scrooge especially feels for poor Tiny Tim and starts to make a
connection between the young boy's probable death and the very low wages he pays his father.
Cratchit loves his son, but simply can't afford adequate medical care for him.


At the end, Scrooge sends a giant turkey to the Cratchits, gives Cratchit a raise, and
becomes involved with the Cratchit family, especially Tiny Tim, who does not die. Scrooge moves
from using people and loving things to using things and loving people. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

To what degree were the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, the USSR, and Japan successful in regards to their efforts in economic mobilization during the...

This is an enormous question that can't really be answered fully in this small space. But a few generalizations can be made. Bo...