A Christmas Carol Summary: Scrooge's Journey from Greed to Redemption

Stave One begins by informing  the reader that Jacob Marley,   Ebenezer Scrooge’s former business  partner, has been dead for seven years. It’s Christmas Eve, and Ebeneezer Scrooge  is introduced as a greedy, uncharitable  

and miserable man who runs a counting house - an  office where financial transactions are managed.   In the space of a couple of pages we read that  he doesn’t want to give money to charity, is   reluctant to let his employee Bob Cratchitt have  Christmas Day off work, makes Bob work in the cold  

conditions with hardly any coal on the fire, and  he doesn’t want to celebrate Christmas at all,   let alone with his nephew Fred who invites him  over. Despite this, Dickens gives Scrooge lots   of humorous lines, which prevent the  reader from completely despising him.

After work, Scrooge heads home and sees  Marley’s face in the knocker on the door,   but dismisses it a some kind of illusion. Inside,  the ghost of Marley appears, a terrifying ghost   wrapped in chains and cash boxes. Marley explains  that he is doomed to roam the Earth as punishment  

for his greed in life and that the same will  happen to Scrooge if he doesn’t change his ways.   Marley tells Scrooge that three spirits will  come to him to present a chance to avoid this. In Stave two, Scrooge wakes up at one o clock  and the Ghost of Christmas Past arrives,  

looking like a child and also old,  with a bright light beaming out of   the top of his head. This ghost isn’t as  frightening as Marley. The ghost takes   Scrooge’s hand and they are transported  to various moments from Scrooge’s past.

The first is a visit to a school, where young  Scrooge sits alone in the classroom - all the   other children have gone home for Christmas,  but lonely Scrooge is reading books to comfort   himself. Old Scrooge looks at this and is  immediately upset. The next memory is of Fan,  

Scrooge’s sister, arriving to take him home.  She explains that their father has changed   and is allowing Scrooge to come back home for  Christmas. We learn that Fan, who would go on   to be the mother of Fred, is no longer alive.  Next, we are taken to the time when Scrooge was  

an apprentice for Mr Fezziwig, a kind and generous  boss who threw a Christmas party for his workers,   filled with food and dancing and music. After  this we see Scrooge as a young man, being dumped   by his fiancee Belle, because he now loves money  more than he loves her. The final vision is of  

Belle later in life, married with children and  a happy, lively family. Her husband explains   that he saw Scrooge alone at work. Scrooge  is deeply touched by all of these memories,   and feels sorry for the way he has treated  people. He falls into bed, and into a deep sleep.

In Stave three, the Ghost of  Christmas Present visits Scrooge,   showing him Christmas Day as it  is celebrated by different people,   including those who are poor and struggling.  This ghost is a large, happy character dressed  

in a green robe that is lined with white  fur. He is surrounded by lots of food. The ghost first takes Scrooge through the  London streets where people are happily   getting ready for Christmas. The ghost  sprinkles a magic blessing from his torch,  

which makes people happier and more forgiving.  The pair go to the Cratchit house where,   despite being poor and only having a very  simple dinner, the family are experiencing   an amazing day. Tiny Tim is introduced. He is  one of the Cratchit children, with a physical  

disability. Scrooge asks the Ghost if Tiny  Tim will live and is told that unless things   change in the future, Tiny Tim will die. The Ghost then takes Scrooge to a number   of different places - a coal miner’s  hut, a lighthouse, a ship out at sea,  

an in every location people are united  together, celebrating Christmas.  Next, Scrooge is taken to his nephew  Fred’s house, where he witnesses a   Christmas party. The guests mocks Scrooge,  but Fred says he feels sorry for his uncle.

As the night goes on, the ghost begins to grow  old, and finally reveals two neglected children:   Ignorance and Want, hiding under his robe. They  symbolise the way society has neglected the poor.   At midnight the Ghost disappears, and Scrooge  sees approaching him a dark, mysterious ghost.

Stave 4 is all about the Ghost of Christmas Yet  to Come, who does not speak but takes Scrooge   to various possible future events. Firstly, a  group of businessmen discuss the death of a man,   and how that person’s funeral won’t have many  attendees because he didn’t have any friends.  

None of them are bothered by the news of the  death. Next the pair go to a shop in a poor   part of the city, where various people are selling  off stolen possessions belonging to the dead men,   explaining that they won’t be missed because  the person lived and died alone. After this,  

they visit a home where a husband and wife who are  relieved at the news of the man’s death, because   they owed him money they could not afford to  repay. All this time, Scrooge isn’t too clever and   doesn’t seem to know who they are talking about. Then it’s off to the Cratchit house, where Scrooge  

learns that Tiny Tim has died. Finally, Scrooge  asks to be shown the identify of the dead person,   and is taken to a graveyard where he sees his  own grave: the dead person was Scrooge himself. In stave 5, Scrooge wakes up on Christmas  morning and is a new person. First off  

he buys a huge turkey and has it sent  anonymously to the Cratchit family. Next,   he bumps into the charity worker from  stave 1 and promises to give a large   donation. He goes to Fred’s house to  celebrate Christmas with his family.

The next day, Scrooge waits at work for Bob,  who arrives late. Scrooge pretends to be cross   with him but in fact gives him a pay rise,  and vows to help his family. He tells Bob to   build up the office fires. We learn that  Tiny Tim did not die, but Scrooge became  

a second father to him and a good person all  round. And they all lived happily ever after!