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The Changes of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, presents the theme that even the most despicable people are capable of changing for the better. The main character of the story, Ebenezer Scrooge, is known as a very selfish, stingy and cruel man. Scrooge runs his own business that provides him with lots of wealth but it is his heart that never shows any goodness. Scrooge’s reclamation from a misanthropist to a philanthropist begins when he meets Jacob Marley’s spirit.
Jacob was his business partner and every bit as mean as he. Jacob appears to warn Scrooge of the wretched future that will be his if he continues on the path he is on, and shows Scrooge the suffering he himself is going through for his own sins. He tells Scrooge that three spirits will visit him to reveal to him the past, present, and future. As the first spirit takes him to see his past, he realizes how he could have changed the things he did to create a happier life overall, but he remains firm in his beliefs that his ways are still logical. As he is shown the present, and sees the suffering of the Cratchit family due to his greediness, his will power begins to crumble a bit and he starts to feel guilty for his shortcomings and sorry for his fellow man. When he sees the death of Tiny Tim which is mainly his fault and the terrible ending of his own story as are put on view by the ghost of Christmas future, he goes through a dramatic change of character.
The world has been put in perspective for him, which has allowed him to become quite keenly aware of the error of his ways and he now cares deeply for the needs of others as a result. This story encourages one to give second chances to others because people are indeed changeable and can be converted into more virtuous children of God.
