A Christmas Carol

By: Charles Dickens

The four main characters in the book are Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob

Cratchit, and Ebenezer Scrooge's nephew, Fred.

This story takes place in London, England. The time is winter December 1843

and it starts the day before Christmas, also known as Christmas Eve.

Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character of the story, All 3 ghosts visit

him. Through him, the lesson of the story is to be learned. In the book, he

is made out to be Anti-Christmas, some are feeling pity for him, other

hostility.

"External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could

warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than

he.Nobody ever stopped in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear

Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?'. No beggars implored

him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man

or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a

place, of Scrooge."

Next there is Tiny Tim, he has to use a crutch to walk and he is very

small. Despite his disability, he always keeps the spirit up and tries to

maintain it in all his brothers, sisters, and parents, even though they are

poor.

" He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him because he was

a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember, upon Christmas

Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see." This quote just shows

how thoughtful he is, and how much he cares for others.

Tiny Tim's father Bob is an employee of Scrooge and he is the only one in

the Cratchit family that is thankful to Scrooge, because of the job and the

pay that he has given him to support his family and keep food in their

stomachs.

The last but not least major character is Scrooge's nephew, Fred. He seems

to be the only person who comes to converse with Scrooge and offer him

anything. In this case, Fred offered him an invitation to his house for

Christmas dinner. Fred is convinced at the beginning of the story that

Scrooge doesn't really mean "Bah!.Humbug!" No matter how many times he says

it.

"He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this

nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face ruddy and

handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again."

As I said before, Fred is one of the few that feels pity for Scrooge.

The book starts off talking about Jacob Marley, Scrooge's former business

partner. It basically says that he "was dead as a door-nail"

In the beginning of the book two men came in to Scrooges office and asked

for a donation but he sent them away quickly. At this point in the book,

Scrooge is not made out to be a nice, caring, giving man.

When Scrooge goes home, he is confronted by the ghost of Marley who tells

him that he will be haunted by three spirits, the three following days,

each at one o'clock.

The first spirit that comes is the Ghost of Christmas Past. This spirit

takes Scrooge back to his childhood where he sees a very lonely boy caught

in his books without a friend.

Then they skip ahead in time and see when Scrooge was an student to Mr.

Fizziwig. This episode shows the Christmas party that Old Fizziwig