Wednesday, June 4, 2014

In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, when Fan comes to pick Scrooge up, we learn one of the reasons he turned out the way he did. What is this...

In Stave Two of "A Christmas Carol," the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge on a journey in which he revisits his days at boarding school. In this memory, Fan comes to collect Scrooge from school and promises that he can stay at home forever:


Home, for good and all. Home, for ever and ever. Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home's like Heaven! He spoke so gently to me...

In Stave Two of "A Christmas Carol," the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge on a journey in which he revisits his days at boarding school. In this memory, Fan comes to collect Scrooge from school and promises that he can stay at home forever:



Home, for good and all. Home, for ever and ever. Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home's like Heaven! He spoke so gently to me one dear night when I was going to bed, that I was not afraid to ask him once more if you might come home; and he said Yes, you should; and sent me in a coach to bring you.



 From this piece of dialogue, the reader learns a lot about Scrooge's home life, particularly the relationship that he has with his father. It is evident, for instance, that Scrooge stays at school, even during the holidays, because his father does not want him to be at home. While the reasons for this feeling are not made clear, Scrooge's strained relationship with his father is, arguably, a contributing factor to how the boy has turned out. Rejected and isolated, when Scrooge grows up, he spurns the surviving members of his family, like Fred, and prefers to spend his time alone. He does not marry and have children of his own and instead focuses on the pursuit of wealth and success in business.


The relationship with his father, then, has had a profound effect on Scrooge's character and, through him, Dickens makes an important point about family: that children who are loved and cherished grow up to become caring and productive members of society.

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