Are you a grumpy, greedy, old man who hates Christmas? In the novella, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the main character Ebenezer Scrooge, is visited by three Christmas spirits who try to make him change his way of life and attitude towards others. They include the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. The Spirit of Christmas Present had the greatest influence on Scrooge. From his adventure with the Spirit of Christmas Present, Scrooge had learned how to treat others with kindness, the importance of family, and how he affected others. To start off, the Spirit of Christmas Present taught Scrooge how to treat others with kindness. Scrooge was a cold-hearted man that only focused on the success of his business and income. Except, …show more content…
The Spirit had taken Scrooge to the house of his employee, Bob Cratchit. There he witnesses Cratchit’s family all together enjoying their time with each other. The excerpt states, “But they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time…Scrooge had his eye upon them…” (pg. 52) This shows that even if the Cratchit family was not wealthy or had the most stable living conditions, they could still be with relish as they had each other. They did not care about money during this very moment, only family. This took Scrooge aback as he always had a profound apathetic attitude towards these gatherings and those who are less fortunate. It would not be until later that he realizes that if money controls his life, he truly is not living. Another event that causes Scrooge to realize the importance of family is a gathering his nephew has with a few other family members. Scrooge’s nephew comes every Christmas Eve to invite Scrooge over and receives the same answer of no every time. The Spirit took Scrooge to observe the gathering this time and even though they were invisible, Scrooge started to enjoy himself as he engaged in the activities. The text states, “The Ghost was greatly pleased to find him in this mood, and looked upon him with such favour that he begged like a boy to be allowed to stay until the guests departed.” (pg. 59) This shows that as Scrooge started to engage and participate at the gathering, he did not want to leave as he was having such a good time. This type of lifestyle where work was important but so was spending time with family, started to be embraced by Scrooge. Being in a lively, ebullient environment was greater compared to being cooped up in his dusty, gloomy office. Family is an important part in everyday lives and once one accepts that, they truly can be