How Does Scrooge Change Throughout A Christmas Carol

In the song “Starting Now” by Glen Philips, the principal songwriter for the band Toad The Wet Sprocket, wrote: “The best time to change was many years ago. Next best thing is starting where we are. If heaven isn’t waiting, if all there is is this, why wait another minute to trust the heart and live.” It is easy to make the connection between these lyrics and the lesson Ebenezer Scrooge is taught in the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In the novella, it is vital that the cold-hearted Scrooge change his ways, and open up to his family as well as open his eyes to the damage he has caused. Scrooge is told by the spirit of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, that his time is running out and he needs to change. Ebenezer Scrooge

Scrooge used to be misanthropic and grouchy in Stave one. In Stave one, the text states. “ But what did Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call ‘nuts’ to Scrooge.” (Dickens 1). Scrooge also had a catalyst that helped him to start changing in Stave one. In Stave one, the text states, “ ‘That is no light part of my penance,’ pursued the Ghost. ‘I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer.’ ‘You were always a good friend to me,’ said Scrooge. ‘Thank `ee!’ “ (Dickens 1). This shows how Scrooge was misanthropic and one catalyst that sparked Scrooge's changes is the ghost visiting him. Another example of how Scrooge was is also in Stave one, where Scrooge tells his nephew what he thinks of Christmas. The text states, “ ‘What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.’ “ (Dickens 1). Scrooge started to change in Stave two when he thought about how he treated the caroler that came to his door. In A Christmas Carol, the text states, “ Then, with a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usual character, he said, in pity for his former self, ‘Poor boy!’ and cried again. ‘I wish,’ Scrooge muttered, putting his hand in his pocket, and looking about him, after drying his eyes with his cuff:

In Stave one, Scrooge expressed his cynicism to his nephew. The text states, “ ‘What else can I be,’ returned the uncle, ‘when I live in such a world of fools as this?’ “ (Dickens 1). A second catalyst for change is in Stave three, where the ghost of Christmas present spits back Scrooge’s hurtful words back at him when Scrooge asks about the future of Tiny Tim. In Stave three, the text states, “ ‘If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race,’ returned the Ghost, ‘will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.’ Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.” (Dickens 3). This shows how the quote from Stave one demonstrates that Scrooge was expressing his cynicism to his nephew. A second catalyst from Stave three shows The Ghost Of Christmas Present spouting back Scrooge’s dangerous words back to him after Scrooge inquires about the fate of Tiny Tim. Scrooge learned that he should be careful with what he says. Humanity learns that what people say has a bigger impact than they might