Human Generosity Essay

The Ghost of Christmas Past goes on to show Scrooge an incident that is obviously very painful for Scrooge to watch, for by the end he is crying, â€Å"Spirit! Show me no more! Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me? † The vision is of a time when Scrooge is beginning to shut other people out of his life, and start a new life in the lonely world of earning money obsessively with no one to share it with. He is shown his â€Å"release† from his fianci for the reason that she has seen his, â€Å"nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until one master passion, Gain, engrosses you. † On the arrival of the second Spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge is prepared. Dickens presents the spirit as a large, jolly fellow who shares most people’s merry feelings about Christmas. When Scrooge encounters him initially, piles of food surround the Spirit, â€Å"Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking pigs, long wreaths of sausage, mince pies†¦ † These lists are typical of Dickens’ style, emphasising the richness of it all. The Spirit shows Scrooge more images of how much others, rich and poor, enjoy Christmas. He sprinkles his own â€Å"flavour†, his own form of generosity, upon the shoppers’ food, especially that of the poor, before taking Scrooge to the Cratchits’ home. The Cratchits have little in the way of a Christmas dinner, but appreciate every last mouthful. Each and every one of them is in high spirits, Tiny Tim included. Tiny Tim is a young, crippled boy, with an iron frame supporting his limbs and a tiny crutch. Yet he too joins in the festivities with joy and love in his heart. â€Å"‘Spirit’ said Scrooge with an interest he had never felt before, ‘tell me if Tiny Tim will live. ‘† We can see him beginning to redevelop the caring attitude that he had buried so long ago. The Ghost tells him that if the future remains unchanged then no; Tiny Tim will not survive. The change in Scrooge is again apparent when he cries, â€Å"Oh no, kind Spirit! say he will be spared. † The Spirit quotes Scrooges words, â€Å"If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. † Scrooge is deeply ashamed by the words of his former self and hangs his head, quite overcome by â€Å"penitence and grief†. As he visits more and more homes, full of people enjoying Christmas, he hears their unkind words about him. They laugh at his ways and, for the first time, he realises what he has been missing out on for all these years and discovers deep feelings of remorse that he never dreamt he would possess. It is the final Spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come that has the most profound effect on Scrooge. The Phantom’s silent, deadly way terrifies him, as do the scenes of death he is about to see. He is shown views of various people discussing a death, but with no compassion in their voices. It is clear to him that the person they talk of was not liked and will not be missed. â€Å"It’s likely to be a cheap funeral, for, upon my life, I don’t know of anybody who will go to it. † The people ask only of what he did with his money, illustrating how money was the only thing of importance in this man’s life. Scrooge is agonized that no one appears to have any emotion for someone whose life had seemed so similar to his, â€Å"The case of this unhappy man might be my own. My life tends that way now. † By now Scrooge is fully aware of how his lack of generosity will lead; he will die alone and unloved. He is deeply traumatized, â€Å"Let me see some tenderness connected with a death, or that dark chamber, Spirit, which we left just now, will be for ever present to me. † The Spirit obeys but Scrooge is surprised to find himself back at the Cratchits’ home. On further investigation, Scrooge discovers that it is not the same death for which he is being shown the grieving. He realises the sad, but true fact that Tiny Tim has died. The comparisons between the unbearable sadness felt for a small boy who, despite being poor and crippled, had love and joy in his heart, and the complete lack of emotion felt for a money obsessed old man could not be further apart. Before the final Ghost departs Scrooge begs him to reveal who they saw lying dead, although it is quite possible that he already knows but refuses to believe it. He hesitates before going to look at the gravestone to which he has been conveyed, for he has something he needs to know, â€Å"Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they the shadows of the things that May be only? † Scrooge is desperate for a chance to change and live a life that could not only prevent Tiny Tim form dying, but also prevent his own life from ending in the way he had seen the other man’s to have done. Although the Ghost does not reply, Scrooge does not pursue the matter, for he knows already that he can change the future by letting others into his life and bringing more joy to theirs with just a little human generosity. He advances towards the grave and uncovers the tangled weeds of neglect to reveal the name: â€Å"EBENEZER SCROOGE† Falling to his knees he cries promises of change, claiming he will â€Å"honour Christmas† and live in the â€Å"Past, the Present and the Future†. And so he does. The story ends with Dickens describing Scrooges joy that he has not missed Christmas, â€Å"A happy merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo! † He pays a poor carol singer to order the largest turkey in the shop to be delivered to the Cratchits. He offers Bob a pay rise. He goes to his nephew’s home and joins in the celebrations that he has missed out on for so many years. And what is more, he continues to live like this, resulting in him indirectly saving Tiny Tim’s life. There are many themes running through the story of A Christmas Carol, but in the end they all come back to the same simple idea of Human Generosity. Scrooge’s story demonstrates that having money is not at all important if there is no one with which to share it. In his final gestures, he brings great happiness not only into the lives of others, but also his own. And then we come to the Cratchits who, despite having very little of material value to share, are some of the most generous people that can be found. For it is love that they share among them and, without that, there is nothing to life.