A CHRISTMAS CAROL - STAVE 3

A CHRISTMAS CAROL- STAVE 3

Scrooge is learning. He's not going to be caught unaware this time with the next ghost. He flings open the bed curtains and waits. The bell strikes one. Nothing. He begins to shake. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes go by and still nothing appears. Have mercy, where is the Ghost? Then his attention is arrested by a light from under a door across the room. Did he leave a light on? Leaving the comfort of his bed, he drags his feet across the floor, and stretches out his hand to turn the knob. As he does so, a deep, jolly voice calls out, "Scrooge, enter!" Willing his fingers to obey, he turns the knob and enters a room that he knows as a part of his home, but no longer recognizes. So begins Stave 2.

Dickens again blesses us with a vivid description of our ghostly visitor. He is a giant of a man, sitting on mounds of food and plenty. He is joyful and happy and the room reeks of Christmas and feasting. In his hand he bears a torch of sorts. (We will discuss this later.) The biggest oddity of the whole scene is the empty scabbard and the rusted sheath. Why is our ghost wearing these pieces that seem so out of place? It is because Christmas present is a time of no war. Peace is in the air.

Our ghost says something odd. He has more than 1800 brothers. What? That's because of the amount of Christmas's that have gone before this present one. We are in the 1800s and it is now his turn.

The Ghost instructs Scrooge to take his robe. The room disappears and in its place is Christmas morning outside. Everything is dingy, dirty, and gray, but the overall attitude of the people is one of cheer. As the ghost travels among the people, especially the poor ones, he sprinkles a sort of Christmas joy incense on them from his torch. If bickering is happening it immediately stops and is replaced with wishes of a Merry Christmas!

Did you catch the beautiful descriptions of the shops: the grocers', the poulterers', and so on? The paragraphs are overflowing with similes and personifications. The text is delightful to read! It reminds me of the magic of my childhood when Christmas decorations used to feel like they poured out of the stores there were so many!

Our first official stop is the Cratchit home where Dickens informs us that poor Bob makes a mere 15 bob a week in salary. Mrs. Cratchit is wearing a dress that has been "twice turned out." That means its been taken apart twice at the seams and turned inside out to the freshest parts of the fabric and resown. Their meal is a pittance compared to what we would consider a festive meal, and yet they celebrate! Despite their poor station in life, this family is rich in their love for each other. However a shadow lingers in the scene. We get a glimpse of foreshadowing as Bob holds onto Tiny Tim's "withered little hand, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him." Scrooge notices this and questions the Ghost on if Tiny Tim will live. The Ghost replies that he sees an empty seat and an unused crutch. If these things do not change, none of "his race" (remember his brothers) will see him. But it really doesn't matter right? After all, Scrooge told the men collecting for the poor in Stave 1 so what if the poor die. It just decreases the overpopulation. Scrooge hangs his head in grief at his own words.

The last bit to note in this scene is that despite Scrooge's mistreatment of Bob, Bob toasts him. I really see myself in Mrs. Cratchit's eyes as she flies off the handle at Bob. How can he say that?

They leave the Cratchit's home and go to Scrooge's nephew's where another joyful celebration exists. Scrooge joins in the games even when he's the joke of one. Amazingly, we see that both Bob and Scrooge's nephew have an appreciation for the crotchity old man.

Our ghost grows old as Christmas day comes to an end. He has one more thing to show Scrooge. He pulls back his robe and two children are sheltered underneath. Their names are Want and Ignorance and they symbolize the poor and how they have been forgotten by society.

The bell strikes twelve. The Ghost of Christmas Present disappears and a shadowy figure makes its appearance.