Summary Of A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” opens with the protagonist, miserly businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, working late on Christmas Eve in his London office when his nephew Fred drops by to invite him to Christmas dinner. Fred’s Christmas greetings—repeated annually and annually declined—send Scrooge into a rant against the holiday and those who celebrate it. When Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, quietly applauds Fred’s inspirational defense of Christmas, Scrooge threatens to fire him. As Fred leaves, a pair of gentlemen collecting money for the poor call on Scrooge, but he quickly dismisses them with the reminder that he already supports prisons and workhouses for the poor.

At closing time, Scrooge grudgingly gives Cratchit the next day (Christmas

A gigantic spirit wearing a green robe trimmed in white fur, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge on a tour of dingy, soot-covered neighborhoods where, in spite of their poverty, residents are celebrating Christmas. Scrooge and the spirit soon arrive at the Cratchit house, where the family delights in a Christmas meal far nicer than their usual fare but still quite meager for the large family. Scrooge is especially moved by the youngest child, Tiny Tim, who is crippled and will soon die, the spirit tells Scrooge, if nothing changes. Scrooge hears Bob Cratchit offer a toast in Scrooge’s name and discovers the disdain in which the family holds him. The spirit then takes Scrooge on brief visits to a miner’s home, a lighthouse, and a ship; in each of these lonely settings people are celebrating Christmas. Finally, they arrive at Fred’s home, where the party guests are discussing Scrooge’s absence. Fred explains that Scrooge’s demeanor brings its own consequences and expresses his hope that his Christmas invitations may one day soften Scrooge’s bitterness. Scrooge, invisible to the partygoers, becomes absorbed in their party games and has a wonderful time, even though he is only a spiritual presence and in one of the games a joke is made at his expense. As they leave, the spirit shows Scrooge a boy and a girl—Ignorance and Want—sheltered beneath his robe and warns Scrooge of the doom they foretell for