transformation and redemption

• ideas relating to transformation and redemption are recurrent themes throughout the novella. Scrooge undergoes a journey of redemption and his change in character is instrumental to the plot of the text
• knowledge and evidence

  • Dickens depicts Scrooge’s journey of transformation from a cruel miser to a  benevolent and kind man:
  • Scrooge is used as a signal to the upper classes to change their dangerous and harsh attitudes toward the lower classes
• knowledge and evidence

  • Scrooge’s preoccupation with materialism is detrimental to his happiness:
  • His former fiancée Belle ends their engagement because he has replaced her with a “golden idol”
  • This is also echoed by Fred when he declares that his uncle’s wealth is of no use if he “doesn’t do any good with it”
• knowledge and evidence

  • Dickens conveys the message that everyone has the ability to show compassion and kindness to others, regardless of their social position:
  • Dickens presents those who show kindness as contented and fulfilled, while those who do not are depicted as bitter and unhappy
• knowledge and evidence


  • Dickens uses each spirit to teach Scrooge a vital moral lesson and the regret which Scrooge exhibits is necessary for his redemption:
  • Scrooge’s heightened emotions endear him to the reader and illustrate the change in his character: “And he sobbed”
  • Through the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge’s memories become a catalyst for his transformation 
  • Scrooge becomes highly emotional and he demonstrates the ability to change early in the novella
• knowledge and evidence


  • Through the character of Tiny Tim, Scrooge develops his ability to empathise with those who are less fortunate: 
  • Tiny Tim plays an important part in inspiring Scrooge’s transformation which is central to the narrative
• knowledge and evidence


  • Dickens clearly presents Scrooge’s transformation from avarice to benevolence:
  • By the end of the novella, Scrooge has been transformed into a charitable philanthropist : “I am light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy, I am giddy as a drunken man” and “I am not the man I was” 
• writers intention


  • through the character of Scrooge, Dickens conveys a universal message that everyone is capable of change, regardless of how impossible it may seem
  • Dickens conveys the message that everyone has the ability to show compassion and kindness to others, regardless of their social position