ghost of christmas present

• • The Ghost of Christmas Present is introduced in Stave III and is referred to as a “jolly Giant”
• • The spirit is described in positive terms: “its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanor, and its joyful air”:
  • The spirit could be viewed as the personification of the Christmas spirit in that it represents everything that is positive about Christmas: cheerful, giving and jovial
  • The spirit’s description is in sharp contrast to how Scrooge has first described at the beginning of the novella: “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!”
• • The spirit “bore a glowing torch” which is in the shape of the Horn of Plenty and, as it sprinkles the torch over the people in these scenes, they are filled with kindness and cheer associated with Christmas:
  • Taken from Greek and Roman mythology, the Horn of Plenty is associated with harvest time and an abundance of food
  • The motif of light is used to represent the joy surrounding Christmas
• • The spirit carries an “antique scabbard, but no sword was in it”:
  • Dickens depicts how Christmas is a time associated with peace and goodwill, where conflict and differences are put aside
• the spirit does not refer to Scrooge by his name, but instead by the word “man”:

  • This suggests that the spirit’s message is not just directed toward Scrooge but to all of mankind 
• • The spirit is authoritative and commanding, evident through its repeated use of imperative and exclamatory statements: “Look upon me!”
  • Scrooge begins to “obey” the spirit and his submissiveness illustrates his ongoing transformation:
  • Dickens further illustrates this by stating: “He was not the dogged Scrooge he had been”
• • The spirit highlights the importance of Christmas spirit by taking Scrooge to numerous places where people are revelling in the festive season:
  • The ghost builds on the concept of change by showing Scrooge the Cratchit household
• the spirit delivers scathing moral discourses about social reform:

  • The spirit is a mouthpiece for Dickens’s views on poverty and social injustice which was evident in Victorian England 
  • Through the spirit, Dickens highlights the selfishness of the rich and their heartlessness towards the plight of the poor
• • Two starving children emerge from under the spirit’s cloak called Ignorance and Want:
  • Dickens uses Ignorance and Want as a symbol of society’s cruelty as they  are subjected to torment and distress