Bob Cratchit

• Bob Cratchit


  Scrooge's Clerk, a timid and nervous man
• Bob Cratchit is unnamed for the first stave and is instead referred to as "the Clerk"
• Bob Cratchit


  • Represents the plight of the poor
  • An immediate source of sympathy in the novella
• Bob Cratchit


  A loving father and husband
• Bob Cratchit remains grateful and compassionate, celebrating Christmas in a way that the significantly richer Scrooge never could
• Dickens presents the lower class in a positive light and as multi-faceted characters through the character of Bob Cratchit
• Bob


  Slang word for 'shilling' during the Victorian era
• Scrooge's treatment of Bob Cratchit

  Cratchit is maltreated and dependent on Scrooge
• Bob Cratchit and Scrooge

  Scrooge is cruel and merciless towards Bob, but Bob forgives Scrooge after his transformation
• Bob Cratchit and Mrs Cratchit

  They cultivate love and happiness between them
• Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim

  Bob's loving relationship with his disabled child builds sympathy and showcases his virtue
• Bob Cratchit and his other children

  Bob maintains loving and endearing relationships with all his children
• Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol

  • Humble
  • Hardworking
  • Family man
• Bob Cratchit is Scrooge's clerk and works in unpleasant conditions without complaint. He obeys Scrooge's rules and is timid about asking to go home to his family early on Christmas Eve.
• When the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to visit the Cratchits on Christmas Day, he sees Bob Cratchit carrying his sickly son Tiny Tim, and later raising a toast to Scrooge for providing the feast.
• The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows the Cratchits in a future where Tiny Tim has died and here we see how sensitive Bob Cratchit is. His love for his son is shown through his grief.
• In the end, when Scrooge changes his ways for the better, Bob Cratchit is delighted. He welcomes Scrooge's new-found generosity and friendship.