Ghost of Christmas Present

• Key words


  Abundance

  God-like

  Jovial

  Plentiful

  Anti-Malthusian views

  Jolly

  Provides moral enlightenment
•  ivy reflected back the light and sparkling eye

  The motif of light is similarly explored with the Ghost. Light symbolises hope throughout the novella, thus the ghost is offering Scrooge another opportunity of hope and promise for the future.
• glowing torch, in shape, not unlike Plenty's horn


  Plenty's horn in Latin is known as 'cornucopia', a symbol of nourishment. As the ghost holds the emblem of the rich, reinforcing the motif of light once again, it highlights how he is showing Scrooge that there is an abundance of resources to be shared- no malnourishment or neglection should commence in a society that has plenty. This is a direct criticism of Malthusian views which has no regard for the poor and destitute
• kind, generous, hearty nature

  The triple adjective could be seen to have biblical allusions to the holy trinity, in which is three parts of God; the father, the son and the holy spirit, The three adjectives could be an allusion to how the ghost is there to bring Scrooge back to his religious moral foundations and guide him away from sin
•  ivy reflected back the light

  Biblically, 'ivy' symbolises God's gift, thus as there was ivy -surrounding the ghost, it compounds his God-like portrayal- he could be seen as a recipient of God's message as he is trying to enlighten Scrooge morally, spiritually and religiously
• 'jolly Giant' 'green robe' 'bordered with fur'


  The Ghost is presented in a jovial way, akin to the idea of Father Christmas. As Father Christmas is a symbol of festivity and giving- this is poignant as the Ghost's function is to show Scrooge how there is enough of everything in abundance and that giving is an important attribute to have in society.
• 'geese, game, poultry, brawn' which formed a 'kind of throne'


  Dickens constructs the ghost to be sitting a plethora of enticing foods. Dickens directly uses the vast amounts of food as a criticism of the Malthusian idea that supplies are scarce, and the poor are the ones draining these resources. The Ghost is a pivotal tool in Dickens' social commentary as the ghost, an extension of Dickens, is didactic to Scrooge about his contribution to social ills and the mistreatment of the vulnerable, especially the children
• if he be like to die, he had better do it and decrease the surplus population


  Through the ghost emulating Scrooge's heartless Malthusian views, he is allowing the readership to reflect on the words that Scrooge had previously said and the detrimental impact this has had on others. As Scrooge is a microcosm of the Victorian upper class, Dickens ensures his readership is reflective of their contribution to social ills and, if they enable the mistreatment of the poor to commence, most significantly, the victimisation of children.