Ghosts

• The three Spirits


  Not depictions of people who have died, instead incarnations of Christmas
• The first two Spirits


  1. Force Scrooge to reconnect with his past

  2. Show him how others are currently celebrating Christmas
• The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come


  Gives Scrooge an indication of what the future might be like if he continues to be driven only by money—at the expense of others around him
• Ghost of Christmas Past


  Associated with light, represents knowledge
• Scrooge wants the Ghost of Christmas Past to use the cap and extinguish the light


  The light symbolises knowledge
• By reflecting on the past

  Scrooge will understand himself better and become a wiser person
• Scrooge extinguishing the Ghost's light


  Suggests he has been able to ignore the painful memories of his childhood by blocking them out
• Scrooge is unable to extinguish the light completely


  Suggests some of the memories and lessons from his time with the Ghost will remain with him
• Ghost of Christmas Present


  A large, happy 'jolly Giant', symbolising goodwill and abundance
• The Ghost of Christmas Present

  Sheds light on Scrooge's misdemeanours so that he realises the need to change
• The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge how others are celebrating Christmas, despite their poverty
• Dickens depicts the final Ghost as the most frightening of them all
• "It was a strange figure - like a child: yet not so like a child" Ghost of Christmas Past
• "it wore a tunic of purest white" ghost of christmas past
• "branch of fresh green holly" ghost of christmas past
• "figure itself fluctuated" ghost of christmas past
• "would you so soon put out the light i give to you" ghost of christmas past
• "crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light" ghost of christmas past
• "Crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe, and ivy" ghost of christmas present
• "If he had like to die, he better do it quick to decrease the surplus population" ghost of christmas present
• "sympathy with all poor men" ghost of christmas present
• "they are mans" ghost of christmas present
• "the boy is ignorance and the girl is want" ghost of christmas present
• "i see a vacant seat" ghost of christmas present
• "are there no prisons?" ghost of christmas present
• "most of all beware this boy" ghost of christmas present
• "It was shrouded in a deep black garment" ghost of christmas yet to come
• "the spirit neither spoke nor moved2 ghost of christmas yet to come
• "I fear you more than any Spectre I have seen" ghost of christmas yet to come
• "it gave him no reply" ghost of christmas yet to come
• "the phantom glided" ghost of christmas yet to come
• "the spirit is always stronger than humans"