Back to: Dickens A Christmas Carol and the Bible
Running to the window, he opened it, and put out his head. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious. Glorious.
‘What’s to-day.’ cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look about him.
‘Eh.’ returned the boy, with all his might of wonder.
‘What’s to-day, my fine fellow.’ said Scrooge.
‘To-day.’ replied the boy. ‘Why, Christmas Day.’
‘It’s Christmas Day.’ said Scrooge to himself. ‘I haven’t missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can. Hallo, my fine fellow.’
1. Scrooge becomes childlike
Matthew 18:2,3
He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
By becoming “quite a baby” Scrooge fulfills one of Dickens’s favorite Bible passages (see Stave Four, Note 27)—Matthew 18:2,3 (K/V): “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”’
Scrooge hails a boy on the street whom he sends to fetch a “prize turkey twice the size of Tiny Tim” to be sent to the Cratchit family.
‘Hallo.’ returned the boy.
‘Do you know the Poulterer’s, in the next street but one, at the corner.’ Scrooge inquired.
‘I should hope I did,’ replied the lad.
‘An intelligent boy.’ said Scrooge. ‘A remarkable boy. Do you know whether they’ve sold the prize Turkey that was hanging up there — Not the little prize Turkey: the big one.’
‘What, the one as big as me.’ returned the boy.
‘What a delightful boy.’ said Scrooge. ‘It’s a pleasure to talk to him. Yes, my buck.’
‘It’s hanging there now,’ replied the boy.
‘Is it.’ said Scrooge. ‘Go and buy it.’
‘Walk-er.’ exclaimed the boy.
‘No, no,’ said Scrooge, ‘I am in earnest. Go and buy it, and tell them to bring it here, that I may give them the direction where to take it. Come back with the man, and I’ll give you a shilling. Come back with him in less than five minutes and I’ll give you half-a-crown.’
The boy was off like a shot. He must have had a steady hand at a trigger who could have got a shot off half so fast.
‘I’ll send it to Bon Cratchit’s.’ whispered Scrooge, rubbing his hands, and splitting with a laugh. ‘He shan’t know who sends it. It’s twice the size of Tiny Tim. Joe Miller never made such a joke as sending it to Bob’s will be.’
The hand in which he wrote the address was not a steady one, but write it he did, somehow, and went down-stairs to open the street door, ready for the coming of the poulterer’s man. As he stood there, waiting his arrival, the knocker caught his eye.
‘I shall love it, as long as I live.’ cried Scrooge, patting it with his hand. ‘I scarcely ever looked at it before. What an honest expression it has in its face. It’s a wonderful knocker. — Here’s the Turkey. Hallo. Whoop. How are you. Merry Christmas.’
2. Scrooge makes up for lost time
Seemingly the knocker has an “honest expression” because Marley (whose face appeared in the knocker) told the truth—and now Scrooge knows it too
Out on the streets of London, Scrooge is making up for lost time. He joins the flow of people and behaves like a man would if given a single day to follow every impulse, greet every person, think every thought that would customarily take a whole year to accomplish.
It was a Turkey. He never could have stood upon his legs, that bird. He would have snapped them short off in a minute, like sticks of sealing-wax.
‘Why, it’s impossible to carry that to Camden Town,’ said Scrooge. ‘You must have a cab.’
The chuckle with which he said this, and the chuckle with which he paid for the Turkey, and the chuckle with which he paid for the cab, and the chuckle with which he recompensed the boy, were only to be exceeded by the chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again, and chuckled till he cried.
3. Scrooge sets an example
As Dickens cared so much about godly good deeds, he has Scrooge set an example for the reader by putting his goodwill to good work.
Dickens knew that, for a man like Scrooge, and men like him in the readership, a monetary contribution gives the most convincing evidence of his rehabilitation and confidence in his salvation
Shaving was not an easy task, for his hand continued to shake very much; and shaving requires attention, even when you don’t dance while you are at it. But if he had cut the end of his nose off, he would have put a piece of sticking-plaster over it, and been quite satisfied.
He dressed himself all in his best, and at last got out into the streets. The people were by this time pouring forth, as he had seen them with the Ghost of Christmas Present; and walking with his hands behind him, Scrooge regarded every one with a delighted smile. He looked so irresistibly pleasant, in a word, that three or four good-humoured fellows said,’ Good morning, sir. A merry Christmas to you.’ And Scrooge said often afterwards, that of all the blithe sounds he had ever heard, those were the blithest in his ears.
4. Scrooge is redoing his wrongs
He is redoing his wrongs from earlier in the book
He had not gone far, when coming on towards him he beheld the portly gentleman, who had walked into his counting-house the day before, and said,’ Scrooge and Marley’s, I believe.’ It sent a pang across his heart to think how this old gentleman would look upon him when they met; but he knew what path lay straight before him, and he took it.
‘My dear sir,’ said Scrooge, quickening his pace, and taking the old gentleman by both his hands. ‘How do you do. I hope you succeeded yesterday. It was very kind of you. A merry Christmas to you, sir.’
‘Mr Scrooge.’
‘Yes,’ said Scrooge. ‘That is my name, and I fear it may not be pleasant to you. Allow me to ask your pardon. And will you have the goodness’ — here Scrooge whispered in his ear.
‘Lord bless me.’ cried the gentleman, as if his breath were taken away. ‘My dear Mr Scrooge, are you serious.’
‘If you please,’ said Scrooge. ‘Not a farthing less. A great many back-payments are included in it, I assure you. Will you do me that favour.’
‘My dear sir,’ said the other, shaking hands with him. ‘I don’t know what to say to such munificence.’
‘Don’t say anything please,’ retorted Scrooge. ‘Come and see me. Will you come and see me.’
‘I will.’ cried the old gentleman. And it was clear he meant to do it.
‘Thank you,’ said Scrooge. ‘I am much obliged to you. I thank you fifty times. Bless you.’
He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness. In the afternoon he turned his steps towards his nephew’s house.