Friday, October 25, 2013

In A Christmas Carol, what happens to Scrooge's belongings in Christmas Future? What does he learn from this?

Ebenezer witnesses his servants and other mistreated unfortunates stealing what they can from his home--ripping down his bed curtains, scooping up piles of clothing--in the hopes that they will be worth something.  He watches as they collect at the local junk dealer's place of business to discuss what they have and how much he will pay them for it. 

In addition, no one really mourns the death of Scrooge.  They are only there to see what they can get from what is left behind. 

To Ebenezer Scrooge, this is a sad testament to the way he has lived his life.  He wants that to change so that when he does die, people will come to the funeral to show how much he the person meant to them...not to snatch a curtain to sell later for some personal gain.

In short, he has learned that people are worth more than things, and he needs to change his greedy, miserly, miserable, and unloving ways.

This is why, upon his return from the Christmases Future experience, he is joyous to find he still has time.  He pays the young boy to get the turkey and sends it to the Cratchit home. He buys toys for area children, he attends Christmas dinner at his nephew's, and he gives Cratchit a raise.  We see from his behavior that his future will be different than that the ghosts have shown him.

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