The Four Ghosts of Christmas.

Essay by alwaysessenceA, October 2005

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Charles Dickens is a well know author that has written many famous works. One of his most popular and best-loved books is "A Christmas Caro" (Rowell 1). In Dickens's book "A Christmas Carol" four ghosts appear to Ebenezer Scrooge, each representing a moral lesson that teaches Scrooge how to better live his life.

The first of the four ghosts to visit Scrooge is the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley comes to warn Scrooge of the ill fate that awaits him if he continues to live life as a stingy, rude, and uncaring man. Marley also appears before Scrooge to tell him that he will be visited by the three spirits of Christmas: past, present, and future. Dickens uses Marley as a messenger to Scrooge in the story, but he also uses Marley to represent Scrooge. "Marley represents Scrooge's present state of mind, acting like a sort of mirror" ("A Christmas Carol" 1125).

Scrooge's present state of mind is taking care of his own interests and is completely ignorant to others needs. The fact that Scrooge's state of mind is a mirror image of Marley makes Scrooge, in a way, dead because it makes Marley and Scrooge one in the same (Gold 103). From this meeting with Marley Scrooge learns that there is a connection between his actions and life choices and what will happen to him later in death. This meeting between the two similar entities also helps Scrooge open his mind to the ghosts that will appear later in the story.

The next ghost that visits Scrooge is the Ghost of Christmas Past. The narrator describes the spirit as childlike and aged as well as dwarfish in appearance (Dickens 31). The spirit takes Scrooge to five Christmases of the past that refresh Scrooge's memory and...