A Christmas Carol: Synopsis

On Christmas Eve, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, who died seven years earlier. Marley warns Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits who will try to help him change his ways so he will be saved from the endless wanderings Marley now endures.

The Ghost of Christmas Past recalls scenes from Scrooge’s earlier life in order to illuminate how he pushed his loved ones away and deliberately ignored those who needed him. The Ghost of Christmas Present reveals what Scrooge is missing in the warm family life of his nephew Fred and his loyal clerk Bob Cratchit (whose family includes the crippled Tiny Tim). Christmas Present also reveals Ignorance and Want, two miserable creatures representing the children hurt by both Scrooge and society’s neglect.

Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Future sheds light on the ominous shape of things to come if Scrooge does not change his ways. Marley haunts Scrooge throughout his ghostly visits, encouraging his friend to listen to the Spirits’ messages. As Scrooge slowly realizes his wrong-doings and promises to live differently in future, Marley is freed from his own bondage. Scrooge is delighted to find himself back in his chambers and unharmed and goes about transforming his life as he has promised.

Who can be insensible to the outpouring of good feeling, and the honest interchange of affectionate attachment, which abounds at this season of the year?

— Charles Dickens