A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Stave 1: Marley's Ghost
In Stave One, we meet Ebenezer Scrooge, his nephew, two men coming for money, his worker Bob Cratchit, and the ghost of Jacob Marley. Scrooge's nephew is a cheerful, optimistic man, who invites Scrooge to Christmas dinner. Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's worker, is a poor man, but a wonderful father to his children. Scrooge is a greedy, ignorant man who hates Christmas. Jacob Marley was his business partner, but died a few years ago. Jacob was very similar to Scrooge, and that's why he's visiting him from the grave, to help Scrooge change his life so he doesn't end up chained down as Marley did.
Stave 2: The First of the Three Spirits
In Stave Two, we meet the first of the three ghosts. This ghost had the body of a man, the face of a child, and hair as if he was of old age. There was a bright light emanating from the top of his head. He had a candle putter-outer. The ghost softly introduced himself to Scrooge as the Ghost of Christmas Past. This ghost takes Scrooge to his old school, where he always spent Christmas alone as a boy. Scrooge feels bad for the younger version of himself. Eventually they see the one Christmas where Scrooge's little sister comes to take him home. Next, Scrooge is taken back to his apprenticeship with Fezziwig, who has a magnificent party. He sees himself with a lovely young lady. The next thing he shows Scrooge is the younger version of himself with that young lady a few years later, and they're not exactly seeing eye to eye. The lady leaves him and Scrooge is now devastated and begs to be taken home. Scrooge takes the candle putter-outer and pulls it over the ghost's head, and he is taken back home into his bed, where he falls asleep immediately. He took Scrooge to these places to show him that not everyone has a good Christmas, and he should be kind to everyone because you never know just what's going on in their lives.
Stave 3: The Second of the Three Spirits
In this Stave, we meet the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost is a large, portly man wearing a green robe and carrying a large torch, sitting upon a throne of a Christmas feast. The Ghost of Christmas Present took Scrooge to a number of places. The first place was simply in the city, where people were passing by and yelling, "Merry Christmas!" to everyone near. He took him here to show him that even strangers are kind to one another, and something as simple as a "Merry Christmas!" can make someone smile. The next place he took him was Bob Cratchit's house. Scrooge sees that Bob's family is poor and can afford very little for their Christmas, but they enjoy it nonetheless. He takes him here to show him that he should appreciate everything he has. While at the Cratchit's house, Scrooge sees Tiny Tim and begs to know if he will survive, but the spirit sadly says there will be an empty chair next year. The spirit takes him to a couple more places, including a miner's camp and a party aboard a ship. He takes him here to show him that even though they're far away from home and in harsh conditions, they're still laughing and having a good time, and they know the spirit of Christmas. He wants him to know the same thing. The final place he take shim is his nephew's house, where he is having a gathering. They're playing games and having fun. Scrooge gets so into it, he forgets they can't see him and they start playing the games with him. Eventually, they say some not-so-nice things about Scrooge. At the end of the stave, the ghost has grown older and he shows Scrooge two children under his robe. He says their names are Ignorance and Want, and they are the children of man. He warns Scrooge to stay away from them both, but most importantly, stay away from the boy, Ignorance. At the stroke of midnight, Scrooge sees another ghostly figure moving towards him.
Stave 4: The Last of the Spirits
This stave begins with Scrooge meeting the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. It is a tall, dark figure wearing a hood. the only visible part of this ghost is the pale hand that stretches out, pointing at things here and there for Scrooge to see. Scrooge approaches the ghost and inquires if he is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, but the spirit simply points as an answer. Scrooge sees many different things. The first is the London Stock Exchange, where he sees three business men talking about the death of a rich man. They all agree that no one particularly wants to go. The next thing he sees is a small pawn shop in London, where a group of shady characters is selling off the rich man's things. He next sees the dinner table of a poor man and woman, who are excitedly happy about the death of this man, as it gives them more time to get the money to pay off their debt. And he finally sees the Cratchit household, where the family is struggling with the loss of their son, Tiny Tim. Scrooge begs to know the identity of the dead man, but the ghost remains silent. Instead, he takes Scrooge to a graveyard and points at a tombstone. Before Scrooge dares to look at it, he asks if this is the Future of Things that Will Be, or the Future of Things that May Be, but the ghost, again, does not answer him, but points to the tomb. Scrooge reads his own name on the tomb stone and cries out. He grabs the ghost and promises to keep the lessons that he's learned from the three ghosts forever and to be a better man. As Scrooge continues to cry out for mercy, he finds himself back in his bedroom, clutching his bed curtains. The ghost showed him these things to show him that he is on a dark path and he needs to change for the sake of himself and for other people.
Stave 5
In the last stave of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, we see Scrooge awaken from his frightful night with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. He's very anxious at first. He constantly praises Jacob Marley and the three spirits. When he finds out it's still Christmas Day, he begins shouting, "Merry Christmas!" all through the town. He buys the biggest turkey available and sends it to Bob Cratchit's house. He gives a man an apology and gives him some money as charity to the poor. He attends Fred's Christmas party and everyone is shocked by his dramatic transformation. The next morning, Bob Cratchit comes into work late. Scrooge puts on an act of being mad, and then threatens to raise his salary! As time goes on, Scrooge is even better than his word and becomes like a second father to Tiny Tim. The moral of the story is be kind to one another. Be generous and caring. Love everyone and help others as much as possible Basically, just use common sense and be a good person.