OverviewWhen you are revising go through the summaries and highlight key moments in the story- think about why they are important and what they show- you can mention these during your essay.
Stave 4: The Last of the Spirits In this chapter Scrooge is again taken to places he does not know. The spirit is more like the kind of ghost we meet in conventional ghost stories. It is a hooded phantom, its face is unseen and it points at things but does not speak. We are puzzled by a group of wealthy men, discussing someone who has died. This person seems very unpopular. In another poor and squalid part of London a pawn-broker, Old Joe, buys stolen property from three people: a laundrywoman (Mrs. Dilber), a charwoman (a cleaner) and the undertaker's assistant. All these poor people have taken things from the dead man - even the curtains from his bed and the shirt off his back. Scrooge asks to see some "emotion caused by this man's death". He sees two scenes. First, a young couple who owed the man money. The wife (Caroline) fears they are ruined but her husband says there is hope now their creditor is dead. The debt will be transferred to someone else, but no-one else could be so merciless as the man who has died. Next Scrooge returns with the ghost to the Cratchits' home. They, too are talking about death and preparing for a funeral. They all try hard to comfort and support each other. It becomes clear that they are grieving for Tiny Tim, who has died. He is to be buried in a beautiful green churchyard. Bob comes home from work and goes to sit with his son, who has obviously only just died. Scrooge is horrified but still has to learn the identity of the mysterious dead man. He is shown to an ugly churchyard "overrun by grass and weeds" in the town, and here sees on the gravestone his own name. He realizes (the reader has already guessed) that he is the man about whom the others were talking. Scrooge begs the spirit to tell him whether he has seen what will be or what may be only. He thinks the spirit is showing pity to him and promises he will change. |