Scrooge Character Analysis in A Christmas Carol Essay Sample

In a Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens presents Scrooge as an outsider to Society, expanding on the characterisation of Scrooge by giving him a reason to be so cold and ‘evil’ to those around him, while also reflecting on Victorian Society at the time. Dickens does this by introducing him as a withdrawn character,  showing Scrooge as a child and how his love life ended.

In this extract, it starts with the introduction to Scrooge’s character. He is shown to be shut off to the world around him, which presents him to the reader as a lonesome person different from others and very unwelcoming. Here, Dickens describes Scrooge as “nor wintry weather chill him” and also “No wind that blew was bitterer than he”, using pathetic fallacy, it tells the reader what Scrooge’s like. This kind of weather is seen as negative by society, using the adjective “chill” is seen as unwanted and disappointing when it arrives. This could be used to reflect on Scrooge’s character since he is unfazed by the wind, making him different from others around him, creating a sense of separation from him and those around him. The fact that this weather is having no effect on him can also present him as being on a different plane of existence than others, making him seem to be in his own world away from society. The fact that weather has no effect on Scrooge is strange since, at the time, it was the start of the industrial revolution, meaning that the weather and the air quality would be different than what people are accustomed to yet he is un phased by the cold and “bitter” weather.

In Stave two, it shows Scrooge’s past, this builds his character even more than the introduction since we can now see why he acts the way he does and how long he’s been seen as an outcast to society. In this stave Scrooge is described as  "A solitary child” the adjective “solitary” shows that he has been alone for a long time, it makes the reader think of someone like a soldier, a person who is separated from friends and family to be somewhere else. Children are usually seen as joyful and playful, however the introduction to Scrooge’s past makes him seem depressing and lonely. It makes Scrooge’s childhood different and would cause him to be accustomed to being alone, separating him from the rest of society. During the Victorian era it was usual for children to be sent to workhouses by themself, Dickens’ experienced this and uses the characterisation of Scrooge to show the negative effects this could have on a child. 

Dickens uses Scrooge's love life to further show the idea of him being different from others, which causes him to be alone. In the past Scrooge’s finance Belle broke up with him saying he had a “golden idol”. Using this metaphor it shows how Scrooge idolises money and is his main focus in life, this makes Belle feel as though he doesn't love her like he used to. His love for money draws him away from other people, even the ones he has known for a long time and has a great bond with. The fact that this phrase causes this separation contradicts its connotations: the adjective “golden” can be seen as pure and beautiful, it’s desired by many and is very popular. This could be because Dickens wanted to show the reader how desired things could be unhealthy and cause a separation from the rest of society, specifically the poor. Dickens wanted to share a message to rich people that poor people don’t always desire money and that things like the poor law could be very harmful to others.

In the end, Dickens uses Scrooge and his isolation from society as a learning point for others, he wanted to show readers (specifically the bourgeoisie) that money causes a divide between the rich and poor, things like poor houses and the obsession with money. He sent this message to try and bring awareness to this issue, using his life experiences with poor houses to be able to bring the message across clearly.