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View Full Version : Whose death is Scrooge more upset about: his or Tiny Tim's?



kev67
12-23-2012, 01:22 PM
At the end of Stave 4, Scrooge is horrified to see his name on the grave stone. I thought he was slow on the uptake. He should have twigged much earlier that the recently deceased person shown him by the Ghost of Christmas Future, who nobody cared about, was himself. He was upset to learn that Tiny Tim would die, but seemed more upset to foresee his own death (well I suppose I would too). Scrooge resolves to be a better person, but how much credit does this do him? Does he decide to become more generous in order to extend Tiny Tim's life, extend his own life, or so that people care when he does die? Scrooge is getting on. Becoming kinder is not likely to extend his life by very much.

qimissung
12-24-2012, 02:11 AM
Well, I hear what you're saying Kevin. I think he was horrified at the prospect of his own death, and perhaps also at the manner of his dying. It was the last thing that he saw, after looking at what the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present had to show him. We were already beginning to see him thaw, and this was the proverbial icing on the cake. The ghosts put him in touch with long buried emotions, and what probably began with a serving of self-interest quickly became something deeper and hopefully more genuine.

I think most people who give-anything-do so because they like how it makes them feel. I wonder if the same is also true of people who do hurtful things?