illustration of Ebenezer Scrooge in silhouette walking toward a Christmas tree and followed by the three ghosts

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

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Student Question

In A Christmas Carol, how do the rooms reflect Scrooge's character and how does the Ghost of Christmas Present transform the setting?

Quick answer:

The rooms in Scrooge's home reflect his character as empty and gloomy, symbolizing his loveless and passionless soul. The echoing emptiness and low fire in his fireplace further illustrate his cold, isolated nature. When the Ghost of Christmas Present arrives, the setting transforms into a vibrant "perfect grove" filled with "living green" decorations and a "mighty blaze" in the fireplace, symbolizing life, warmth, and the potential for Scrooge's redemption.

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The rooms in which Scrooge resides are as empty and  "gloomy" as Scrooge's soul. Dickens tells us that the rooms "were a gloomy suite of rooms." The adjective "gloomy" is describing the rooms as melancholy and depressing; these rooms are without happiness, just like Scrooge; after all, Scrooge lives there, and much can be said about a person by the dwelling that person keeps.

When Scrooge enters his home and slams the door shut, Dickens tells us that "every room" in the house reverberates with an echo; here we see just how empty Scrooge's home is, for an echo is created within an emptiness; this emptiness is symbolic of Scrooge's soul; it is void of love.

To accentuate Scrooge's loveless soul, Dickens tells us that the fire in Scrooge's fireplace is a "very low fire." "Fire" is a symbol for many things, one of them being the soul. Scrooge's "low fire" is a direct

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To accentuate Scrooge's loveless soul, Dickens tells us that the fire in Scrooge's fireplace is a "very low fire." "Fire" is a symbol for many things, one of them being the soul. Scrooge's "low fire" is a directcharacterization of Scrooge's soul; there is not much passion or life in his soul, but the fact that there is a small fire still there, is good, for that is all that is required to set the kindling blazing that Marley and the other Ghosts will toss on it later to cause it to rage with life and love again.

When the Ghost of Christmas Present arrives, Scrooge's room transforms into a "perfect grove." It is full of life; the life imagery is revealed in the "living green" that is hanging from the walls; there are "holly, mistletoe, and ivy" hanging everywhere. Along with the "living green," there is a "mighty blaze" in the fireplace, and last, there is an enormous mount of life giving food on the floor "heaped up. . .to form a kind of throne."

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