Discuss the Role of Marley and the Three Spirits in Helping to Reform Ebenezer Scrooge.

Discuss the role of Marley and the three spirits in helping to reform Ebenezer Scrooge.

The novel, A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens transforms the main character Ebenezer Scrooge from his selfish, cold hearted self to a caring and happy man. Scrooge starts off having no feelings for others or any Christmas spirit, but changes from his gloomy, tight fisted and greedy self to a carefree person at the end. Dickens shows that personal greed will lead to danger while kindness and generosity will lead to personal happiness. The change of Scrooge does not happen in an ordinary way but with the help of his dead business partner Jacob Marley and the three spirits.

Marley, Scrooge’s late business partner who has been “dead as a door nail” for seven years appears to him one night to warn and inform him of his destiny about the three spirits, who one by one will visit him in the night. Scrooge argues with him and refuses to believe in ghosts, including Marley. "You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato". He is in denial, and trying to convince himself that what he is seeing is not real. At first, Scrooge argues with Marley, and angers him which frightens Scrooge but that makes him pay attention and listen to what Marley is saying. Scrooge is ready to do anything to escape such a fate, but is still uncertain. "Couldn't I take 'em all at once, and have it over, Jacob?” Marley's purpose is to convince Scrooge that ghosts do exist, and he half-succeeded, but, it took the first spirit's visit to make everything clear.

The ghost of Christmas past is the first ghost to visit Scrooge in the late hours of the night. Scrooge learns a lot with the first spirit, who takes him to his past Christmases. Scrooge’s first real tears and emotions appear in the scene of the young boy who is left all alone at the school while others have gone home for Christmas “Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed."

The...