Scrooge has
a deeply emotional response to the visit of the ghosts. This results in a joyful and lasting
personal transformation. As he awakes on Christmas morning he thinks:
Time before him was his own, to make amends in! I will live in the
Past, the Present, and the Future! Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. The Spirits
of all Three shall strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised
for this!
As a result of his transformation, Scrooge
begins to live generously. He also becomes sociable with his relatives and neighbors. Sociality
and generosity are the hallmarks of his change. He takes a benevolent and paternal interest in
the Cratchits, gives Bob Cratchit a raise, helps Tiny Tim, visits his relatives cheerfully, and
does good for his community.
It is striking that this a personal
transformation of one person. Nothing else about his society has changed. This reflects
Dickens's belief that individual actions, especially on the part of the powerful, can have a
profound effect for the good on society as a whole. Whether these kinds of efforts alone are
enough to create a good society is an open question, but one Dickens found appealing. At the end
of the stave, he urges his readers to follow Scrooge's lead:
It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive
possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!
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