Hello all,
First I wanted to thank all of you who have taken up the challenge to read the book. The response that we have received has been great. I hope that you are finding this book to be an enjoyable and challenging read. I know that I am.
I think chapter 3 of this story is my favorite piece of the book. It’s here that we are introduced to the classic scene of Bob Cratchit, his family, and of course Tiny Tim. There are some remarkable quotes that occur during that dinner at the Cratchit home and, in fact, Dickens goes to great lengths to describe the meal and how it was received. His focus on food throughout this book reminds me very much of all the meals that are described in a book that we read many months back, Peace Like a River. There seems to be this idea that these meals have powerful meaning in people’s lives. Dickens does a great job of stressing that.
However, it is the journey that the Spirit takes Scrooge on that really grabs my attention. Dicken’s describes it like this:
“Much they saw, and far they went, and many homes they visited, but always with a happy end. The Spirit stood beside sick-beds, and they were cheerful; on foreign lands, and they were close at home; by struggling men, and they were patient in their greater hope; by poverty, and it was rich. In almshouse, hospital, and gaol, in misery’s every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing, and taught Scrooge his precepts.”
The significance of all this to me is that Scrooge isn’t simply being taught to see his own story differently or even to have a better perspective about the people that are closest to him (his nephew, Bob Cratchit). He is being shown that the way he sees the entire world must change. Dickens is his most pointed in this section in which he seems to be making some very large statements about the society that he lived in. His calling out people in his own time for neglecting the poor, but also for missing the fact that it is often in unexpected places that we learn the most about what it means to be human. The Spirit takes Scrooge over the sea and they peek in on sailors whose tough facades drop just enough for Scrooge to see the heart they have kept hidden. It’s the wind-hardened sailors, the crippled children, the sick, and the poor that the Spirit seeks out to offer his blessing. And for this they travel all around the world. What an image!
In the end of the chapter the Spirit warns Scrooge of the terrible impact that Ignorance can have on a society. This isn’t a story about a grumpy old man who learns how to be happy. It’s the story of a selfish person who has his eyes opened to the good and the bad that exists in this world. That is an incredible challenge for a person like me who is tempted to find safety and comfort in my own little corner of the world.
So, what stuck out to you from the visit of the second Spirit? We would love to hear from you.
Also, the newest Christianity Today has an article about the historic importance of A Christmas Carol. If you would like a copy, let me know.
Jason
I marked several things in this chapter. The first was Scrooge telling the Spirit “Tonight, if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it.” My memories of this story were of a Scrooge who didn’t change until the very end. However, as was commented on earlier, Scrooge is already having a change of heart.
The second was Bob commenting on Tiny Tim saying “…he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.” I found this attitude to be very heart warming. I would hope that when people see my life, they would think of Jesus.
The third comment was from Scrooge’s nephew: “I am sorry for him: I couldn’t be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself, always.” I find it nice to know that no matter what Scrooge does, his nephew won’t be angry with him. I look at times in my life and wonder about the times that I’ve gotten angry with people and wish that I had been more like the nephew.
As far as the nephew goes, I do think that there are those kinds of people who become somewhat immune to certain people’s selfishness. I have a tendency to think that the nephew would be angry all the time if he chose to let Ebeneezer get to him. He simply expects Scrooge to be selfish, so there’s no use getting angry with him. That just really shows the historical extent of Scrooge’s selfishness.