A Christmas Carol Stave Four: The Last of the Spirits Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes (2024)

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What happens in stave 4 of A Christmas Carol summary? ›

Scrooge approaches the grave and reads the inscription on the headstone: EBENEZER SCROOGE. Appalled, Scrooge clutches at the spirit and begs him to undo the events of his nightmarish vision. He promises to honor Christmas from deep within his heart and to live by the moralizing lessons of Past, Present, and Future.

Through the story of this dead man, Scrooge finally realizes how his own lifestyle has set him up for a fate worse than death. There is a mere thin cloth between him and the sight of the dead body, and it causes him to remember the moral lesson that he has been denying for so long.

He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.

This last ghost does not speak at all.

a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, towards him. Dickens shows a 'solemn' and spooky spirit in the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The ghost fills Scrooge with terror.

“Let me see some tenderness connected with a death,” said Scrooge; “or that dark chamber, Spirit, which we left just now, will be forever present to me.” The Ghost conducted him through several streets familiar to his feet; and as they went along, Scrooge looked here and there to find himself, but nowhere was he to be ...

Scrooge is shown, by Ghost of the Future symbolic of the Grim Reaper other people's reaction to his death ranging from couldn't care to deep relief, his own body shrouded on the bed, the reaction of people who were employed by Scrooge and finally his own tombstone.

After being shown the past and present in earlier parts of the novel, Ebenezer Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who shows him the future in ''Stave 4''. The Ghost is an ominous figure clad in black with only its hand visible.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

This spirit is shrouded in darkness, and the only feature visible to Ebenezer Scrooge is a single, outstretched hand. Scrooge surmises at once that the phantom is The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and Scrooge knows the spirit is there to show him the future.

Bob Cratchit comes back from the cemetery and breaks down. Scrooge is moved, but kind of wants to get out of there. We don't blame him. He asks the phantom to finally show him himself in the future.

The final spirit

He shows him the Cratchits whose son, Tiny Tim, has also died. Finally the ghost shows Scrooge the gravestone of the man the people have been talking about. It bears the name: Ebenezer Scrooge.

Why did the last spirit point to the grave? ›

The last spirit pointed towards the grave because it wanted to show Scrooge that he will be here after his death. The grave had Scrooge's name written on it, which made him terrified .

The fourth and final ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This frightening spirit gives Scrooge a dire warning that he will soon be dead and doomed for his actions. Scrooge also learns that his clerk's son, Tiny Tim, may die from a condition that could have been helped if Scrooge had not been so miserly.

Stave Four: The last of the spirits

The mysterious Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes Scrooge into the future to witness different conversations about a dead man. No one cares that this man has died, and the thieves have so little respect that they have stolen the clothes from his corpse.

Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it. The presence of this ghost makes Scrooge afraid. His trembling legs and inability to stand firm show how he is worried about the future that the ghost will show him.

All the ghosts in “A Christmas Carol” were each important in their own ways. I feel the ghost of Christmas present was the most influential because he showed Scrooge how to love. “No act of kindness, no matter how great or small, is ever wasted” - Aesop.

Poverty is represented by the character Cratchit who is Scrooge's clerk. He symbolises their two classes through the motif of coal. Scrooge gets as much coal as he likes and gets the bucket to “top it up,” but Cratchit only gets “one piece” and daren't ask for another in case he gets fired.

Stave Four, pages 76–8: The death of Tiny Tim

The energetic, boisterous family we joined for Christmas in the previous Stave are now Quiet. Very quiet and the children are as still as statues (p. 76) suggesting Tim's death has killed the joy and exuberance they displayed.

Amongst the visits are Scrooge's nephew, and the family of his impoverished clerk, Bob Cratchit and his disabled son Tiny Tim. The spirit finally reveals to Scrooge two emaciated children, subhuman in appearance and loathsome to behold, clinging to his robes, and naming the boy as Ignorance and the girl as Want.

Instead of feeling any remorse, Hamlet turns on his mother, attacking her for marrying Claudius so soon after her husband's death. In the middle of his tirade, the ghost makes an appearance to remind Hamlet of his real goal: vengeance.

In Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve: Jacob Marley, and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

Where did Scrooge and the spirit go first stave 4? ›

Where did Scrooge and the Spirit go first? They went into the city first.

Chapter 4 Summary: “World Record for the Worst Day Ever” At the track, the team talks about Usain Bolt, who holds the world record for the 100-meter dash: 9.58 seconds. Castle thinks he can beat that time, but when he tries, it takes him over 12 seconds to run the 100 meters.

In Stave 4 of A Christmas Carol the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals to Ebenezer Scrooge a vision of the body of a man plundered and bereft, unmatched, unwept, uncared for. His possessions are robbed because no one is there to care for his dead body.

What happens when Scrooge grasps the spirit's "spectral hand" at the end of Stave Four? Its hood and robe shrink down and it turns into a bedpost.

Dickens makes Bob Cratchit tell of the extraordinary kindness (p. 77) of Fred, whom he met in the street.

The Cratchit family – The Cratchits give us an insight into what life was like for poor in Victorian. Despite their poverty and ill-health (Tiny Tim) they embody the Christmas spirit with their optimistic outlook and strong sense of family.

Stave Four, pages 65–75: A man has died

69), enter Old Joe's dark and dirty shop to sell him items they have stolen from the dead man. Dickens brings them to life through their dialogue as they justify their actions. They claim to be taking care of themselves, as the dead man always took care of himself.

Scrooge feared the final Spirit, but he knew he had to go with him to become a better man.

The ghost gestures to Scrooge to look out the window, and Scrooge complies. He sees a throng of spirits, each bound in chains. They wail about their failure to lead honorable, caring lives and their inability to reach out to others in need as they and Marley disappear into the mist.

The last ghost is called the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The ghost is a shadowy and nebulous character just like the time it represents. Wearing a hooded robe that covers its face and remaining completely silent, the ghost shows Scrooge a Christmas that is in the future.

Which spirit was the most frightening to Scrooge? ›

The Ghost takes Scrooge to future events and points to the details Scrooge needs to see, but does not answer any questions. Such foreboding silence causes him to be the most frightening of the Spirits, both to Scrooge and the reader.

Which of the spirits does not speak to Scrooge? All the spirits speak to Scrooge.

1. How do you think Scrooge changed his life after these experiences with the ghosts? Answer: He became sympathetic and started to understand the pain and suffering of the needy. He no longer believed Christmas to be humbug but a time to make merry in the midst of people one loves.

The Ghost predicts that Mankind, Scrooge included, will suffer unless the lessons of generosity and tolerance are learned.

The ghosts bring fatality to the narrative: Scrooge cannot resist the visions they set before him. He must awake at the destined times to encounter the world that he has made for himself. Time-consciousness is built into the narrative (those bells). The ghosts have only their allotted spans.

The Ghost of Christmas Past, with his glowing head symbolizing the mind, represents memory; the Ghost of Christmas Present represents generosity, empathy, and the Chri stmas spirit; and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come represents the fear of death and moral reckoning.

I will not be the man I must have been” Scrooge vows to learn his lesson and change, to be a better man and a kinder person.

he is now frightened of what is to become of him and is taking notice. He is no longer angry and ignorant. that he needs to change and learn the lessons that the ghosts have taught him.

Stave Four

This is a biblical reference to the gospel of Mark (9:36). In this story, Jesus instructs his listeners that in order to reach heaven, believers must embrace a childlike spirit and care for the weakest among them. In essence, to be childlike is to be divine.

He fell in love with a young woman named Belle and proposed marriage, but gradually his love for Belle was overwhelmed by his love for money. Belle realised this and, saddened by his greed, left him one Christmas, eventually marrying another man.

What is the main message of A Christmas Carol? ›

The moral message of the novella is that all human beings have the opportunity to behave in kinder ways towards each other.

From the first ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge learns that the simple things in life like love, friendship, and laughter hold value. Then the Ghost of Christmas Present shows him that those he considers foolish or beneath his notice actually understand Christmas—and life—better than he does.

After being shown the past and present in earlier parts of the novel, Ebenezer Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who shows him the future in ''Stave 4''. The Ghost is an ominous figure clad in black with only its hand visible.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

This spirit is shrouded in darkness, and the only feature visible to Ebenezer Scrooge is a single, outstretched hand. Scrooge surmises at once that the phantom is The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and Scrooge knows the spirit is there to show him the future.

It is draped in black garments and its face was hidden. What is this spirit's personality like? It is silent. It is spooky.

As the novel progresses, Scrooge's fear of love becomes apparent from his own father's rejection of him and his beloved sister's death that then manifests in his own rejection of Belle and his nephew Fred.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come A.K.A. The Ghost of Christmas Future is a major character in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is the third and final spirit to visit the miser Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve.

Dickens describes the ghost as open and cheerful - in actions and appearance. Its dark brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air.