NationStates Jolt Archive

So, a TV station was showing a "Comedy" version of A Christmas Carol and no matter which version it is, the Ghost of Christmas Future always show Scrooge being dead, and buried. Ok, so I have a question, why is this scary? I mean we all die at one point, what was the point of showing Scrooge his corpse and grave? "Scrooge, you're going to die if you don't change your ways!" "Well, I'm going to die if I do, so your point would be..."

Yea, I'm not seeing the point of the Ghost of Christmas Future showing Scrooge his corpse and grave....

I think it's because Scrooge died lonely which is why it scared him.

It's not his death that Scrooge fears, but the fact that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows him that nobody cares about the death of a mean miser; the poor folk happy that they won't have to pay back debts to Scrooge, and rich folk only wanting to come to his funeral if there's a good spread on.

I think it's because Scrooge died lonely which is why it scared him.
Right. Before showing him his grave, the spirit shows him all the people talking about someone who just died, someone they all despised. The grave scene wasn't scary because it showed Scrooge he would die, it was scary because it showed Scrooge that he was the one everyone was talking about, and that he would presumably end up like Jacob Marley (sp?), dragging his chains across the earth in eternal misery.

I agree with Motokata on the loneliness part. And Scrouge wasn't mourned by anyone, his death was basically celebrated.

So, a TV station was showing a "Comedy" version of A Christmas Carol and no matter which version it is, the Ghost of Christmas Future always show Scrooge being dead, and buried. Ok, so I have a question, why is this scary? I mean we all die at one point, what was the point of showing Scrooge his corpse and grave? "Scrooge, you're going to die if you don't change your ways!" "Well, I'm going to die if I do, so your point would be..."

Yea, I'm not seeing the point of the Ghost of Christmas Future showing Scrooge his corpse and grave....
The point is that he is going to die within one year. Remember, the Ghost of Christmas Present predicts the death of Tiny Tim. The Ghost of Christmas Present only lives one year (each year gets a new one). When Scrooge asks the Ghost of Christmas Present if Tiny Tim will live, the Ghost says that he sees a vision of an empty stool by the fire and a crutch tenderly preserved without an owner. "If these visions are not changed by the future, none other of my race shall see him." So without care, Tiny Tim will die by the next Christmas.

Then, visiting the future, Scrooge sees that Tiny Tim has just died. Remember, he sees the Cratchits talking about his burial plans. So only one year has passed. In that same Christmas, Scrooge is shown his own grave. So he has died within the year as well. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is actually the Ghost of Next Christmas. Actually, this is not specified in the story, but the way it is told, the reader will link the events together.

So the thing that is scary about it is that Scrooge has so little time left. It is the stark reality of his death, that his life will end, that motivates Scrooge.

People do all kinds of things they really shouldn't or really don't want to do. They stay in bad jobs or bad relationships. They commit petty crimes. They treat others badly. They know perfectly well that they are not living their lives right -- either they are making themselves unhappy or they are being bad people. And they kid themselves that they'll fix it in the future. They'll live the way they want when they retire. They'll make up for their bad acts some day.

But A Christmas Carol shows that there might not be a someday. Yes, we are all going to die. The thing that is scary about it is that we don't know WHEN we are going to die.

Scrooge's real transformation comes when he sees that he doesn't have much time to change his ways. If he wants to make amends for what he has done, if he wants to find any happiness in his life, he has to do it now.

A-fucking-men to that.

That, and not everyone is as accepting of the inevitability of death. Scrooge may not fear it any more or less than anything else, but a lot of the readers perhaps can sympathize with a fear of death, if not a phobic fear of it.

http://www.stormfax.com/4dickens.htm

Actually, Tiny Tim has been dead and buried for a while -- a short while, but a while, before Scrooge's death -- and is a complete contrast between what people feel about Scrooge and about Tim. Several people are glad, not necessarily because Scrooge was dead but because his death gives them a chance at life... many care nothing except how they can profit... and some actively hate him.

http://www.stormfax.com/4dickens.htm

Actually, Tiny Tim has been dead and buried for a while -- a short while, but a while, before Scrooge's death -- and is a complete contrast between what people feel about Scrooge and about Tim. Several people are glad, not necessarily because Scrooge was dead but because his death gives them a chance at life... many care nothing except how they can profit... and some actively hate him.
I didn't mean to imply that they died at the exact same time, just that the close juxtapostion and contrast of Tim's death and Scrooge's suggested that Scrooge didn't have a stronger hold on life than Tim did. He couldn't be assured that he was going to live forever and have endless chances. Actually, though the Ghosts are connected to Christmas, the Ghosts of Past and Future show Scrooge stuff that doesn't necessarily happen at Christmas time.

As for the emotions attached to Scrooge's death, I think that part hurts him more because of the pain he already suffered with the other ghosts. He'd spent a long time ignoring and suppressing his feelings, making himself not care about others and not care what others thought about him. It was only when the Ghosts of Past and Present forced him to think about his past and about all he had cut himself off from in the present by his actions, that he was "softened up" to be really hit by people's lack of concern over his death. Before Past and Present got to him, I don't think the mere fact of people not mourning him in the Future would have made him doubt his life choices. I think it would have reinforced his negative views of people. I still think that it was the harsh reminder of how his life could end at any moment and so would any chance he might have of reclaiming the life the other Ghosts showed him he'd lost, that made him resolve to change himself at the end.

Yeah, why would anyone be depressed to find out the person who was remembered only as a pathetic, mean-spirited old jerk was not just "some random jackass" but himself? Um...

Yeah, why would anyone be depressed to find out the person who was remembered only as a pathetic, mean-spirited old jerk was not just "some random jackass" but himself? Um...

which fundamentally is the point, he was shown his grave not for a "guess what, you're dead!" moment, but a "guess what, you know that guys who was going unmourned, unloved, uncared for, whose home and grave have been vandalized and nobody seems to care? Yeah, that's you".

It wasn't that he was dead. It's that he was dead, and his life had amounted to nothing, and his legacy had gone forgotten.

It's...well...it's actually fairly obvious honestly.

He wasn't sad that he was going to die. He was sad that no one gave a shit about him.

There's a few ways that it is "scary" (which, incidentally, isn't what I would call it. The purpose isn't to "scare" him, but to give him new perspective and a kick in the ass.). The major one is not about the death, but the reaction. Coming to terms that those who surround you, those whom you are most comfortable with, are not just happy, but thrilled that you are dead and they are free.

Another has to do with the death itself. Death is mysterious, and almost never shown as positive. Does scrooge know that he will die? Probably. We all do. But few of us really accept it. Facing ones own grave, with the inscription of DOD and the like, is a bit...starting, to say the least. We all confront our death. Most of us do it as it happens. He did it maybe 20 years before it happened, and saw how it would impact others.

which fundamentally is the point, he was shown his grave not for a "guess what, you're dead!" moment, but a "guess what, you know that guys who was going unmourned, unloved, uncared for, whose home and grave have been vandalized and nobody seems to care? Yeah, that's you".

It wasn't that he was dead. It's that he was dead, and his life had amounted to nothing, and his legacy had gone forgotten.

It's...well...it's actually fairly obvious honestly.
pssst....you has TG :)

pssst....you has TG :)

yes, I got it this evening. It's not my typical kind of area, so I'm hesitant to say anything until I confirm I'm right, let me get back to you tomorrow evening.

yes, I got it this evening. It's not my typical kind of area, so I'm hesitant to say anything until I confirm I'm right, let me get back to you tomorrow evening.

haha...thanks alot. I really appreciate it. You shall be allowed to live when the revolution comes.

<.<
>.>
0.o


But no. For real. Thanks.