Here we see the themes of family and Christmas. We see that Christmas is a time for families to come together and enjoy one another's company. It is a time for fun and happiness and there is a definite sense of togetherness in this passage.
The theme of social responsibility is shown clearly in this passage as Dickens demonstrates our responsibility for one another rather than just for ourselves.
This passage focuses on the theme of Christmas and demonstrates that no matter where you are, who you're with, or what you have, Christmas spirit is possible.
We clearly see here the theme of the power an employer has over his employee. Dickens is pointing out that Scrooge is responsible for Bob Cratchit's comfort and neglects his duty to him entirely.
Here we see the themes of memory, truth and reflection, and are shown Scrooge's unwillingness to learn. Scrooge is portrayed as having no self-awareness here, as well as being stuck in his ways and stubborn to change.
In this passage we see the themes of poverty and fear. We are shown that it is Scrooge's fear that had led him to be the man we see at the beginning of the text. He is so afraid of poverty that he has become single-minded in his attempts to avoid it.
Here we see the themes of Christmas, food, family and poverty. There is emphasis on the family's optimism and enthusiasm, demonstrating that positivity and happiness are possible even if you are poor.
Here we see the theme of responsibility, in particular an employer's responsibility for their employees and the power they have over them in terms of their welfare and well-being.
Through his emphasis on the scale of poverty, Dickens is clearly saying that the kind of charity shown in this passage is needed all year round, not just at Christmas.
"The door of Scrooge's counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller" (Stave One)
"Bob said he didn't believe there ever was such a goose cooked ... Eked out by apple-sauce and mashed potatoes, it was a sufficient dinner for the whole family" (Stave Three)
"Perhaps, Scrooge could not have told anybody why, if anybody could have asked him; but he had a special desire to see the Spirit in his cap; and begged him to be covered." (Stave Two)
"Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts" (Stave One)
"Business!" cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business." (Stave One)
"He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil." (Stave Two)
"Built upon a dismal reef or sunken rocks ... there stood a solitary lighthouse ... But even here, two men who watched the light had made a fire ... they wished each other Merry Christmas" (Stave Three)
"It's I. Your uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Will you let me in. Fred?"
Let him in! It is a mercy he didn't shake his arm off. He was at home in five minutes. (Stave Five)
"This is the even-handed dealing of the world!" he said. "There is nothing on which it is so hard as poverty, and there is nothing it professes to condemn with such severity as the pursuit of wealth!" (Stave Two)