Topic Sentences

Origins of Bitterness: Dickens uses the Ghost of Christmas Past to reveal the origins of Scrooge's bitterness and isolation.

Lost Opportunities and Regret: Dickens uses the Ghost of Christmas Past to illustrate the impact of lost opportunities and regret on Scrooge's life.

Youthful Innocence vs. Miserly State: Dickens uses the Ghost of Christmas Past to highlight the contrast between Scrooge's youthful innocence and his current miserly state.

Memory and Reflection: Dickens uses the Ghost of Christmas Past to emphasize the importance of memory and reflection in the process of personal transformation

Key Quotations

Origins of Bitterness:
- "A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still."
- "Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home's like Heaven!"
Lost Opportunities and Regret:
- "Another idol has displaced me... a golden one."
- "I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you."
Youthful Innocence vs. Miserly State:
- "Why, it's old Fezziwig! Bless his heart; it's Fezziwig alive again!"
- "He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil."
Memory and Reflection:
- "Would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give?"
- "These are but shadows of the things that have been. They have no consciousness of us."

A Christmas Carol

The Ghost of Christmas Past