What are a few examples of person versus self conflicts in A Christmas Carol?

Over the years, Scrooge's soul has become corrupted by a love of money. But once upon a time, as the Ghost of Christmas Past shows us, that wasn't always the case. Young Ebeneezer used to be a kind, loving, normal kind of a person. Unlike the miser of later years, he even used to enjoy Christmas. The Ghost of Christmas past shows us a surprisingly human side to Scrooge, one completely at odds with the...

Over the years, Scrooge's soul has become corrupted by a love of money. But once upon a time, as the Ghost of Christmas Past shows us, that wasn't always the case. Young Ebeneezer used to be a kind, loving, normal kind of a person. Unlike the miser of later years, he even used to enjoy Christmas. The Ghost of Christmas past shows us a surprisingly human side to Scrooge, one completely at odds with the grumpy old man he later became.

So Scrooge has a genuine chance at redemption. He is not a wholly bad person and has shown that he has the capacity to love, and in turn be loved by others. The question, though, is whether or not he can dig deep and find it within himself to rediscover his former self. This is the conflict he must overcome. If Scrooge had been thoroughly wicked, then such a conflict would not have arisen, making his character and the story much less complex and interesting.

To a large extent, Scrooge has internalized an external conflict common during the Victorian era. On the one hand, 19th century England experienced an enormous economic and social upheaval in which rampant free market capitalism was allowed to develop virtually unchecked, posing a serious threat to prevailing moral values. We see this illustrated most starkly in Oliver Twist, in the appalling treatment of women and children in the workplace.

At the same time, however, Victorian England was a deeply religious society in which most people lived their lives according to the precepts of Christian morality. In Scrooge's internal conflict, Dickens is challenging his readers to confront the ambiguity of their own social attitudes. Jacob Marley never managed to do this, being forced as a consequence to wander in chains throughout all eternity. Thankfully, Scrooge does finally resolve his own tortuous inner conflict. In doing so, he provides an example to both a contemporary Victorian audience, and to successive generations of readers.