By the time Stave IV in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens begins, Ebenezer Scrooge is already a changed man, but the Ghost of Christmas Future seals that change for him. On the first page of Stave IV, Scrooge, when approached by the Ghost of Christmas Future, is very afraid.
"'Ghost of the future!' he exclaimed, 'I fear you more than any specter I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do...
By the time Stave IV in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens begins, Ebenezer Scrooge is already a changed man, but the Ghost of Christmas Future seals that change for him. On the first page of Stave IV, Scrooge, when approached by the Ghost of Christmas Future, is very afraid.
"'Ghost of the future!' he exclaimed, 'I fear you more than any specter I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company and do it with a thankful heart.'" (Dickens 90)
Here, Scrooge comments that he "hopes to live to be another man," a big step toward the change that he will make. Later, when he does not see himself among the throngs of people in town, he isn't surprised because "...he had been revolving in his mind a change of life..." (Dickens 94)
Throughout Stave IV, Scrooge is moved by what he sees, and his fear increases as well. When finally, the Ghost takes him to his grave, Scrooge implores the ghost,
"'Spirit, he cried, tight clutching at its robe, 'hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me all this if I am past all hope?'" (Dickens 110)
Then, at the very end, Scrooge promises to change. He promises to honor Christmas, not only in December, but all year long and to continue to learn the lessons from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Scrooge fully realizes that if he does not change, his fate will be that of the man in Stave IV. He also truly wants to change at this point.
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