I have wondered this in every version of "A Christmas Carol" I have ever seen. How dumb is Scrooge? He has been shown his past by the Ghost of Christamas past; he has been led by the Ghost of Christmas Present to a number of people connected to him and who speak about him. But when the Ghost of Christmas Furture comes around, he CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHO THE DEAD GUY IS!
shareI don't think it's stupidity as much as denial.
shareYeah, he knows exactly who the dead man is, he just can't bear the idea that it's him so he refuses to believe it.
A young girl passes / in a hurry. Hair uncombed. / Full of black devils. --Kelly Link
Yes, denial can be very, very powerful.
shareAs the others said. He is in denial.
He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?
I find there's a common misconception about this scene in A Christmas Carol. When I was little, I always thought that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was threatening Scrooge with his death: i.e. you will die unless you have a change of heart. And this always confused me because obviously we all die. Death can't be avoided. I've heard this expressed by others as well. In truth, Scrooge isn't disturbed so much by the prospect of dying as he is disturbed by the reactions to his death: no genuine mourners, his business partners coldly mocking him, his servant selling his possessions before the body's even been removed. Just shows how unloved he was because of his own incapacity to love. The Ghost is basically saying "if you died today, this is how it would be so change while you can."
I love Scott here, but my favorite "graveyard Scrooge" is actually Michael Caine in the Muppet version.
A young girl passes / in a hurry. Hair uncombed. / Full of black devils. --Kelly Link
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I always thought that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was threatening Scrooge with his death: i.e. you will die unless you have a change of heart. And this always confused me because obviously we all die. Death can't be avoided. I've heard this expressed by others as well. In truth, Scrooge isn't disturbed so much by the prospect of dying as he is disturbed by the reactions to his death: no genuine mourners, his business partners coldly mocking him, his servant selling his possessions before the body's even been removed. Just shows how unloved he was because of his own incapacity to love.Got your point. Scrooge was very much alone. But, what did he expect? He kept everyone away all his life. And, as someone above said, why would he care what people thought about him in death, when HE didn't give a fig about THEM in life? His being alone in life should have been no great surprise or revelation to him. It should not have been the shock to him that the book and movies make it out to be. One generally reaps what he sows.
Yeah, he knows exactly who the dead man is, he just can't bear the idea that it's him so he refuses to believe it.
Just how stupid are YOU? It's called DENIAL!!!!
shareI always thought it was strange that Scrooge would care what people said about him when he was dead. He obviously didn't care what people said or thought about him while he was alive. Why would he be suddenly shocked that when he died people didn't care.
shareTwo reasons. First reason is that he was starting to change. Second reason is that he knew these men and figured they would show at least a little compassion.
He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?
In the back of his mind he did know, he was just in denial. Look at how he behaves at old Joe's when he recognizes all of his things being sold off. He recognized them as his, but he tried to brush them off as a similarity.
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and why he refuses to pull the sheet off.
How you can make the world a better place:
Don't shop at Wal-Mart.
Yeah, you're not paying attention. He knows but he doesn't want to know. That's why he tells the spirit not to reveal the body and begs him to show him someone who has some depth of feeling for this man. He knows.
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