IRB 2 Character Development

In "A Christmas Carol", the author Charles Dickens develops the main protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge in a very dramatic and powerful manner. In the beginning of the novel, Dickens describes Scrooge as "hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire". This suggests that he was a very selfish and greedy man who never acted compassionate towards others. As Christmas arrives, Scrooge projects extreme negativity towards his thrilled nephew. “What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough,” insinuates that not only is Scrooge a cold hearted man, but he is also a very materialistic man who finds the slightest joy and value only in money. However, as the story progresses, Dickens allows Scrooge to experience his past, present, and future with three spirits who display his callousness, as well as their consequences. “’If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.’ Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.” After witnessing his own actions and words, Dickens has developed Scrooge to finally realize his wrongdoings. At this point in the novel, Scrooge begins to feel sympathy for Tiny Tim, a sick child of his colleague. Dickens clearly portrays the fear and caution that Scrooge has started to sense towards his possible future consequences, which allows the reader to feel a sense of humanity that was absent in him at the beginning of the story. At the end of the story, Dickens describes Scrooge “as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew…” This explanation is the total opposite of how Dickens portrays Scrooge in the earlier chapters. Throughout the journeys with the three Spirits, Scrooge’s character is developed from being a greedy cold-hearted monster to a caring and affectionate man. 

Invisible Man Exposition


The story begins with a narration of a man, I'm guessing, in his 40s, recalling flashbacks of his younger years. He ponders about his identity crisis, and tries to find out who he really is. The narrator’s search starts with memories of his grandfather who was a black slave. On his death bed, he revealed to his son, that he had been a spy and traitor to his race. Although he had served the white people all his life, he had hated them, and therefore planned to destroy them by agreeing with them. He would want his future generations to follow his tactics, and those were his last words. The words of his grandfather leaves the Invisible Man confused and nervous around white men, however takes it with a positive perspective into thinking this may allow him to make progress in his search for identity. 

   The mood quickly changes from a secretive atmosphere to a more dynamic setting as the narrator reflects on his high school graduation speech gathering. At the gathering, he soon grasps the fact that he was to attend a blindfold boxing match with his fellow black classmates as a part of the ceremonial entertainment for the whites. The original game was for the blacks to fight against the whites, however the frustration of not being able to see brought the blacks to be hostile to one another. Instead of confusion and a sense of concerns, the whites only attained more enjoyment, which further shows the degration of the blacks. 

  The lively tone soon settles as the narrator explains his bazaar dream. His grandfather had refused to laugh at the clowns at the circus, however tells him to read the message in the briefcase he had received in the graduation ceremony. Appallingly, the envelope did not contain a scholarship, but instead a document which read:  "To Whom It May Concern: Keep This Nigger-Boy Running."What does this mean? We don't know for sure, therefore hopefully I'll start to pick up some hints and ideas as I continue to read the story.