A Christmas Carol: Key Quotations

Below is a list of all of the quotations we have covered organised by character and theme:

Social Responsibility and Compassion

Ebenezer Scrooge:

1. "If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
2. "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." Bob Cratchit:
3. "I'll give you Mr Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!"
4. "My little, little child!" cried Bob. "My little child!"

Tiny Tim: 5. "God bless us, every one!" 6. "I see a vacant seat... and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved."

Jacob Marley: 7. "I wear the chain I forged in life." 8. "Mankind was my business."

Redemption and Transformation

Ebenezer Scrooge:

3. "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." The Ghost of Christmas Past:
4. "These are but shadows of the things that have been. They have no consciousness of us."
5. "Would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give?"

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: 4. "The Spirit was immovable as ever." 5. "Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?"