TINY TIM
Tiny Tim is the Cratchit family's disabled son. His health is seen as declining throughout the novel until an empty chair finally sits at the Cratchit family table. Tiny Tim is a loving and positive child. On Christmas day he comes home from church hoping that all those there saw through him the spirit of Jesus who made "lame beggars walk".
Tiny Tim's death in the version of the future the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge, shocks both the reader and Scrooge. It is however, Scrooge who becomes a "second father" to him in the final stave when he is redeemed.
PIVOTAL MOMENTS
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His return from church and positivity at Christmas dinner in stave three
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The reference to his declining health and later "vacant seat" in stave three
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The visit to Tiny Tim's grave in stave four
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The reference in the final stave that Scrooge had become like a "second father" to him
PURPOSE
Tiny Tim embodies the struggle of the poor and in particular the children of the poor. He is the face of infant mortality. The rate at which children die before the age of five. This was extremely high in Victorian London due to malnutrition, disease and lack of general poor living condition.
Tiny Tim doesn't simply suffer however. His second role is to show us that even in the most horrendous suffering, the human spirit can be incredibly strong and remain generous. He shows a Christian spirit that many adults in the story do not have.
For those who saw the poor, hunger and death as a statistics in Victorian England, Tiny Tim place a pure and loveable face on them.
STRETCH VOCAB
Compassionate
Godly
Resilient
Seraphic
Vulnerable
Fragile
