In Charles Dicken’s moral novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ greed is presented as a character trait of the upper class, caused by the extreme capitalist society. Poverty in the lower class evokes fear of lack of money in the upper class, which turns into materialistic values than sentimental importance such as love. By using Scrooge as an instrument, Dickens is criticizing the rigid and ignorant, mundane perspectives of the upper class. Firstly, in the extract Scrooge’s conversation with Belle, his former girlfriend was shown by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Albeit from Belle’s love towards Scrooge, he remains superior to money and materialistic values and attempted to persuade Belle of the horror of poverty and the importance of wealth, neglecting sentimental values that he should treasure the most. ‘Another idol has displaced me’. ‘a golden one’. This is stated by Belle in response to Scrooge’s change in heart, indicating her disappointment. The use of the word ‘idol’ symbolizes admiration-while Belle is the ‘idol’ of Scrooge originally, she is now ‘displaced’ and replaced by money and materialistic wealth in Scrooge’s mind, as ‘golden’ served as a sarcastic statement to Scrooge insinuating his greed nature over money, in evidence of the line ‘Tere is nothing on which it I so hard as poverty; and there is nothing it professes to condemn with such severity as the pursuit of wealth.’ Furthermore, Belle argued back ‘Our contract is an old one. It was made when we were both poor and content to be so, until, in good season, we could improve our worldly fortune by our patient industry.’ By stating this Belle conveys the reality of Scrooge’s change in heart after obtaining greed from materialistic wealth. The use of business terms ‘contract’ and ‘industry’ is ironic to Scrooge, not only is Belle trying to mock him but also revealing to the readers that their close relationship had fallen apart into businesses between a worker and a client. By using Scrooge’s downfall in his romantic relationship, Dickens is trying to criticize the upper class that take wealth as superior over sentimental values like the lower class do, and if they remains the same views, they will face the same situation as scrooge, regretting for his greed that had let him into separation with his lover. Similarly, at the start of the novel Scrooge remains very greedy upon his clerk Bob Cratchit providing him unfavorable working conditions in to save his resources. This is evident through the line ‘Bob Cratchit, who works in a little cell attached to Scrooge’s office, barely has a coal to warm him. Scrooge keeps the coal bucket and will not allow Cratchit to take any’. Dickens nuancedly depicted Scrooge as a typical upper class employer, that is greedy and ignorant, unwilling to understand other’s feelings. The use of ‘cell’ to describe Bob Cratchit’s workplace provokes a sense of prison, suggesting that working for Scrooge is an imprisonment for Bob Cratchit as a result of Scrooge’s greedy nature. Moreover, by stating that “Scrooge keeps the coal bucket and will not allow Cratchit to take any’ illustrates Scrooge’s cold and callous personality, having greed on everything including daily items like coal, in lieu of having sentimental values and compensating his workers. This greed that Scrooge had led him into his very own downfall as shown by The Ghost of Christmas yet to come in stave four, depicting his grave as ‘overrun by grass and weeds’, symbolizing the ignorance and abandonment of Scrooge’s existence, and that his business partners that he admired for their success in wealth stated that ‘It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral’. The use of ‘cheap’ perfectly demonstrates Scrooge’s personality, his greed in wealth that is unwilling to spend any money on other people, which had resulted the same to his own funeral-the very last journey of his life, spending it in the cheapest way possible. In this scene Dickens reveal that not only Scrooge, the whole upper class had the sense of greed that have implanted for themselves in fear of poverty therefore clinging onto materialistic wealth. This downfall serves as a warning to the Victorian upper class that holding upon greed will cause them to have the same tragic flaw as Scrooge, if nothing is changed in society. In contrast, Bob Cratchit and his family, a symbol of the lower class, does not cling to materialistic wealth but sentimental values that one must treasure, along with a heart of gratitude and kindness. Albeit from receiving Scrooge’s harsh treatment he appreciated for his ‘care’ by stating ‘I’ll give you Mr. Scrooge, the founder of the feast!’ The use of the word ‘founder’ indicates a source, a person who started an act, in which Bob Cratchit is appreciating Scrooge for his pay, although very low, allowed him to have Christmas dinner with his family. This serves ironically to the truth, while readers acknowledges that Scrooge does not deserve any gratitude, Bob Cratchit’s sentimental wealth on happiness with others, his selflessness took over Scrooge’s greed on materialistic values, which evokes a strong feeling on the audience realizing materialistic wealth is not the ultimate happiness, and greed will only turn materialistic wealth into sorrowness and abandonment. The true happiness can only be obtained by feelings, and selflessness is to key to achieve, even in poverty, as Bob Cratchit being the most successful, happy man in the novel. Overall, Dickens presents greed as a dominant characteristic within the Upper Class that fear of poverty, giving unhappiness against the Christian Value to both the lower class and them, while stating that true happiness can be only achieved by selflessness and values sentimental wealth over materialistic gain, convincing the Victorian society to understand the need to change, urging a harmony within the society in the future.