Scrooge wakes up in his bedroom and joyfully repeats his vow to live from the lessons of the three ghosts. He runs around his house and then outside, where church bells ring. A boy tells him it is Christmas Day, and Scrooge realizes that the ghosts visited him all in one night. Scrooge buys a prize turkey and sends it to Bob Cratchit's house.
Scrooge dresses in his best clothing and walks in the crowds with a smile. He gives a great deal of money to the portly gentleman who had asked him for a charitable donation yesterday. Scrooge continues to walk through the city and happily talks with everyone he meets. He visits Fred's house and has a wonderful time at the party. The next morning, Scrooge gets to work early. When Cratchit comes in late, Scrooge pretends to reprimand him, then gives him a raise.
Scrooge continues his kindly ways, befriending everyone and becoming a second father to Tiny Tim, who does not die. He never sees the ghosts again, but he keeps the spirit of Christmas alive in his heart as well as anyone.
Analysis:
A great deal of symmetry ties up A Christmas Carol after Scrooge's conversion. Scrooge does right by everyone he previously wronged in Stave One; the portly gentleman, the Cratchits (note how he even asks Cratchit to put more coal on the fire after he previously made him shiver in the cold), and Fred, not to mention everyone else in the city.
As discussed in the analysis of Stave Four, all the ghosts have visited Scrooge in one night, not three. This pleasant surprise allows Scrooge to start his giving ways on Christmas Day, and promotes the idea that he has had an overnight epiphany. After suffering through a hellish nightmare, he wakes up a happy, charitable, and redeemed man. Anyone can change his behavior for the better, Dickens implies, as can any society.
