Bob Cratchit
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| Bob Cratchit | |
|---|---|
Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim as depicted in the 1870s by Fred Barnard |
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| First appearance | A Christmas Carol 1843 |
| Created by | Charles Dickens |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Clerk |
| Spouse(s) | Mrs. Cratchit |
| Children | Martha, Belinda, Peter, an unnamed son, an unname daughter , Tiny Tim |
| Address | Camden Town, London, England |
Robert "Bob" Cratchit is a fictional character, the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol.
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[edit] Synopsis
In the story, Cratchit is seen at work, where he copies letters by hand in an underheated "dismal little cell", "a sort of tank", and in his small Camden Town home with his large family on the following Christmas Day and a future one, gatherings which Scrooge visits invisibly with the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, respectively. Cratchit is repeatedly described as "little", and clothes himself in a tattered white comforter, not being able to afford a coat.
Though Cratchit is treated poorly by Scrooge, and, with a weekly salary of "but fifteen bob" (about £56/US$109 in 2005 money using the consumer price index), he is not given wages enough to feed his family a proper Christmas dinner, he remains loyal to his employer, even in face of the protestations of his wife. It is partly through concern for the plight of Cratchit's youngest son, the frail and crippled Tiny Tim, that Scrooge makes the transformation from miser to philanthropist, offering Cratchit a raise and "discussion of his affairs".
[edit] Children
Six Cratchit children are mentioned in the original story, four of whom are named:
- Martha, the eldest daughter, who works as an apprentice at a milliner's
- Belinda, the second daughter
- Peter, the heir, for whom his father is arranging employment at the weekly rate of 5 shillings sixpence
- An unnamed younger son
- An unnamed younger daughter
- Tiny Tim the invalid youngest son
[edit] Actors who portrayed Bob Cratchit
The role of Bob Cratchit has been performed (live action, voiced or animated) by, among others:
- Gene Lockhart in the 1938 film A Christmas Carol
- Mervyn Johns in the 1951 film Scrooge
- David Collings in the 1970 film Scrooge
- Wayne Allwine (as Mickey Mouse) in the 1983 animated film Mickey's Christmas Carol
- David Warner in the 1984 television movie A Christmas Carol
- Steve Whitmire (as Kermit the Frog) in the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Richard E. Grant in the 1999 television movie A Christmas Carol
- Rhys Ifans in the 2001 animated version Christmas Carol: the Movie
- Gary Oldman in the 2009 animated version A Christmas Carol
[edit] Image
- The image of Bob Cratchit has come to symbolise poor working conditions, especially long working hours.[1]
