Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)
| Timothy "Tiny Tim" Cratchit | |
|---|---|
| A Christmas Carol character | |
 Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim Cratchit as depicted in an illustration by Fred Barnard | |
| Created by | Charles Dickens |
| Portrayed by | See below |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Tiny Tim |
| Gender | Male |
| Family | Bob (father) Mrs. Cratchit (named Emily in some adaptations)(mother) Martha Cratchit Belinda Cratchit Peter Cratchit Unnamed sister Unnamed brother (siblings) |
Timothy "Tiny Tim" Cratchit is a fictional character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Although seen only briefly, he is a major character, and serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices.
Character overview
When Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present he is shown just how ill the boy really is (the family cannot afford to properly treat him on the salary Scrooge pays Cratchit). When visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Scrooge sees that Tiny Tim has died. This, and several other visions, lead Scrooge to reform his ways. At the end of the story, Dickens makes it explicit that Tiny Tim does not die, and Scrooge becomes a "second father" to him.
In the story, Tiny Tim is known for the statement, "God bless us, every one!" which he offers as a blessing at Christmas dinner. Dickens repeats the phrase at the end of the story, symbolic of Scrooge's change of heart.
As representative of the impoverished
Dickens often used his characters to demonstrate the disparity between social classes that existed in England during the Victorian era, and the hardships suffered at that time by the poor. These representative characters are typically children, presumably because children are most dependent upon others for survival, especially when they come from the lower social classes. Tiny Tim is among these characters, and is the most notable example in A Christmas Carol.
When the audience first meet Tiny Tim, he rests upon his father's shoulder, suggesting that while the Cratchits love their boy dearly, his situation is nonetheless a burden on the family. Further representative of this burden is Tiny Tim's crippled condition. That he is crippled evokes the financial issues that many poor families faced in 19th-century England. Although his spirit is robust, Tiny Tim's life expectancy is questionable. His crutch and iron frame support his frail body—he "bore a little crutch, and had his limbs supported by an iron frame", but more support is needed for Tim if he is to survive, as pointed out by the Ghost of Christmas Present in stave III: "I see a vacant seat in the poor chimney corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will die." These are a microcosm of the impoverished population: without support or charity, their family will be reduced.
The relationship between Scrooge and Tiny Tim is a condensed depiction of the relationship between two social classes: the wealthy and the impoverished. Tiny Tim plays a large part in Scrooge's change. Tiny Tim's fate is linked very closely to Scrooge's fate, which tightens the connection that Dickens establishes between the two social classes. If Scrooge does not change his miserly ways, Tiny Tim is sure to die. Likewise, if the wealthy do not do their part to support the impoverished, the impoverished are sure to struggle. That Dickens framed this relationship with Christmas seems to suggest the immense need for decreasing the distance between English social strata. The proximity of the Christmas spirit to the issue of social strata lends a sense of community to Dickens' message, urging the well-to-do upper class to consider the dependent poor, especially during the holiday, but year-round as well.
Character development
In earlier drafts, the character's name was "Little Fred."[1] Dickens may have derived the name from his brothers, who both had "Fred" as a part of their names, one named Alfred and the other Frederick.[1] Dickens also had a sister, Fanny, who had a disabled son named Henry Augustus Burnett (1839–1849) who may have been an inspiration for Tiny Tim.[2][3] It has also been claimed[by whom?] that the character is based on the son of a friend, who owned a cotton mill in Ardwick, Manchester.[4]
Dickens tried other names such as "Tiny Mick" after "Little Fred" but eventually decided upon "Tiny Tim".[5] After dropping the name "Little Fred," Dickens later used it for Scrooge's nephew, "Fred".[5]
Illness
Dickens did not explicitly say what Tiny Tim's illness was. However, renal tubular acidosis (type 1), which is a type of kidney failure causing the blood to become acidic, has been proposed as one possibility.[6] Rickets (caused by a lack of vitamin D) has been proposed as another possibility.[6] Either illness was treatable during Dickens' lifetime, but fatal if not treated, thus following in line with the comment of the Ghost of Christmas Present that Tiny Tim would die "[i]f these shadows remain unaltered by the Future".
Notable portrayals
The role of Tiny Tim has been performed (live action, voiced or animated) by:
- Phillip Frost in the 1935 film Scrooge
- Terry Kilburn in the 1938 film A Christmas Carol
- Glyn Dearman in the 1951 film Scrooge
- Dennis Holmes on Ronald Reagan's General Electric Theater in the 1957 episode "The Trail to Christmas"
- Joan Gardner (as a properly speaking Gerald McBoing-Boing) in the 1962 animated television film Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol
- Richard Beaumont in the 1970 film Scrooge
- Timothy Chasin in the 1977 television movie A Christmas Carol
- Mel Blanc (as Tweety Pie) in the 1979 animated short film Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol
- Dick Billingsly (as Morty Fieldmouse) in the 1983 animated film Mickey's Christmas Carol
- Anthony Walters in the 1984 television film A Christmas Carol
- Nicholas Phillips (as Calvin Cooley, in this case a depressed boy of few words) in the 1988 film "Scrooged'
- Mary Lou Retton (as herself) played Tiny Tim in the film-within-a-film.
- Jerry Nelson (as Robin the Frog) in Disney's 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Don Messick (as Bamm-Bamm Rubble) in the 1994 television special A Flintstones Christmas Carol
- Jarrad Kritzstein in the 1997 animated television film A Christmas Carol
- Ben Tibber in the 1999 television film A Christmas Carol
- Jacob Collier in the 2004 TV movie A Christmas Carol: The Musical
- Ryan Ochoa in the 2009 film A Christmas Carol
- As a fieldmouse in Nature Cat: a Nature Carol
- Lenny Rush in the 2019 BBC three-part miniseries A Christmas Carol (the first time a disabled actor has played this role in a major adaptation)
References
- ^ a b Cowan, Alison Leigh (2009-12-24). "A 166-Year-Old Manuscript Reveals Its Secrets". City Room. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
- ^ Nelson, Roxanne (24 December 2002). "The Case of Tiny Tim". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Charles Dickens Characters List C-D". www.charlesdickenspage.com. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
- ^ "Charles Dickens". web.archive.org. 2007-07-20. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
- ^ a b Leigh Cowan, Alison. "A 166-Year-Old Manuscript Reveals Its Secrets," New York Times (December 24, 2009).
- ^ a b Lewis, Donald W. (1992). "What Was Wrong with Tiny Tim?". Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 146 (12): 1403–7. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1992.02160240013002. PMID 1340779.
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External links
- A Christmas Carol at Project Gutenberg
- A Christmas Carol – In Prose – A Ghost Story of Christmas—Special Collections, University of Glasgow