Scrooge’s loyal clerk, he is very poorly treated by his boss and his large family live in cold and poverty. The eldest children work hard and Bob is always looking to find them better situations. His youngest son, Tiny Tim, is the light of Bob's life but is very ill and needs medical attention that Bob can't afford. Bob is a prime example of the virtues of Christmas and provides the antidote to Scrooge. He is also a symbol of forgiveness – he toasts to Scrooge, despite his horrible work conditions, and in the face of Scrooge’s eventual remorse, is open and accepting rather than bitter.
Bob Cratchit Quotes in A Christmas Carol
The A Christmas Carol quotes below are all either spoken by Bob Cratchit or refer to Bob Cratchit. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Stave 3
Quotes
Oh, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage. […]Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or thought it
was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so.
Related Characters:
Bob Cratchit
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Stave 5
Quotes
'Now, I'll tell you what, my friend,' said Scrooge, 'I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. And therefore,' he continued, leaping from his stool, and giving Bob such a dig in the waistcoat that he staggered back into the Tank again; 'and therefore I am about to raise your salary!'
Related Characters:
Ebenezer Scrooge (speaker), Bob Cratchit
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire A Christmas Carol LitChart as a printable PDF.
Bob Cratchit Character Timeline in A Christmas Carol
The timeline below shows where the character Bob Cratchit appears in A Christmas Carol. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Stave 1
...dark even though it’s only three o’clock. Scrooge has a small fire, but his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who works in a little cell attached to Scrooge’s office, barely has a coal...
(full context)
...him good. Apart from its sacred meaning, it is a time for goodness and charity. Bob Cratchit applauds from his cell and Scrooge threatens to fire him if he makes another...
(full context)
...questions with an angry “good afternoon!” Fred leaves kindly and on his way out wishes Cratchit a Merry Christmas. Scrooge mutters that Cratchit, with a wife and family and nothing to...
(full context)
At closing time, Scrooge turns to Bob Cratchit and taunts him for wanting the day off for Christmas day. He doesn’t understand...
(full context)
Stave 3
...magic ability to fit into any space, despite his giant size, and as they enter Bob Cratchit’s tiny lodgings, this is especially wondrous. The ghost sprinkles some of his incense. They...
(full context)
Martha, a daughter, arrives home late—she has been working and has brought the goose. Mrs. Cratchit is ecstatic to see her. But just as Martha has greeted them, they see Mr....
(full context)
...the lovely smell and how lucky they are. When they have eaten every morsel, Mrs. Cratchit goes nervously to get the pudding. She brings back the flaming round pudding and they...
(full context)
Just then, Scrooge jumps—Bob Cratchit has said Scrooge's name, in a toast. Mrs. Cratchit says she doesn’t understand how...
(full context)
They talk about employment, and Mr. Cratchit says that Scrooge might have work for Peter, the eldest. Martha Cratchit tells them about...
(full context)
Stave 4
...lying alone in that house. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes him to Bob Cratchit’s house, where the Cratchits are unusually silent, waiting for Bob to come home. Mrs....
(full context)
At that moment, Bob enters, wrapped in his blanket. His family help him to tea and his children gather...
(full context)
Bob then tells his family of the beautiful kindness of Scrooge’s nephew, whom he met in...
(full context)
Stave 5
The next day, Scrooge goes to the office, in the hope of catching Bob Cratchit coming in late. Sure enough, Cratchit arrives late, and Scrooge pretends to be his...
(full context)
