A person versus self theme refers to an inner conflict a character has, struggling with his or her own prejudices, flaws, mistakes or doubts. One might say the entire novel A Christmas Carol is an example of a person versus self theme since the premise of the novel is that Scrooge comes to realize he has been a miserly, cruel person and needs to change his ways before it is too late. However, specifically there are examples of person versus self in the novel such as the spirits point out.
As the ghost of Christmas past points out to Scrooge, he once deeply cared for and loved his sister but has since been an uncaring and cruel person. Scrooge struggles with this realization about himself. The ghost of Christmas present shows Scrooge the way that the Cratchits, poor as they are, spend a joyous family Christmas together and Scrooge struggles with the way that he has treated his own family by comparison. When the Ghost of Christmases yet to come visits Scrooge, terrifying him into believing that he will die a lonely, bitter old man, Scrooge must overcome self doubt and rise above it in the final person versus self struggle in Dickens' novel.
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