Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)

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"Tiny Tim" Cratchit
A Christmas Carol character
Created by Charles Dickens
Portrayed by See below
Nickname(s) Tiny Tim
Gender Male
Family Bob (father)
Unnamed mother
Martha, Belinda, Peter, Unnamed sister, Unnamed brother (siblings)

Timothy Cratchit, called "Tiny Tim", is a fictional character from the 1843 novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is a minor character, the young son of Bob Cratchit, and is seen only briefly, but serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices.

Character overview[edit]

When Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Present he is shown just how ill the boy really is, and that he will die unless he receives treatment (which the family cannot afford 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; this is symbolic of Scrooge's change of heart.

Tiny Tim as representative of the impoverished[edit]

Dickens often used his characters to demonstrate the disparity between social classes that existed in 19th century England, namely the hardships suffered by the poor. These representative characters are typically children, presumably because children are most dependent upon others for survival, especially when they come from lower social classes. Tiny Tim is among these characters, and is the most notable example in A Christmas Carol.

When we first meet Tiny Tim, he rests upon his father’s shoulder, suggesting that while the Cratchits love their boy dearly, he 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, 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.” The Cratchits 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 as well as year-round.

Character development[edit]

It has been claimed that the character is based on the son of a friend of Dickens who owned a cotton mill in Ardwick, Manchester.[1] However, Dickens had two brothers both with "Fred" in the name; a younger called Frederick and an older named Alfred. Alfred died young.[2] Dickens tried other names such as "Tiny Mick" after "Little Fred" but eventually decided upon "Tiny Tim".[2]

Also, Dickens had a sister named Fanny who had a disabled son named Henry Burnett Jr.[3] Tiny Tim did not take his name from Fanny's child, but the actual aspects of Tiny Tim's character are taken from Henry Burnett Jr.[3]

Later, after dropping the name "Little Fred" Dickens instead named Scrooge's nephew "Fred".[2]


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,[4] another being rickets (caused by a lack of Vitamin D).[4][5][6] Either illness was treatable during Dickens' lifetime, thus following in line with the comment of the Ghost of Christmas Present that Tiny Tim would die only if the present remain unchanged.

Notable portrayals[edit]

The former child actor Dennis Holmes played the role of Tiny Tim on Ronald W. Reagan's General Electric Theater in the 1957 episode "The Trail to Christmas". Kevin Hagen portrayed the ghost and John McIntire played Scrooge in the western-themed episode.[7]

The role of Tiny Tim has been performed (live action, voiced or animated) by, among others:


  1. ^ Seacock, Doug. "Charles Dickens - writing from life". Egypt Cotton Times. Retrieved 2007-05-05. 
  2. ^ a b c Leigh Cowan, Alison. A 166-Year-Old Manuscript Reveals Its Secrets, New York Times, December 24, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Perdue, David. David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page, accessed December 3, 2012.
  4. ^ a b http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1340779
  5. ^ Lewis D (1992). "What was wrong with Tiny Tim?". Am J Dis Child 146 (12): 1403–7. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1992.02160240013002. PMID 1340779. 
  6. ^ "What Ailed Tiny Tim". Time. 1992-12-28. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
  7. ^ ""The Trail to Christmas" on General Electric Theater, December 15, 1957". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved November 25, 2012. 

External links[edit]