Fred (A Christmas Carol)

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Fred is a fictional character in the classic story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Fred is Scrooge's nephew and only living relative. Unlike his miserly uncle, he is a kind-hearted, cheerful, and optimistic man who loves Christmas. Fred believes that there is good to be found in everyone, even his misanthropic uncle Scrooge, whom he invites to Christmas dinner every year despite constant rejection. Fred believes that the good in Scrooge can be brought to the surface.

Fred is the son of Scrooge's sister Fan, who died many years before A Christmas Carol begins. Scrooge, who loved his sister very much, has never accepted her death, and the sight of Fred unfailingly reminds him of the grief he still feels from her loss. This is one reason for Scrooge's antipathy towards his nephew; another is Fred's unceasingly cheerful attitude, which is anathema to Scrooge's cynical personality. It says a great deal about Scrooge that even his eternally optimistic nephew is thoroughly shocked by his transformation at the end of the novel.

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