Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)

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Tiny Tim (real name "Tim Cratchit") is a fictional character in the classic story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is the son of Bob Cratchit. The character is based on the invalid son of a friend of Dickens who owned a cotton mill in Ardwick, Manchester.^[1] In the story, Tim is crippled and very ill, from his mom nagging him to near death to take out the garbage. Nevertheless, he is a very happy boy and is very much loved by his parents and siblings; he is best known for the line, "God bless us, every one!" He is aged between 7-10 (this varies in different versions) His illness could be easily cured with the right money; however, Cratchit's low wage from Ebenezer Scrooge does not provide the funds to do so, and Cratchit dare not ask Scrooge for help.

When Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Present he is shown just how ill Tim really is. When visited by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come all he sees of Tim is his crutch, as 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 Tim did not die, and Scrooge became a "second father" to him.

Dickens did reveal in the book what Tiny Tim's illness; a hangover from the night before, but he also suffered from renal tubular acidosis. It has been proposed as one possibility.^[2]^[3]

[edit] Tiny Tim in popular culture

In Futurama a similarly named Tinny Tim Ratchet appears usually on Christmas Specials.

[edit] References

^ Seacock, Doug. Charles Dickens - writing from life (HTTP). Egypt Cotton Times. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
^ Lewis D (1992). "What was wrong with Tiny Tim?". Am J Dis Child 146 (12): 1403–7. PMID 1340779.
^ What Ailed Tiny Tim - TIME