Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol

In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the main character Ebenezer Scrooge goes through a soul searching change in his view of the world, and becomes less selfish as he does so. One of the characters he encounters in his journeys with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, is Tiny Tim, the son of Scrooge's clerk, Bob Cratchet. Tim is disabled, probably with Renal Tubular Acidosis, or possibly Rickets. If the future doesn't change, says the Ghost of Christmas Present (in other words if Scrooge doesn't change his ways and pay Bob better) Tiny Tim will die. This terrible truth helps to facilitate Scrooge's change.

Tim's character is important in the story, in that with him, we see that Scrooge's change is altruistic, and that he is doing it to benefit other people, not just out of concern for his own salvation.

Even though he is a minor character, because of his being there, Tiny Tim enriches the story of A Christmas Carol, which is a lovely story of hope and positive change, and which is a book I highly recommend.