Here, they mention that it is likely to be a very "cheap" funeral, obviously a dig at the fact that despite Scrooge's wealth no-one feels the need to remember him with anything lavish. The two bankers are discussing the death of someone during the opening of Stave 4, and although we know it's Scrooge, Scrooge himself refuses to see the fact. Do people who behave badly need to be punished or supported? This brings up a really important question for us all: do bad people behave badly because they're 'evil' or because they're damaged? This question is so important for anyone who wants to actually fix the problems in society, rather than just sitting there complaining about them. But Dickens wanted to make something very clear: he didn't believe that people like Scrooge were evil, he believed that they were just misguided or reacting badly to being hurt. Fred is actually feeling sorry for the richest, most selfish person in the book a man so selfish his name has come to mean horrible and selfish. This is quite wild when you think about it. Also, however, crucially, Fred says he'll do this because he feels "pity" for Scrooge. Scrooge can rant and rave all he likes, but Fred will be there, with open arms, offering him the chance to save himself. Fred insists that he will give Scrooge the same "chance" - the change of redemption - every year.
Here, Fred embodies Dickens's belief that families should always be there for each other. By the end of the book, he's managed to avoid being poor ever again, but when he sees the final ghost he is forced to face the fact that he will be forgotten and his grave will be "neglected." BUT - he first feels emotion for himself, which begs a question that's quite crucial for us all: did Scrooge first feel sympathy for himself because he's innately selfish and learns to feel for others only by learning to feel for himself or does he feel this way because before we can learn to love others, we all have to learn to love ourselves? The other interesting thing about the line is that he is described as "poor" and "forgotten." These two features are crucial because you get the feeling that they somehow represent everything Scrooge fears - poverty and ignominy (which is being forgotten.) Scrooge is afraid of being poor and forgotten. There are two really crucial things about this quote: the first is that this is one of the first times in the book when Scrooge shows real emotion - the walls of his cage are beginning to come down. This quote comes from the moment in the book when Scrooge sees himself, sitting in the corner of his old school room, all alone.
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