[Marley's Ghost]

Originally Posted by crabapple

Yeah, you see what I mean? All those poor bastards in the street, those transparent guys who have "lost their power, forever," they had no chance of redemption. Marley specifically states that Scrooge's chance is "of my procuring," meaning, this is an unusual situation. It's implied that Marley had to do something--pull some strings--to make this happen. Marley is a man of business, of course. Did he cut a deal with someone? The head honcho, maybe?

Is Marley's penance that he must, perhaps, roam the world for a while, helping other misguided souls become better people while they are still alive?

Perhaps the creepiest implication is that the living are the only ones who are capable of determining the quality of their afterlife--that once you check out, you are forever sleeping in the bed you made.

NEVER MIND MY FATE
TEND TO YOUR OWN AFFAIRS
AT LEAST I GET OUT ONCE A YEAR
FOR SOME EGGNOG AND A COUPLE OF BEERS