The relative clause describing Tiny Tim reinforces the idea that it is Scrooge's actions that caused him to live. Scrooge learns how little generosity creates a lot of happiness. Dickens' use of the word 'good' repetitively to demonstrate the juxtaposition between Scrooge at the beginning of the novel, where Dickens describes Scrooge as a 'covetous old sinner'. This is the image of rich men who are shown to ridicule Scrooge after his death.The rich are presented as unfeeling and callous- their physical ugliness reflects the lack of generosity in their spirits. And I know I know my dears, that when we recollect how patient and how mild he was; although he was a little, little child, we shall not quarrel easily among ourselves and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it. Are there no prisons?'' His house is dark - which reflects the darkness in his character and also adds to the gothic atmosphere of his house. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. We are reminded of the contrast between the rendered status. Dickens clearly uses them to represent what employment should be like. The noun unanimity suggests that he is happy to be involved. The final ghost appears as a phantom a spectre dressed in black: clearly an image of The Grim Reaper himself. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. He listens for the church bell but when it comes, it strikes twelve. However, this in itself would probably not have been enough to alter his ways. Instead, once you know and understand the plot, a great idea is to pick three or four major themes, and three or four major characters, and revise them in great detail. Past: "The curtains of his bed were drawn aside, I tell you, When the Ghost of Christmas Past arrives, the curtains of his bed were drawn aside by a hand. Here, it is clear that it is the ghost who makes the move the ghost actively. This shows scrooges lack of empathy for the poor people around christmas time not regarding their life or family, this is used to show a change later on in the book with him not donating to the 2 gentleman at the start but him donating to them at the end of the play- Scrooge to the two gentleman, Marley during his life was a harsh businessman similar to scrooge and he was also very uptight not giving money to charity or other good causes. This is a great description, wanders around holding a candle snuffer that looks like a hat. The shortness of the main clause at the end makes the message more shocking. Hallo there! Studying 'A Christmas Carol'? Dickens uses Scrooge to show the extent of change that is possible in a small amount of time. However, how the poor were treated was far more extreme in Victorian England. Stave 2 - Scrooge's response to the ghost saying that it was only a small thing that Fezziwig did. We have never had any quarrel, to which I have been a party. So while he did not invent these particular traditions many people credit him with popularizing them. "It was long and wound about him like a til.". The chains are a metaphor for his punishment for his greedy life. We see when Scrooge is presented with the poor children (Want and Ignorance) how instinctively and perhaps despite his character that he is compelled to want to help. jovial voice.". Stave 3 - Scrooge asks if Tiny Tim will live, having been moved by his goodness. ', 'I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it! The metaphor shows the are poor but make the best of a bad situation, always smiling and showing they are grateful for what little they have. Key quotes from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The Spirit pointed from the grave to him, and back again. In Victorian times, the deceased were usually dressed in their best clothes for burial but here, Scrooge's clothes after death have been removed and sold for money. Everyone is entitled to be a little happier on Christmas, and the Ghost of Christmas Present helps them to be so. A merry Christmas to everybody! But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear your company and do it with a thankful heart', Stave 1: 'He tried to say 'Humbug!' phrase on the line at the right. The fog has lifted and Scrooge can 'see' the truth. Im sure you will all e familiar with the one percent statistic. Did the Anglo-Saxon period last between 449 and 1066? Fred, as Scrooge's foil, is a kind, forgiving character who is determined to give Scrooge the same chance every year. The tone is impatient as he does so. The noun 'contract' reflects the language of business - reflecting the change that Scrooge has undergone. The idea that anybody would be so callous about the dead is quite jarring and would have been especially impactful with a conservative Victorian readership. This quote from Fred shows him having opposing views to his uncle scrooge, Fred tries to make Scrooge someone who enjoys christmas however it is not him that makes scrooge appreciate it. Stave 1 - description of Scrooge's relationship with Marley. The ghost of Christmas yet to come is a symbol of the effect that memories have on someone as they age. This quote is trying to say that Marley should've cared more about the people rather than his business - Marley, This opposes to the way that he conveyed his feelings to everyone at the start of the novel this shows his change and how he improved by the end, Therefore I am about to raise your salary, This shows a strong change in scrooges character as at the start of the novel with the 2 gentleman he was not willing to donate any money to them and now he is raising Bob Cratchits salary, This shows Tiny Tim's appreciation of Scrooge even when his mother doesnt think that scrooge deserves the praise, Another idol has displaced me a golden one. Below one can explore the themes, symbols, and more that appear throughout the novel. () A famous geographer Thomas Malthus came up with the theory that the poor were just surplus population and thus should be left to their own devices - even if this meant letting them die. The verbs suggest age, disfiguration and pain suggesting how unnatural their conditions are that have led to this. Use if fairy tale convention, shows the story will have a magical ending. In defending Fezziwig, he is taught a lesson and makes him think about how he treats his clerk, leading to his second moment of regret in which he'd like to 'say a word to two' to Bob. A solitary child, neglected by his friends is left there still - Scrooge sobbed, This shows scrooges lack of companionship and support even since a child this could show why scrooge became so money obsessed, I have always thought of Christmas a good time. cried Bob. Dickens, therefore, is attacking the Malthusian capitalist theories. Imagery of warmth has symbolism of generosity, compassion and forgiveness- Fred always makes a effort with scrooge. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. The father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs. 4 major themes of this novel are forgiveness, the influence of the past, greed, and poverty. The key theme for Dickens is that money does not lead to happiness, Greed is the single factor that is responsible for the breakup of Scrooge's marriage, 'Another idol has displaced me a golden one', Stave 2: 'The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune', The Cratchit family are used as a depiction of a family in poverty, More than any other time in history there was a huge divide between classes, the lower classes lived in deperate poverty and were in want while the upper classes enjoyed a life of luxury, Stave 1: 'Many thousands are in want of common necessities, sir and many hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts', Scrooge's staff selling off his old goods, Victorian aristocracy were very keen to remain ignorant about the sufferings of the poor. Watching Scrooge forge his own invisible chain served as part of Marley's punishment for his deeds in life. Leading up to this moment it appears as if Scrooge already fears that this is the case, but that does not detract from the tension that Charles Dickens can create here. "', The ghost of Christmas present focuses greatly on the Crachit family and how, despite their poor financial situation, In the Victorian era, family and family time were extremely important, particularly around Christmas, ' A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. but stopped at the first syllable', Repeated phrase (Juxtaposition and patterning), Stave 5: 'Hear me! Then, identify each underlined word by writing above it ADV for adverb or ADJ for adjective. Themes= greed and generosity/ time. This may be a way of showing what Dickens thinks should be happening. that this creature, who appears to be both young and old, is an image of Jesus who was a baby at Christmas and yet who, as the son of God, represents the divine wisdom that Christians worship. I can't afford to make idle people merry. Stave 1 - Scrooge's rponse to being asked to give money to charity, "If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.". Hes comparing Cratchits actual body temperature to Scrooges personality. 'A Christmas Carol' Key Quotations Stave 5 Analysis Term 1 / 5 "I am light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. Money 5. Stave 3 - ignorance and want Each sentence below contains a verb The noun 'father' shows the idea that one laugh leads to another - happiness breeds happiness. ', Where the portly gentlemen explain to Scrooge about the plight of the poor and the responsibility of the rich to deal with it, In Stave 5, Scrooge begins to redeem himself for all the terrible things he did in the past, Victorian society was still extremely religious at this point and they believed strongly in the impact of sin upon the treatment of one in the afterlife, The way that Scrooge worships money would have been considered as sinful at the time as it is in a way idolising something that is not the holy lord, Stave 5: 'that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge', Stave 1: 'A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping clutching, covetous old sinner! Where graceful youth should have filled their features out a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them. Gone are the puritanical values that banned Christmas, and, also, to a large degree, gone as well are the memories of Christmas as a serious and religious celebration of the birth of Christ. sungiemarie. Contrasting similes emphasise his god like figure- he is at once innocent and knowledgeable. 1. Being such a short story there is very little that is extraneous. Analysis. "the phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached", A description of the ghost of Christmas future; he is the darkest of the spirits, a reminder to scrooge of his terrible fate if he fails to learn his lesson.