a christmas carol Flashcards
1
Q
scrooges redemption plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘secret and self contained, and solitary as an oyster’
- stave 2- ‘scrooge exclaimed in ecstasy, it’s dear old honest ali baba’
- stave 4- ‘a churchyard walled in by houses, overrun by grass and weeds choked up’
- stave 5- ‘I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy’
2
Q
struggles of the poor plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘if they would rather die, they had better do it now and decrease the surplus population’
- stave 2- ‘organ of benevolence’
- stave 3- ‘ignorance and want, wolfish, wretched, hideous, miserable’
- stave 5- ‘I’ll raise your salary, Bob Cratchit’
3
Q
guilt/regret plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘if they would rather die, they had better do it now and decrease the surplus population’
- stave 2- ‘organ of benevolence’
- stave 4- ‘mrs dilber laughing’ ‘such a miracle has happened, he is dead’
- stave 5- ‘I’m quite a baby’ ‘I’m as light as a fetaher’
4
Q
family plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘secret and self contained, and solitary as an oyster’
- stave 2- ‘a solitary child neglected by his friends is left there still’
- stave 3- ‘up rose mrs cratchit dressed out but poorly in a twice turned gown, brave in ribbons’
- stave 5- ‘I’ll raise your salary bob cratchit’ ‘to tiny tim, he was a second father’
5
Q
selfishness plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘if they would rather die they had better do it now and decrease the surplus population’
- stave 2- ‘another idol has displaced me, a golden one’
- stave 3- ‘heaped up on the floor to form a kind of throne, geese, game, turkeys’
- stave 5- ‘I’ll raise your salary Bob Cratchit’
6
Q
social injustice plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘dismal little cell’ ‘if they would rather die, they had better do it now and decrease the surplus population’
- stave 2- ‘organ of benevolence’
- stave 3- ‘ignorance and want, wolfish, miserable, wretched, hideous’
- stave 5- ‘I’ll raise your salary Bob Cratchit’
7
Q
kindness/joy plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘secret and self contained and solitary as an oyster’
- stave 2- ‘organ of benevolence’
- stave 3- ‘up rose mrs cratchit dressed out but poorly in a twice turned gown, brave in ribbons’
- stave 5- ‘I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel’ ‘I’ll raise your salary’
8
Q
scrooges view on charity plan:
A
- stave 1- ‘if they would rather die they had better do it now and decrease the surplus population’
9
Q
explode ‘secret and self contained and solitary as an oyster’
A
- simile
- ‘oyster’ solid and shut tightly which reflects Scrooge’s unwelcoming and unfriendly nature, they require force to open which mirrors the force required for these ghosts to attempt to open Scrooge and allow a change in his ways whilst reflecting, oysters generally have pedals inside of them which showcases Scrooges change later on in the play as on the outside, he is this heartless and hard person but on the inside he contains a pearl which is valuable
- oysters take time to open showing his scrooges redemption is going to take time to change and to sympathise for the unfortunate
- a pearl is valuable and locked away showing how when Scrooge opens up he will become a big part of society just for fezziwig is
- oysters live at the bottom of the seabed away from others showing scrooges isolation and the idea that he isn’t made to be in the company of others
10
Q
explode ‘dismal little cell’
A
- metaphor
- creates an atmosphere of gloom and despair which mirrors Scrooge himself
- Bob is being imprisoned due to his unfortunate position as he depends on Scrooge to sustain him and his family
- ‘cell’ showcases his workplace to almost be like a prison and therefore evokes how Scrooge views the working class as criminals who steal from the bourgeoisie and don’t deserve much more than a cell
- this highlights the desperation in which the working class work in and how they live their everyday lives
- ‘little’ creates a claustrophobic atmosphere and emphasises how tight fisted Scrooge is as he only gives the bare minimum and even then he’s not satisfied and thinks they’re a waste of space
11
Q
explode ‘if they would rather die they had better do it now and decrease the surplus population’
A
- ‘would rather’ showcases just how blinded Scrooge is as he thinks that the proletariats have a choice as to whether or not they want to live or die, the audience may recognise that no one actually does want to die if given the option but here for the working class this is seen as the best option and therefore mirroring the horrific conditions of the working class
- ‘they’ disassociates Scrooge from any link to the poor as he distances himself
- here Scrooge is dehumanising the poor and is separating them completely from the rich emphasising that he sees no worth in them and simply views them as numbers
- ‘surplus’ because the poor don’t add any value to Scrooges life, he simply views them as numbers and extras which need getting rid of
12
Q
explode ‘a solitary child neglected by his friends is left there still’
A
- this quote reveals why Scrooge is the way he is now as he was neglected by society as a child so he feels as though he is still neglected and isn’t able to join society now as he is afraid of rejection
- when saying this he cries showing how the emotions are still very raw to him
- the adjectives ‘solitary’ and ‘neglected’ form a part of Scrooges identity today, when placed alongside ‘child’ the reader may become sympathetic for Scrooge as childhood is associated with innocence and having fun which was ultimately denied for Scrooge and instead replaced with isolation
- ‘still’ evokes how he is still trapped in this cycle as he cannot break out of it and even today he is this solitary and neglected child which distances himself from society
13
Q
explode ‘organ of benevolence’
A
- links to biology as organs are a vital part of our body and they have a specialised task as wee need them to keep us alive
- this is symbolic when placed alongside ‘benevolence’ as it implies that fezziwig, like an organ, has an important job in society as he shows society what life could be like if capitalists were more considerate of their surroundings
- we can’t survive or live a good quality life without our organs so this shows that society will collapse if people like Fezziwig didn’t exist
- benevolence is the organ that Scrooge and corrupt capitalists are missing which is why society continues to regress instead of progress
14
Q
explode ‘Scrooge exclaimed in ecstasy. It’s dear old honest Ali baba’
A
- adjectives ‘dear, old, honest’ emphasise how deeply connected Scrooge is the fiction as it replaces the real human interactions in which he lacked, this may explain his inability, it’s to socialise later on in life when he got old as he was never taught how to, instead was left with fictions
- ‘exclaimed’ shows his excitement at seeing this memory evoking the idea that he clings onto his imaginary friends as they are seen as his loved ones and his only companionship and only has books to turn to as he feels not included when around people
- here we may empathise with Scrooge to an ext eat as this hard exterior and desire to isolate himself from everyone is only there as a result of him feeling left out of society as he doesn’t fit in
15
Q
explode ‘another idol has displaced me… a golden one’
A
- ‘idol’ something that you would worship which therefore showcases the idea that Scrooges worships money as though it is a religion, this gives the sense that he is so obsessed with materialist things more than people maybe because he grew up in the surrounds of books and was distanced from people that he sees no worth in them and no true meaning and value
- ‘displaced me’ conveys that people are simply a commodity and object to Scrooge meaning he is easily about to replace and trade them with something that he sees more value in and also adds value to his life
- ‘golden’ this idol represents the fact that Scrooge is devoted to money and gold, and in the bible it states ‘you cannot serve money and god’ meaning money and god cannot do exist and therefore he has lost the love of god and the associations with god
