a christmas carol Flashcards
what did dickens experience which made him more sympathetic to the poor
- a fluctuating social class
- born into middle class but father was sent to debtors prison and d had to leave school and work in poor conditions
- experienced both a life of comfort and struggle
what was dickens social class
- born middle class - privately educated
- became working class when father went to debtors prison and had to get a job
who could it be argued scrooges sister fan was based off of
- dickens sister francis / fanny
who could it be argued tiny tim os based off of
- dickens nephew harry who was very sickly and died before he hit his teenage years
what are the names of the two misers scrooge is potentially based off of
- john elwess
- jamie wood
what was dickens original plan before writing a christmas carol
- was initially going to write a political pamphlet
- realised that not many would bother reading
- decided to get his message across in a christmas story as it was a popular genre
- even went as far as to self publish to ensure his unfiltered message could reach the masses
who is scrooge
an old victorian business man
significance of name ebenezer scrooge
- plosive b and c sounds make name sound harsh and abrupt
- ooge part of scrooge sound slimey, creepy and off putting - like ooze
- ebenezer is a hebrew name meaning stone of help
who is scrooge to the story
an anti hero whose transformation allows dickens to portray his message
what is a miser
someone who accumulates large amounts of wealth but refuse to use it even on themselves showing pointless greed
how could it be argued scrooge is a self parody
- unhappy childhood + apparent poor relationship w/father could be drawn from dickens on childhood
- alongside his aspiration for money/ wealth in order to avoid poverty
- negative aspects could also be viewed as dickens anxieties about who he could have become
- positive scrooge at end could be dickens optomistic views of himself
What is tiny tim a symbol of
- Noble poverty and the most vulnerable people in society
- this character is made excessively virtuous and is sentimentalised as innocent and pure to evoke sympathy in the reader
How does dickens construct tiny tim
this character is made excessively virtuous and is sentimentalised as innocent and pure to evoke sympathy in the reader
What does bob cratchit symbolise
- the humble , hardworking and deserving poor
- this character is used by dickens as an antithesis of scrooge
- an almost christ like figure to represent cheerfulness through adversity , togetherness and Christmas spirit
How does dickens construct bob cratchit
- this character is used by dickens as an antithesis of scrooge
- an almost christ like figure to represent cheerfulness through adversity , togetherness and Christmas spirit
How does dickens construct fred
- as a foil to scrooge this character emphasises scrooges negative qualities and represents the importance of family values and forgiveness
- providing the bridge back to human relations for scrooge
