a christmas carol Flashcards
Stave one Scrooge: “… secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster”
Redemption, Isolation, Family
- This quote reveals a very important part of his character as Scrooge chooses to be isolated from society as much as possible. In 1843 England, this would have been very strange and suspicious behaviour especially during the time of Christmas. This gives an impression to the reader that Scrooge is a villain or a man with a lot to hide. This is further highlighted by the sibilance of secret, self-contained, and solitary as the repetition of the ‘s’ sound suggests the snake like qualities of danger. Another purpose of this literary device is to slow down the pace of the text so that the reader takes note of it which implies that this description is an important one.
- This simile is strange because oysters are not typically solitary, but are often found in large clusters, so this Dickens could perhaps be suggesting through this simile that despite Scrooge working and living in a city surrounded by lots of people, he is still alone as his hard outer shell stops people from building close relationships with him. Oysters also produce pearls so this may be a hint to the reader that despite scrooge appearing hard and crusty on the outside, he may still have some value to society hidden within him. This quote can be linked to another one in Stave Two, “A solitary child, neglected by his friends”. In this context, the word ‘solitary’ is used again however in this context, it is used with ‘neglected’ so it has a different meaning as it shows that his solitude is not by choice.
“He carried his own low temperature always about with him” - Stave 1 Scrooge
Redemption, Isolation, Family
- The phrase “low temperature” links to the cold weather. This phrase isn’t to do with physical weather but rather relate to his personality. By carrying his own low temperature always about with him, Scrooge makes others feel miserable, along with himself. This contrasts with the quote used to describe his nephew, Fred. “He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge’s…”. While Scrooge tries to bring frost and chill wherever he goes, Fred heats himself by walking in the cold metaphorically as he does not allow Scrooge’s behaviour affect him implying that Scrooge and Fred are opposites.
Stave One Fred: ‘I have always thought of Christmas time… as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time’
Christmas, Family, Social Injustice
- Shows that Fred is a foil to Scrooge; his ‘good’ highlights Scrooge’s ‘bad’. Fred absolutely loves Christmas which is a major theme in this story as seen by the title, ‘A Christmas Carol’, and the fact that the structure of the novella is divided into staves which are used in Christmas carols rather than chapters because this story takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This makes Scrooges character and transformation even more memorable because as Fred states in this quote, we associate Christmas with kindness, forgiveness which Scrooge does not have at the beginning but eventually gets these qualities at the end after his redemption.
Stave One Scrooge: “If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. “
Social Injustice, Redemption
- This quote shows the complete lack of empathy Scrooge has towards the struggles of the lower classes as he has no personal interaction with them in his daily life and hence is able to dehumanize them. Dickens uses this quotation through Scrooge to echo the views of many middle and upper classes at the time as there was a stereotype that the poor were criminals or lazy. In 1834, the Poor Law was passed which sent all unemployed able-bodied people to the workhouses to earn their keep through hard labour. This quote also links to stave 3 when The Ghost of Christmas Present uses the exact same words against Scrooge after he pleads for tiny Tim to be spared. The consequences of his words are reflected in Tiny Tim’s suffering and therefore Scrooge eventually does develop empathy for the poor.
Stave One Marley: “I wear the chain I forged in life…”
Redemption, The Supernatural, Materialism and Wealth
- Marleys chain is made from the tools of his trade and is now doomed to wander the Earth in heavy chains because of his greed and selfishness in life. This reinforces the obsession Marley and Scrooge have with money over everything else and that the poor are the ones who suffer from their greed as they are being taken advantage of forcing them into deeper debt because they know that they cannot pay it back. It’s not surprising that Dickens uses Marley to educate the Victorian audience on what not to do in life as his father was sent to debtors prison when he was a boy. Scrooge and Marley have lived similar lives and are pretty much the same so Marleys fate is a preview of what will happen to Scrooge if he continues down the same path. Furthermore, Marley is reinforcing the Christian View that what you do in life has consequences in the afterlife as the he himself is trapped in purgatory and the chain he wears is a result of his own actions.
Stave One Marley: “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my, business”
Redemption, The Supernatural, Social Injustice
- Marley says this in his speech to Scrooge. He is delivering an important message to the reader about social injustice. Dickens believed that those in positions of wealth and power should support the poor. He was a huge advocate for justice and thus in his novella he uses Marley’s character to remind the reader that it is our moral duty as humans to be kind and look after each other. The repetition of ‘business’ reinforces the dangers of seeking money over everything else because Scrooge views the world entirely in terms of business, so he cannot empathise with the poor and their struggles.
Stave Two Scrooge: “The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a fortune”. …”
Redemption, Materialism and Wealth
- Scrooge is referring to his old boss Fezziwig who he apprenticed for as a boy. This quote makes the reader feel surprised as business and money control Scrooge’s perspective on life. This is Scrooge’s turning point on the value of money and being a good employer because in this situation, he was defending Fezziwig when the Ghost of Christmas Past says “He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money…” Scrooge does this because he remembers the appreciation that he felt as an employee.
Stave Two Belle: “I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master-passion, Gain, engrosses you.”
Redemption, Isolation, Family, Materialism and Wealth
- This quote is said along the way on Scrooge’s journey through his past when he sees the moment his ex-fiancé Belle breaks off their engagement because of his growing obsession with money. She refers to it as ‘the master passion’ which suggests to the reader that Scrooge has become a servant to the pursuit of wealth and neglected all other things in life that really matter. However, we can infer that Scrooge wasn’t always this way as he had ‘nobler aspirations’ as a young man but they have clearly faded away over the years. This should have been Scrooge’s wakeup call, but his past issues stop him from making a change, he just sees Belle as another person who is abandoning him. This results in Scrooge shutting himself off from the world even more and focusing more on making money.
Stave Three Ghost of Christmas Present: “If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.
“Family, Social Injustice, Redemption
- This is referring to Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchits youngest son who suffers from an unknown illness. Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas past have been looking at how the Cratchit’s were celebrating Christmas and Scrooge takes special interest in the boy as he has just been reminded of his own childhood and the abandonment he experienced. Tiny Tim has had the complete opposite of Scrooge’s childhood. He is poor but is dearly loved by his father and also his family and so it’s obvious why Scrooge would want him to experience the fatherly love which he never received. Tiny Tim’s fate also represents the Theme of social injustice in this novella because in the Victorian Era, thousands of children suffered from extreme poverty, illness, and starvation while many more were sent to workhouses and only a small amount of money could make an enormous difference to the lives of any of these children and even be the deciding factor for whether the lived or died. Dickens’ lesson to his readers is that the innocent and vulnerable are victims of society.
Therefore, Tim is the most significant factor behind Scrooge’s transformation as Scrooge sees that he can save Tim’s life by just being a better person and employer and raise Bob’s salary.
Stave Three Fred: “I mean to give him the same chance every year, for I pity him.”
Redemption, Isolation, Family, Christmas
- When Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present check up on his nephew Fred who is hosting a holiday party. Despite the terrible way Fred has been treated by his uncle Scrooge, he refuses to give up on him. This further reinforces the fact that Scrooge’s isolation is his own choice as there are still members of his family who want to reach out to him in hopes of building a relationship and be a part of his life. The use of the world ‘pity’ is interesting considering Scrooge is selfish, mean, and rich and is not typically somebody who is an object of pity. Fred in this novella exemplifies what a good person looks like however he sees beyond Scrooges hard outer shell and knows that inside; he is not an evil man and has just lost his way over the years. This is important as it assures the reader and Scrooge that once he has completed his redemption journey, Fred will definitely welcome him with open arms. He gives Scrooge a chance every Christmas because it is a time associated with forgiveness and family and overall, Fred represents hope for Scrooge’s future.
Stave Three: “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both…but most of all beware this boy for on his brow I see that written which is Doom.
Materialism and Wealth, Social Injustice
- Ghost of Christmas Present reveals two starved and ragged children from beneath his cloak who are described as wolfish and seem barely human. Ignorance could mean the ignorance of rich towards the struggles of the poor. When this novella was written, there was a lot of political unrest starting with the 1789 French Revolution where the poor revolted against the rich due to mistreatment. The rich were a minority in society at this point so perhaps Dickens could be suggesting that it was in their best interest to pay attention to the plight of the poor rather than ignore their struggles and to lessen the enormous wealth gap that existed.
Stave Five Scrooge: “I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future!”
Redemption
- Says this to the Ghost of Christmas Future when he’s begging for a second chance. This quote is extremely important as Scrooge now understands that his present actions are affected by past experiences and traumas so if he truly wants to change, he must acknowledge and resolve his childhood abandonment issues. Moreover, he now also realises that his current actions will affect not only his future, but also the future of others around him like Tiny Tim whose life depends on the decisions Scrooge makes as an employer. This was the lesson the ghosts were trying to teach him, and this quote shows that he understands their lesson and now that he understands it, he has been given his second chance to make amends and start being a good person.
