A CHRISTMAS CAROL Flashcards
‘never painted out old Marley’s name’
scrooge is emotionally and financially miserly. he sees it as a waste to spend money on changing a sign.
‘covetous old sinner’
scrooge sins against God by being avaricious. Bible says ‘for the love of money is the root of all evil’
‘solitary as an oyster’
oysters have a hard outer shell and some contain pearls. this suggests a hope of redemption.
‘no warmth could warm him, no wintry weather could chill him’
scrooge is emotionally cold, external forces have no impact on him.
‘every idiot who goes about with merry christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart’
use of a hyperbole.
shows scrooge’s anger at the holiday
he’s capable of emotion but he chooses to be angry and bitter.
“two portly gentlemen, pleasant to behold”
dickens doesn’t hate the rich, just those who don’t help the poor.
‘are there no prisons’
malthusian ideology, he believes poverty should be banished.
‘raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth’
this represents dicken’s belief that personal charity is in social obligation.
‘cant afford to make idle people merry’
poor people were viewed as lazy.
a malthusian view.
poor people blamed for their own poverty.
‘cashboxes, keys, ledgers, deeds and heavy purses wrought in steel’
chain represents marleys sins.
attached to chain is marleys wealth, which shows his avarice.
marleys chains created through his lives actions.
‘you cannot hope to shun the path i tread’
if scrooge doesn’t listen to marley he will have the same fate.
‘conscious of a thousand odours floating in the air’
emotion is seen in scrooge for the first time.
power of memory emphasised as he is no longer skeptical of the ghost
why did his cold eye glisten?
shows the transformative power of seeing people from his past.
just like fred’s eyes which sparkled, indicating beginning of change.
‘a solitary boy, neglected by his friends is left there still’
we’re encouraged to sympathise with scrooge who hasn’t always been alone by choice.
‘scrooge seemed uneasy in his mind’
he struggles with the realisation that he’s missed another opportunity for happiness.
scrooge realises he only has fred left and he’s pushing him away.
