A Christmas Carol Flashcards
link to industrial revolution context
dickens was critical of this, & obsession that followed, scathing of britain being pinnacle of excellence yet vulnerable were left ignored, personifies capitalist greedy mindset
link to dickens and the poor context
the cratchits & tiny tim constructed to show message of exploitation of poor, tim left to die due to societal neglect, debunks lazy stereotypes through cratchits
link to thomas malthus context
political diatribe, anti-malthusian. indirectly inducts idea of food scarcity with ghost of present, symbolises abundance
link to 1834 poor law context
criticises humanity of such laws, experienced belligerent conditions, allegorical characters of ignorance & want, plight of poor that rich subject them to.
link to religion context
redemption salvation, greed & wrath
dickens intentions:
allegorical novella with a didactic to convey consequences of avariciousness and stinginess, criticises rich of dehumanising poor and complicity with social structure
dickens intentions 2:
uses ghosts as vehicles for condemnation of callousness, serve as dickens mouthpiece, prompts them to see if they perpetuate social injustice
“squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching covetous old sinner” (s1)
asyndetic listing, immoral characterises ongoing, unrepentant, 7 adj- 7sds, shows how the rich are more inclined to moral transgression, struggles to see detrimental consequences of frugality, social inequality
“i wear the chains i forged in life…i made it link by link” (stave 1) (mar)selfish, supernatural
warning that scrooges covetousness is interlinked to his anguish, restriction and entrapment, restricting and eternal consequences of stinginess and perpetuating social injustice, personal and selfishness
“mankind was my business” (stave 1) (mar) selfish, social injustice
economical language, criticism of obsession with relentless want for profit, grim fate of scrooge foreshadowed (cheap funeral), mankind precedes business, hierarchal values that scrooge should prioritise
“i shall live in the past, the present and the future. the spirits of all 3 shall strive in me” (stave 4) (s)
religious allusions, holy trinity, 3 ghosts acted like incarnations of God, relaying moral & religious messages, “within me” internalisation if morals, desperation for salvation, juxtaposition stark contrast between now and then
“quite a baby” “merry as a schoolboy” (stave 5) (s) redemption, kindness
infantile language: innocence and youth, he is reborn, repenting, gone from “old sinner” to having salvation, spiritual renewal and connection with God, relief to less fortunate, 2nd father to tiny tim
“it was a strange figure- like a child yet not so like a child as like an old man” (past) (st2)supernatural
juxtaposition: metaphorical to scrooge, physically “old man” yet vulnerable & isolated. interconnected ness of present shaping future, ghost aims to catalyse a regression back to compassion, youth & age fascinated victorian society p, emphasis on time motif, moral growth
“bright clear jet of light” “purest white” (stave 2) (past) supernatural
motif of light: illuminates characters that impact scrooge, hope & radiance, heaven and sin purity, ghost resurfaces scrooges represses memories to purify him, celestial symbol, nobody is beyond redemption, spiritual journey
“glowing torch, in shape not unlike Plenty’s horn” (st3) selfish, social injustice, supernatural (past)
horn: symbolises nourishment & abundance, societal neglect and malnourishment are unjustifiable in a world of plenty, critique of malthusian values, motif of light, symbolic of scrooges illumination, passion & benevolence
“if he be like to die,he has better do it, and decrease the surplus population” (st3) family, selfish (present)
repetition, emphasis on scrooges callousness, neglect & ignorance towards plight of lower class, malthusian ideology, plosives accentuate callousness towards destitute, shows exploitation of children
intentions: cratchits
bob microcosm of poor, crafted to humanise struggles of poor, morality & communal values, reconsider societal misconceptions
“clerk” (stave 1) selfishness, social injustice
lack of identity, symbolic of dehumanisation & marginalisation, name omitted, poor stripped of individuality, power dymanics between rich and poor
“i’ll give you mr scrooge, the founder of the feast” family, selfishness, social injustice
bob percives scrooge with quasi-divined reverence, grateful for cheap “goose”, disheartening reality as dispute are blindingly grateful to those exploiting them, dickens scathed systematic injustice, meagre materialism, morality and community, congrats scrooge avariciousnesss
“my little little child” cried bob, “my little child” family, social injustice
repeated “little”: fragility & vulnerability of poor children, fall victim to cycle of poverty, repeated exploitation, scrooge becomes 2nd father, societal unity, crachit portrayal exacerbates damaging effects of malthus.
“all in a glow; his face was ruddy but handsome; his face sparkled” (stave 1) family
light motif, hopefulness & enlightenment, beacon of hope for scrooge redemption,magnanimous & compassionate, foil to miserly scrooge, contrast darkness and cold, “frosty time” “darkness is cheap”
“his offences carry their own punishment, and i have nothing to say against him” family, religion
biblical allusions: “punishments”, scrooge immoralities are judged by higher powers, strong moral compass, paragon of virtue, compassion, despite scrooge parsimony he forgives, dickens refrains vilifying, represents upper class with morals
