A Christmas Carol Key Quotations

Question 1

Scrooge before 1

Answer 1

“He was solitary as an oyster”
- Keeps himself to himself
- Had hard shell to protect himself from the world
- Oyster showing something beneth

Question 2

Scrooge before 2

Answer 2

“Decrease the surplus population”
- Poor people should be in workhouses
- If not they should just die
- Thomas Maltus argued same point

Question 3

Scrooge before 3

Answer 3

“The chain I forged”
- Marly wearing chain he made
- Has done it to himself
- Warning Scrooge to change

Question 4

Scrooge changing 1

Answer 4

“I’d like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk”
- Would like to do something similar for Bob (fezziwig)
- ‘Able’ shows that things are able to change for scrooge

Question 5

Scrooge changing 2

Answer 5

“Good as gold”
- Happiness better than gold and valuable
- Shows that he is a good person

Question 6

Scrooge changing 3

Answer 6

“Have they no refuge or recource”
- Looking out for children
- Understanding they are vunerable
- Prison and Workhouse not good for them

Question 7

Scrooge after 1

Answer 7

“Honour Christmas in my heart and keep it for many years”
- Keeping all christian ideas throughout the years
- Showing that he will keep his promise

Question 8

Scrooge after 2

Answer 8

“I am as light as a feather, happy as an angel, mery as a school boy”
- Triplet
- 3 consecutive similes
- All relate to some point in the text
- light as feather - free from his chains
- happy as an angel - no longer a “covtoues sinner”
- mery as a schoolboy - dickens sees playfulness in youth, contrast to past self

Question 9

Ghost - Past

Answer 9

“Fell upon the heart of scrooge witha mighty softening influence, and gave a freer passage to his tears
- Past had a significant impact on him
- quote implying tears had stopped flowing, which controbutes to miserable personalilty

Question 10

Present

Answer 10

“Sprinkled insence on their dinner with his torch”
- Insence used to make disagreement vanish and spreading good spirit
- Present looking out for poor shows the social issues in the book and that time

Question 11

Future

Answer 11

“Shrouded in a deep black garment”
- Uses of imagery to imply he is similar to the grim reaper, death
- The black colour of the garment is further described as being ‘deep’, developing the phantoms solemn presence.