A Christmas Carol Quotes Flashcards
Where was Dickens sent to when he was a kid?
At twelve years old Dickens was split up from his family and was sent to Warren’s Blacking Factory to live and work by himself.
In this time Dickens endured the appalling working conditions that many of the poor faced in the Victorian times. This experience clearly gave him another view of society as he experienced poverty first hand and so went on to portray this image in many of his novels.
After three years at the factory, Dickens’ father inherited some money and so Dickens was able to return to education. Maybe this experience highlighted the unjust inequalities of life between the rich and the poor, as Dickens was forced to work when in financial difficulty but was able to enjoy an education after receiving money.
What was DIcken’s Father like?
Dickens was born into a middle-class family and due to this he had the good fortune of being sent to school, perhaps explaining the reasons behind his value of education.
However, his good fortune of being sent off to school was short lived as his father came into some financial difficulties and was put in debtors’ prison.
It is interesting to note that his father was a clerk just like Bob Cratchit.
What is the Cratchit house based on?
Also, the Cratchit house is based on Dickens’ own home growing up, which may perhaps explain why the narration is sympathetic towards the Cratchit family and idealises them to such an extent.
How are the negative aspects of Dickens childhood displayed?
The negative aspects of Dickens’ childhood is mirrored through his character Scrooge.
Through the Ghost of ‘Christmas Past’ the reader is able to witness Scrooge’s own childhood.
“A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.”
“he said, in pity for his former self ‘Poor boy!’ and cried again.”
He is described to be “a lonely boy who read near a feeble fire” which portrays him as vulnerable to the reader and causes them to be empathetic to him. The purpose of this was to show the reader how his childhood experience shaped him.
While education might have been a dark time for Scrooge it also enabled him to have a successful career, something that the working class could not get the opportunity to.
How are the workhouses depicted?
Workhouse - It can be argued that the reason ‘A Christmas Carol’ brings to light the dark side of the workhouses is because Dickens lived very close to them and so would have been familiar with the stories of people inside. This closeness would enable him to be empathetic to the plight of the working class.
Though the two charity workers at the beginning of the novel explains that “many would rather die” than attend the workhouses, this is not hyperbole as it was the very scary truth for many.
How is Overpopulation presented in A Christmas Carol?
Overpopulation - More people moved the city and it became more cramped.
○ Within the novella, Scrooge dismisses the working class as simply the “surplus population” which is arguably a reference to the economist Thomas Malthus.
○ The cramped housing that the industrial revolution brought about is exemplified by the Cratchit household: Dickens writes that Bob Cratchit’s family of 8 live in a “four-roomed house” in a distinctly matter-of-fact tone, perhaps to illustrate how this is a simple reality.
○ Additionally, the close quarters increased the spread of disease as people had to live very close together which meant that diseases would have spread rapidly.
How are the consequences of the Industrial revolution presented?
There are many ways in which the Industrial Revolution can be seen to have influenced A Christmas Carol. It can be argued that the Industrial Revolution is metaphorically a character within Dickens’ novel as it has a lot of power to dictate the lives of people, especially that of the working class. This is seen through the pitiful situation of the Cratchits who would have lost Tiny Tim if Scrooge hadn’t reformed and helped their family.
Within the novel Dickens is highly critical of the darker consequences of the industrial revolution. He presents these attitudes in Scrooge through the way that he treats his worker Fred before his redemption, highlighting that they are unfavourable characteristics which do not benefit society
How does Dickens introduce the character of Scrooge?
Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained,
- ‘Oh!’ - this exclamation suggests that even the narrator is overwhelmed by how outrageously unpleasant Scrooge is. The exclamation mark draws our attention to the description that follows.
- ‘a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!’ - the list of adjectives emphasise how awful he is. Notice how each adjective is also connected with the hands. We see how he holds tightly to everything he has.
- ‘solitary as an oyster’ - oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape. This simile suggests that Scrooge also has these tough and strange qualities and that he is hard to ‘open’.
How does Dickens use scrooge to present his views towards Workhouses?
Workhouses - In 1834 ‘The New Poor Law’ was introduced which stated that for the poor to receive money or support they must go to the workhouses which were essentially harsh and unforgiving prisons.
The rich believed this was a viable option, as represented through Scrooge’s happiness to hear that the “prisons” and “union workhouses” were in “full vigor”. Scrooge’s tone here is cruel, and Dickens uses him as a voice to reflect the apathetic beliefs of the rich and how truly problematic they are, challenging the law and reader’s own views surrounding the workhouses
“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.
“I have helped support the establishments I have mentioned”
How is the impact of Poverty shown in A Christmas Carol?
The novella opens with two charity collectors asking Scrooge for donations for the poor. However, he rudely replies that poverty is “none of (his) business” and that the poor might as well die to decrease the “surplus population”. Scrooge’s views exemplify the selfish beliefs of the upper class in Victorian society. Here, Dickens uses Scrooge as a voice for the harsh beliefs of the upper class towards the working class.
The description of the setting is used to illustrate the poverty that is blatant in society. Dickens writes that the whole “quarter reeked with crime, with filth and misery”.
The rule of three is used to create a negative image in the readers’ minds as the words encapsulate the impact poverty has had on the city.
Furthermore, the characters “Ignorance and Want” are used to represent the effects of poverty on children addition to Dickens’ belief that education is the way to solve it as the best way to cure ignorance is to educate,
What did Dickens believe about Education?
How does Dickens show the impact of lack of education in CHildren?
Ignorance and Want are arguably used to portray the effects that a lack of education would have on the poor. The Ghost of Christmas Present describes the two children, warning Scrooge that “This boy is Ignorance…beware of this boy…on his brow I see that written which is DOOM”.
Dickens’ portrayal of Ignorance and Want as children is intended to illustrate that CHILDREN are the ones which suffer the most from society’s issues. In addition to this, Scrooge’s ignorance of the poverty and desperation that filled society is narrated in a critical way, highlighting that Dickens disapproves of this attitude. Perhaps this conveys that Ignorance furthers the issues surrounding poverty as it prevents people from taking action
Which Quote does Dickens show his anti-Sabbatarian through
Sabbatarianism - The Ghost of Christmas Present sprinkles the poor with water “from his torch” and demonstrates Dickens’ opposition to keeping Sunday free from work. Sprinkling incense was meant to be a way of making disagreements vanish and spreading good things and good spirits.
○ Scrooge asks the Ghost why he “should desire to cramp these people’s opportunities of innocent enjoyment” by closing places such as restaurants on “the Seventh Day”. By doing so the poor, who likely worked long hours during the week, would have very little opportunity to enjoy themselves. Dickens was and believed that the poor should be able to enjoy their Sunday as they already had fewer chances to do so than the upper-class.
Which quotes show Scrooge as
cold-hearted
Ill-Mannered
Self-Deluded?
“No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. “ Dickens uses pathetic fallacy to represent Scrooge’s nature. The weather is a metaphor for Scrooge’s behaviour as he cannot be made either warmer or colder by it.
“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.” - He cannot accept the generosity that is offered him(by Fred) and instead turns images of Christmas into images of violence.
“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese…“ Although Scrooge is afraid of the ghost, he tries to maintain his authority even over his own senses.
Which quotes show Scrooge as cold-hearted and miserly?
Miserly, Scrooge is stingy with his money and will not even allow his clerk Bob Cratchit to have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve.
“….and tried to warm himself at the candle”
What quotes show Scrooges redemption?
“I’m quite a baby.” This is interesting as it contrast Dickens’ earlier description of Scrooge as a “covetous old sinner”.Dickens alludes to the cycle of rebirth and, as an extension, his transformation.
“he was a second father” Contrasts the beginning where he talks about the surplus population
I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.
“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel… A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world!”
What does Dickens think about redemption?
. Dickens does this to show the bourgeoisie of his Victorian audience that they too need to seek redemption by supporting the proletariat and completing more charitable deeds as this simple change could have a rippling effect in society
In conclusion, Scrooge’s change in persona could perhaps be representative of what Dickens felt was the real Christianity, rather than using it to conceal and hide ignorant views and behaviour. Perhaps, Dickens wanted his readers to realise that Christian faith is not enough, and instead realise that we need actions now, in the present, to look after the welfare of the poor, rather than relying on a merciful God to welcome the poor dead into heaven.
What quotes show Scrooges Regret?
There are many emotions which are used to push Scrooge to his transformation, regret is a key element to this. The emotion is a thematic tool used to drive the plot line forward,
an example of this is when Scrooge is taken to his past fiancée Belle and sees the family that he could have had. Scrooge becomes overwhelmed with emotion screaming “Leave me! Take me back. Haunt me no longer!” the short sentences express his anger, frustration and maybe even fear.
Due to his emotions he takes action he seizes “the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head. The Spirit dropped beneath it” thus, his emotions lead him to end his time with the Ghost.
> “I wish,” Scrooge muttered, putting his hand in his pocket, and looking about him, after drying his eyes on his cuff: “but it’s too late now…. There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something, that’s all.” - For the first time, Scrooge expresses regret over a past lack of generosity. Scrooge has just relived the events of his boyhood, when he was left alone at school over Christmas. He experiences the sad and lonely feelings he has long repressed. Relating again to his own younger self, he now remembers the boy who recently tried to sing him a Christmas carol, a boy he dismissed violently. Whether his empathy with the boy results from the boy’s solitary status or his poverty, the incident rekindles Scrooge’s instinct for kindness.
What are some Marley Regret quotes?
Old Marley demonstrates the extremity of regret as, unlike Scrooge, he is unable to change his ways and is therefore cursed to an eternity of regret. “It is doomed to wander through the world—oh, woe is me!—and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!” Old Marley expresses his regret for his sinful actions in his life. Marley states that there is
“no space of regret can make amends for one’s life of opportunity misused” this is to say that life is an opportunity for everyone to do good and when this is not done is leads to regret which is futile unless we use it to fuel our change.
“I bear the chain i forged in life”
Which two characters does Dickens present the theme of regret through?
Marley & Scrooge
Key Marley quotes
● “no rest, no peace. Incessant torture of remorse” The two short and simple sentences create a sense of tension by increasing the pace. In addition, it mirrors the trapped and claustrophobic feelings Marley is experiencing in purgatory. Furthermore, Dickens subverts the rule of three in the first sentence. By stopping after two clauses Dickens leaves the sentence feeling unfinished, causing the reader to feel uncomfortable. This may perhaps be to mirror Scrooge’s uncomfortable feelings towards the ghost, allowing the reader to empathise with his character.
● “Mankind was my business” This phrase reflects Dickens’ ideas on social responsibility - the idea that we are all accountable to each other and that it is our duty to help one another.
When the two Portly Gentlemen ask Scrooge for charity money in the opening stave, he replies that he will not donate because it is not his “business”. Here Dickens highlights the importance of being socially conscious, as Marley realises too late that he should have focussed on “mankind” rather than business and finance.
How does Marley represent Purgatory?
Marley’s Ghost can be seen as a physical representation of the Christian belief system of heaven and hell and the importance of repentance and redemption.
He is shown by Dickens to be in purgatory, a state of limbo in between death and heaven where the souls of sinners go until they have repented their sins and can go to heaven. Purgatory is a place of immense suffering and “incessant torture”. The suffering Marley is facing is shown by Dickens to be a direct consequence of his attitude towards people during his life.
His Ghost is described as having chains “made of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds”, all items connected with his job. Indeed, Dickens clarifies that these are the “chains (he) forged in life”, reinforcing the idea that he is suffering due to his own actions.
How does Dickens remove any sympathy towards Marley?
The fact Marley has clearly caused his own suffering would perhaps cause the reader to view his character unsympathetically. This lack of sympathy is furthered by the animalistic imagery used by Dickens to describe the chain which is “long, and wound about him like a tail”. The simile “like a tale” dehumanises Marley and the reptilian image created is repulsive to the reader which prevents the reader from sympathising with him. Furthermore, it presents the idea that his sins are suffocating him and are having visually detrimental effects on his humanity.
What is Marley’s purpose?
Marley’s Ghost has multiple purposes within the novella. Firstly, Dickens uses his character to introduce the reader to religious and supernatural themes. He is the first Ghost to appear to Scrooge, an arrival which is made more dramatic by the narrator’s repeated assertions that “Old Marley was dead”. This heightens the impact of the supernatural theme as it is unexpected. He also establishes the concept of religious justice, as Dickens presents the idea of accountability through his character.
By introducing the religious ideas of purgatory, justice and accountability, Dickens portrays Marley as a deterrent.
Dickens also uses Marley’s character to act as a catalyst for Scrooge’s change. He instils feelings of fear in Scrooge, evidenced by the “terrible sensation” he feels after Marley’s visit. This ultimately offers Scrooge a chance at redemption, as this fear is what initially drives his desire to change
How is Bob Cratchit displayed as:
- Obedient
- Generous
Obedient - “[he] tried to warm himself at the candle” - He prefers to do this than ask S.
Generous - “I’ll give you Mr. Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!” - Cratchit is generous enough to be grateful to his boss despite his treatment.
How is Bob Cratchit displayed as:
- Sensitive
- Fearful
- Sensitive - “My little, little child!” cried Bob. “My little child!” - He openly cries.* The repetition of ‘little’ adds to the sad effect of Bob’s cry. We feel sympathy for him at this point.
- Fearful - “It’s only once a year, sir,” pleaded Bob, appearing from the Tank.*
Why does Dickens present the Cratchit’s as hardworking?
The plight of the lower class is highlighted through Bob’s character. Dickens highlights Bob’s maltreatment in the workplace by contrasting his fear towards and dependence on Scrooge. He explores this theme in a sympathetic way towards the poor, challenging many of the prejudices and misconceptions that contemporary readers (readers at the time of publication) may have had.
● Instead of presenting the Cratchits as ungrateful and lazy, he repeatedly references their contentment (“nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family”) and the fact that both Bob and Martha are working.
He builds on this by revealing that Bob has a “situation (job) in his eye for Master Peter” too, which ultimately characterises the family as hardworking and Dickens informs the reader that Martha is a “poor apprentice at a milliner’s”, an interesting choice due to the social stigma that surrounded these places.
● Dickens does this to challenge the misconceptions of his Victorian readers as many would have believed that people lived in poverty because they were lazy.
