A christmas carol - scrooge Flashcards
stave 1 - “a frosty rime was on his head” “the cold within him froze his old features”
In the opening Stave the narrator is unsympathetic in his dealings with Scrooge, presenting him as wholly unlikeable through the use of an extended metaphor (a metaphor which is repeated) where Scrooge is likened to the weather. Dickens writes that “a frosty rime was on his head” and that it was the “cold within him” rather than external temperatures which “froze his old features”. This presents him as a cold, hostile and unappealing character.This description in some ways presents him as an archetypal villain (the classic and conventional portrayal of a villian).
stave 2 - “was a boy singing a Christmas carol”
The Ghost of Christmas Past teaches Scrooge the value of reflection and causes the reader to sympathise with him, as we see the emergence of regret and a desire to change. For example, Scrooge reveals that there “was a boy singing a Christmas Carol” at his door and he regrets not giving him anything, highlighting the first stage of his repentance and therefore development. This furthered when he tells the Spirit that he wishes “to say a word or two” to Bob Cratchit, highlighting that he actively wants to make a change which establishes the start of his reformation.
stave 3 - scrooge
The Ghost of Christmas Present builds on the concept of change. He does this through showing Scrooge the Cratchit family on Christmas day. Here, the reader sees Scrooge develop empathy and display compassion towards Tiny Tim, an interest “he had never felt before”. This signposts the extent to which he has changed, as even he himself can recognise the change within.
stave 4 - scrooge
The final Spirit teaches Scrooge that his actions have consequences, causing him to put his material obsessions into perspective as he realises that his wealth will not keep him company in the event of his death. The stave ends with Scrooge repenting profusely, promising that he will remember “the lessons” that the Spirits had taught him and change for the better.
stave 5 - “better than his word”
The narrator reveals that Scrooge was “better than his word”, highlighting to the reader that his character has indeed transformed. Dickens emphasises this by drawing direct contrasts between Scrooge’s behaviour in the final and opening staves. He shows how Scrooge donated money to one of the “portly gentlemen” despite his refusal in the first stave. Furthermore, in the opening stave Bob was sure that if he tried to “replenish” the coal Scrooge would have fired him, but in the final stave Scrooge instructs Bob to “make up the fires”, again making his transformation clear.
“A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner”
“A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”. Dickens uses asyndetic listing (a list broken up by commas rather than conjunctions like ‘and’) in his description of Scrooge, perhaps to show the extent of his greed. The relentless verbs refer to him being miserly and selfish. In this way he is immediately and undeniably characterised as an unlikeable character. This makes it difficult for the reader to empathise with him while also drawing attention to the unsympathetic narration.
“As solitary as an oyster”
“Solitary as an oyster”. This simile is interesting as although Dickens describes Scrooge as “solitary”, highlighting his isolation and so presenting him as hostile. The choice of an oyster is significant as despite an oyster being dark and hard on the outside they can contain something beautiful and valued on the inside; Pearls. Here, Dickens is suggesting to the reader that there is something worth saving within Scrooge, implying that as the novel progresses the Spirits will destroy his hard exterior to reveal the ‘pearl’ within
“Im quite a baby”
“covetous old sinner”
“I’m quite a baby.” This is interesting as it contrast Dickens’ earlier description of Scrooge as a “covetous old sinner”. He instead presents Scrooge as innocent through the connotations associated with a baby, highlighting the extent of his change. It is also interesting to note that by ending the novel with reference to Scrooge being a baby Dickens alludes to the cycle of rebirth and, as an extension, his transformation.
