ACC - Cratchit Quotes

Question 1

Intro paragraph

Answer 1

• uses family as vehicle to humanise poor
• challenging stereotypes that poor were malingerers, and situations r because of work shy nature
• shown as hardworking, compassionate, respectable
• juxtapose lase labels cast upon poor
• thru redemptive narrative, implores readers posititoned to help ppl like cratchits
• to reject laissez faire attitude towards plight of ppor
  -cratchits serve as reminder family is more important than money
• money cannot by happiness afforded by human connection and togetherness

In his novella ‘A Christmas Carol’, Dickens uses the Cratchit family as a vehicle to humanise the poor, challenging stereotypes held by his upper class readership that the poor were ‘malingerers’, whose situations were made as a result of their own actions and ‘work-shy nature’. The Cratchits are shown to be hardworking, compassionate, and respectable, juxtaposing the false labels cast upon the poor. Through the redemptive narrative, Dickens implores his upper-class readers, best positioned to change the lives of the people like the Cratchits living in Victorian England, to reject the ‘laissez-faire’ attitude towards to the plight of the poor and step up to help the situation. The Cratchits serve as a reminder that family is more important than money, and money cannot buy happiness afforded by genuine human connection and togetherness.

Question 2

‘cell…’

Answer 2

“dismal little cell”

• alludes to the bleak working conditions the working class endured
• noun ‘cell’ creates the impression of entrapment and imprisonment
• reflects Scrooge’s views held by many on how the destitute should be treated – punitively

Question 3

‘smaller…’

Answer 3

“so very much smaller it looked like one coal”.

• draws attention to the contrast of the conditions Scrooge is working in, compared to the conditions he subjects Bob
• comparative ‘smaller’ and intensifying phrase ‘so very much’ emphasises the disparity between their working conditions
• exposes how the upper class employers exploit their workers, neglecting their employees basic needs and reaping the benefits of their hard work.

Question 4

“warm …”

Answer 4

“warm himself at the candle”.

• pitiful image of a redundant effort evokes empathy from the readers
• we see how workers like Bob were treated and how they had to struggle everyday to no avail
• stuck in the cycle of poverty.

Question 5

“part…”

Answer 5

“the master predicted it would be necessary for them to part.”

• Scrooge taking advantage of Bob, exploiting him and threatening him

Question 6

“brave…” “gown…”

Answer 6

“twice turned gown”
“brave in ribbons”