CC Redemption Flashcards
Change and Redemption
Transformation of Scrooge from a cantankerous miser to a cheerful benevolent character=rejoices Christmas-generosity+goodwill. REDEEMED from the prospect of an afterlife of eternal misery.
“I am not the man I was” change in tense represents the metamorphosis
“Solitary as an oyster”
Similar establishes him as a lonely man who is cut-off from society (isolation due to the neglect he experienced as a child). Oysters are found at the bottom of closed seas- closed up protecting pearl inside= greedily protects his wealth at the cost of human relationships/ luxury is at the heart not material gain(inner-goodness +beauty inside).
“Without their visits…you cannot hope to shun the path I tread”
Marley informs Scrooge the 3 ghosts will show him the error of his ways. Marley serves as a plot device. Dickens uses Marley to explain the structure of the novella. Educates Scrooge to warn and educate him to begin the process of changes. Marley embodies the idea of redemption=save him from the same miserable fate-Carry sins in the form of a terrible chain.
“Why it’s Ali Baba!” Scrooge exclaimed in ecstasy
Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back in time to see his childhood self. We see how Scrooge was abandoned and how circumstances changed him. Scrooge is beginning to change. Verb ‘exclaimed’ shows how animated he is and captures the joy. He is seeing happiness (other than money)=pleasure of reading (story from the Arabian Nights). Like Scrooge, Dickens childhood years were also difficult as he was sent to work in a factory while his father was imprisoned for debt. Dickens shows the pleasure in literature=possibly the value of education= relevant in the 1840s when most poor people could not read
“Say he will be spared”
Stave 3, Scrooge’s agony over the predicted death of Tiny Tim= changing “I see a vacant seat” “If these shadows remain unaltered, the child will die”
Contrast “they had better do it and decrease the surplus population” (start of novella repeated by GCPresent) Scrooge is beginning to connect with humanity again. Christmas spirit can change an individual and society for the better.
“I am as light as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy”
Repetitive sentence structure of similes highlights his newfound positivity= sense of Christian goodness”-genuine joy. Proceeds to correct his from Stave 1 in Stave 5=mirrored structure=enormous change
