Charity And Goodwill (theme) Flashcards
Paragraph 1 (start)
- “Covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as a flint, to which no steel had ever struck out generous fire”
the adjective “covetous” indicates his greed and can link to the seven deadly sins, a common zeitgeist of Victorian England is that society was Christian and therefore Scrooge is portrayed as immoral and a “sinner”. Derogatory term used to reflect his lack of generosity. “Never struck out generous fire” portrays an absence of generosity.
- “I don’t make myself merry at Christmas, and can’t afford to make idle people merry”
indicates Scrooges lack of Christmas spirit and joie de vivre. Modal verb “can’t” indicates a a sense of conviction in Scrooges belief that he cannot provide for the poor. This is ironic since he has the funds to provide for the lower class and reflects the lack of empathy and generosity they he has.
Paragraph 2 (middle)
1) “Hilli-Ho! Cried old Fezziweg, skipping down, from the high desk with wonderful agility.”
The use of the exclamatory slogan “Hilli-Ho!” shows fezziwegs exuberance and joue de vivre. Shows his energetic and selfless nature. Derogatory adjective “old” evokes imagery of being frail and sluggish however this is in contrast to the “agility” and “skipping” insinuating that fezziwegs generous attitude makes him appear more energetic and youthful.
2) “He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil”
use of the antithesis in “happy or unhappy” reflects that fezziweg could have been a miser and be just like Scrooge in act 1 however he hosts a feast…
3) “and there was a great piece of cold boiled, and there were mice pies, and plenty of beer”
which reflects a sense of abundance. The use of the anaphora in “and there” reinforces the plethora of food present and yet again highlights fezziwegs generosity compared to that of Scrooge.
Paragraph 3 (end)
1) “It would be ungrateful not to drink his health. Here is a glass of mulled wine… Uncle Scrooge”
the “mulled wine” is typically something drank in the upper class of Victorian England and therefore portrays Fred as the foil to Scrooge, since he is generous.
2) “It was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh. The father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs… quite a baby… hallo!”
At the end, Scrooge transforms and becomes a lot more exuberant and generous. The repetition of “laugh” shows the extent of Scrooges joy and the “quite a baby” links Scrooge to Fezziweg and his old yet generous and youthful nature.
3) “A merrier Christmas, Bob, […] I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family” the adjective “merrier” de o starters that Scrooge has now developed joy and festivity and a newfound generosity. “Raise” shows Scrooges new generosity and his willingness to give more money to others.
General idea
Charity and goodwill presented in contradicting ways. At the start Scrooge was a miser and greedy, in the middle he witnessed the generosity of Fezziweg (his old master) and saw how it brought about people to be happy. At the end he meets up with Fred and has become more generous. Changed and more charitable
