Christmas Flashcards
‘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’
STAVE 1
When Scrooge says in Stave One that everyone who celebrates Christmas is a fool and will be ‘boiled in his own pudding’ and should be‘buried’ it is clear that he hates Christmas and is presented as miserly.
This shows how in Stave One** Scrooge is miserly and miserable and hateful** on those that find happiness in festive times. The aggressive plosive language ‘boiled’ and ‘buried’ highlights his hatred of Christmas and his threatening nature in Stave One.
“good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.”
STAVE 2
This shows how Fred is a complete foil character to Scrooge and Dickens uses him to teach
‘Poor boy.’
STAVE 3
-Scrooge’s sympathy for her former self.
‘was singing a Christmas song.’
STAVE 3
-The men in the lighthouse, despite being poor and alone at Christmas, still embrace the Christmas spirit and this makes them feel connected and metaphorically warm.
-Through this, Dickens advises his readers to do the same and build a community through a** joint care for the Christmas spirit.**
‘For, the people were jovial and full of glee’
STAVE 3
-The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the importance of celebrating Christmas and the happiness it provides people rich or poor.
-It allows everyone from all backgrounds to come together.
‘I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.’
STAVE 4
The moment that Scrooge agrees to transform and enjoy Christmas
” I am as giddy as a drunken man. I am as merry as a schoolboy! A merry Christmas to everybody!’
STAVE 5
-Similes emphasise Scrooge’s transformation as it shows from Stave One ‘solitary as an oyster’ how much he has changed.
-Dickens deliberately does this structurally to highlight his redemption through Christian teachings.
