Cratchit Quotes Flashcards
1
Q
‘Let me hear another sound from you,’ said Scrooge,’ and you’ll keep your Christmas by losing your situation!’
A
- ‘losing’ —> verb —> illustrates Scrooge and Bob Cratchit’s power dynamic since Scrooge can decide whether Bob Cratchit is deprived of a job or not. This portrays the vulnerability of Bob Cratchit —> being dominated by Scrooge and threatened with his livelihood which he cannot afford to lose.
- ‘another sound’ —> in this, Scrooge makes a threat saying that he should not be able to hear Bob Cratchit. This can symbolise the mistreatment of the poorer working classes since members of the upper class deprive them of a voice and prevent them from expressing their opinions.
- This portrays Bob Cratchit as an emblem for members of the lower class who are mistreated and exploited by the upper class without any power to prevent this from occurring.
2
Q
‘In came little Bob, the father, with at least three feet of comforter…his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed to look seasonable.’
A
- ‘little Bob’ —> adjective —> ‘little’ —> reinforces his vulnerable and weak description which portrays him as a member of the poorer and endangered working class.
- ‘his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed to look seasonable’ —> adjective —> ‘threadbare’ —> refers to clothing which has become worn out and reduced in quality over time. This results in its threads being loose and it being frayed. This reinforces their poverty since they would not be able to afford nice ‘clothes’. —> this would make them vulnerable since they are Ill-protected from the cold and external influences.
- the condition of his clothes can reflect their lives since he is exposed and Ill- protected similar to the Cratchit’s vulnerable and exposed nature in the world which results in them struggling.
- ‘brushed up to look seasonable’ —> verb —> implies that Bob Cratchit has groomed or neatened out his clothing to make it ‘look seasonable’. This suggests the Cratchit’s adaptive and resourceful nature where they use their scarce resources and are resilient with them since they still celebrate and are joyful despite their lack of wealth and resources.
3
Q
‘Bob held his withered little hand to his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him’
A
- ‘held his withered little hand’ —> verb —> ‘held’ implies a sense of support for Tiny Tim by his father and the closeness of their relationship. This demonstrates the functionality and unity of the Cratchit’s in their support of eachother despite their struggles.
- This alongside —> verb —> ‘loved’ —> portrays the community spirit of the lower classes implying their caring nature. Adjectives —> ‘withered little’ —> ‘withered’ has connotations of dwindling and deteriorating. This evokes sympathy from the reader ship —> this along with ‘little’ portrays him as vulnerable.
- ‘dreaded that he might be taken from him’ —> verb —> ‘dreaded’ —> has connotations of apprehension and anxiety. This implies Bob Cratchit’s fear over the death of Tiny Tim. This implies their emotional attachment from eachother. —> however —> underlying theme is that tiny Tim and other members of the lower class are vulnerable and suffer due to the miserly nature and lack of care of those such as Scrooge in the upper class who do not care. —> this lack of care helps contribute to the growing social divide causing the rich to prosper whole the deserving poor suffer.
4
Q
‘As good as gold,’ said Bob, ‘and better. Somehow, he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much’.
A
- ‘good as gold’ —> noun —> ‘gold’ —> while characters and members of the stingy upper class such as Scrooge are fixated on monetary goods with mercantile and material obsessions, Bob Cratchit is portrayed as differing since he uses a similie likening his child to ‘gold’. This portrays the strong value that he associates with his children since ‘gold’ creates imagery of wealth, abundance and riches, so similarly, Bob sees Tiny Tim with the same positive perspective.
- ‘gold’ —> alternatively —> can refer to Tiny Tim as their substitute for wealth. It suggests that despite their poverty in money, they are rich in value and in care for eachother since they hold eachother in high regards.
- ‘better’ —> adjective —> this is reinforced by ‘better’ which implies the Cratchit’s selfless nature since they prioritise eachother over materialism. This uses them as a vehicle to contrast Scrooge in their riches in virtues and morality despite their poverty. This can help him catalyse his change by seeing them and using their resilience as an example that he too can successfully change and be reformed.
5
Q
‘He hoped the people saw him in church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see’
A
- ‘hoped people saw him in church, because he was a cripple’ —> verb —> ‘hoped’ —> suggests his positive attitude and lack of insecurities about his disabilities. Instead of harbouring a negative mindset —> he thinks of how his handicap may benefit others —> portrays him as selfless and optimistic. —> portrays him as an antithetical character to Scrooge in his youth, kindness and optimism which directly juxtaposes Scrooge’s negative attitude. —> purpose in the play which is to make Scrooge feel sympathy for lower class and to make him reform his attitudes.
- ‘remember on Christmas Day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see’ —> biblical references —> portrays Tiny Tim as a religious and spiritual person. This portrays his virtuous nature due to his biblical nature. —> would have appealed to a Victorian audience —> predominantly Christian —> would see him as virtuous and morally correct for his religious views and optimism. —> an endearing character.
6
Q
“If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, none others of my race,’ returned the ghost, ‘will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it and decrease the surplus population’.
A
- ‘none others of my race..will find him here’ —> reinforces his vulnerability suggesting that he will die soon. This creates a lot of sympathy from the readership towards the plight of the poor and his struggling conditions.
- ‘if these shadows remain unaltered by the future’ —> verb —> ‘unaltered’ —> suggests that Tiny Tim will die if the future remains unchanged. This alludes to Tiny Tim’s purpose to the allegory —> constructed as a character to suggest that Scrooge can reform and improve and depending on his actions, he can improve the life of the poor Cratchit’s and help them survive. This serves as a social commentary by Dickens —> Dickens did not believe in the social divide in Victorian England —> he suggests that of the upper class were kinder it can prevent suffering.
- ‘decrease the surplus population’ —> quotation of Scrooge earlier in the novella about Malthusian theory —> ghost uses it to make Scrooge reflect and feel regret allowing him to change. Also, ‘surplus population’ —> functions to support Malthusian theory. As a result, Dickens may be expressing his dislike of the theory through his suggestion that Malthus’ approach was very apathetic and that some of the population should not survive. This aligns with his personal beliefs.
7
Q
‘Dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap’
A
- ‘poorly in a twice-turned gown, but brave’ —> adverb —> ‘poorly’ implies their low amount of wealth and humble position within society (working class). However, —> ‘brave’ —> shows their admirable nature as they do not fear for others opinions.
- ‘twice-turned gown’ and ‘cheap’ —> both of these allude to the families poverty since they can only afford ‘cheap’ items. Dickens repeats references to poverty to perhaps evoke sympathy for their condition. However, in ‘twice-turned’ it refers to a gown which has been made over twice. This shows her resourceful nature and perseverance despite her poverty.
- ‘brave in ribbons, which are cheap’ —> adjective —> ‘brave’ —> in this context, it can refer to her vibrant clothing —> this shows their resourceful since despite their lack of items, she is still resourceful allowing her to be festive and vibrant.
8
Q
“The Founder of the Feast indeed! I wish I had him here. I’d give him a piece of my mind to feast upon.”
A
- ‘piece of my mind to feast upon’ —> metaphorical diction —> implies that she has a lot to complain to Scrooge about. This can imply her annoyance over the mistreatment of the lower classes. This draws attention to the exploitation of the lower class and their anguish and emotional turmoil as a result of this.
- This anchors the existence of the social divide with dislike between the classes due to their poor treatment of eachother.
- ‘founder of the feast’ —> fricative sound —> this reinforces her anger towards him.
9
Q
‘There was nothing of high mark in this. They were not a handsome family; they were not well dressed; their shoes were far from being waterproof; their clothes were scanty…but they were happy, grateful, pleased
A
- ‘not’ —> negative diction —> this highlights the families’ poverty since and highlights the negative aspect of their lives. This is a pessimistic description implying that they lack riches, clothing and protection from their environment implying to what extent they suffer due to a lack of care from the upper classes. This portrays them as a victim to human greed and miserliness. Also, the repetition of ‘not’ implies the amount of aspects in which they suffer.
- ‘but they were happy, grateful, pleased’ —> connective —> ‘but’ —> implies their resistance suggesting that their attitude is positive in spite of their crushing and punishing conditions which should cause them to feel despondent. —> This highlights the strength of their Christmas spirit and joy since it perseveres and allows them to feel joy when surrounded by suffering and plight.
- ‘happy, grateful, pleased —> asyndetic triadic —> this reinforces their amount of good will, joy and optimism reinforcing its strength and their good values.
10
Q
‘Mrs Cratchit kissed him, his daughters kissed him, the two young Cratchits kissed him, and Peter and himself shook hands. Spirit of Tiny Tim, thy essence was from God!’
A
- ‘kissed him’ —> epistrophe —> these occur and are repeated after referring to each family member to imply their care for eachother since the act of ‘kiss[ing]’ is a display of affection. —> This can anchor the strength of their love and care for eachother through repeating it which shows how all of them share this with one another.
- reference to all of the family members implies that all of the family care for eachother equally and that their is no exclusion in their love for eachother. All of them symbolise —> care, Christmas spirit and unwavering resilience.
- ‘spirit of tiny Tim’ —> ‘tiny Tim’ —> alludes to the death of tiny Tim. This can reiterate the families care for eachother since they are resilient and still comfort and show affection towards eachother despite the hardships that they have faced —> this shows their strength and unity as a family.
