Family Theme Flashcards
1
Q
‘Good afternoon’
‘I am sorry, with all my heart to find you so resolute… I have made the trial in homage to Christmas, and I’ll keep my Christmas humour to the last, So a merry Christmas uncle!’
A
- ‘I have made the trial in homage to Christmas’ —> noun —> ‘trial’ —> refers to his attempt to try and convince Scrooge. In this, he is perceived as a kind and encouraging character since he wants to help others celebrate and enjoy. This portrays him as philanthropic —> juxtaposes Scrooge’s ‘misanthropic’ character. This shows the differences in attitude within the family.
- ‘I am sorry with all my heart’ —> adjective —> ‘sorry’ shows his remorse and pity for Scrooge’s attitudes presenting Fred as caring since he pities Scrooge’s situation. Also, through the use of the noun ‘heart’ —> creates metaphorical diction since the ‘heart’ represents a person’s emotional Center. In This, it shows Fred’s care for his family and his loving attitude.
- ‘Merry Christmas uncle!’ —> use of exclamatory language shows his festive nature and joy around Scrooge presenting him as welcoming and kind to others. This portrays the importance that Fred places upon family, since he remains festive despite Scrooge’s repetition of ‘good afternoon’ indicating Scrooge’s dismissive nature. This shows Fred’s persistent care for his family.
2
Q
‘All the Cratchit family drew round the hearth in what Bob Cratchit called a circle…a merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!’
A
- ‘all the cratchit family drew around the hearth’ —> noun ‘hearth’ —> refers to the fireplace —> uses the motif of ‘fire’ within a Christmas carol to show the Cratchit’s Christmas spirit and caring nature. Also, in the term ‘all’ —> demonstrates the Cratchit’s inclusiveness and care for all others within their family. Reinforces their absolute unity.
- ‘Circle’ —> refers to the family chronicle creating a sense of unity.
- ‘God bless us!’ —> shows their joy and want for prosperity for others in the family since the plural term ‘us’ —> demonstrated Bob Cratchit’s want for his entire family to prosper and do well. Shows his care.
3
Q
‘I am sorry for him; I couldn’t be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself always’
A
- ‘i am sorry for him’ —> adjective ‘sorry’ —> shows pity for him throughout the novella showing Fred’s unwavering care for his family.
- ‘I couldn’t be angry with him if I tried’ —> the phrase ‘could not’ —> insinuates Fred’s inability to show dislike and annoyance to his family showing the strength of unity and care that family can provide for others.
- ‘Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself always’ —> use of a rhetorical question provokes both the readership and Scrooge to consider the impacts of unkindness and a lack of family care. In this, Dickens prompts Scrooge to change through presenting family as selfless and a rejection of family as harmful to the person who does this. Dickens shows this through the verb ‘suffers’ —> connotes to a struggle or pain which Scrooge inflicts upon himself.
4
Q
Resilience and strength of families:
A
Shown through the Cratchit’s
5
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. Resilient in their determination to enjoy Christmas.
- ‘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.
6
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.
7
Q
‘Mrs Cratchit kissed him, his daughters kissed him, the two young Cratchits kissed him, and later and himself shook hands. Spirit of Tiny Tim, thy childish 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, unity and resilience as a family.
8
Q
Catalyst for change:
A
Scrooge’s family, Fred and Cratchit
9
Q
‘Home for good and all. Home for ever and ever. Father is so much kinder than he used to be, that home’s like heaven’
A
- ‘Good’ and ‘heaven’ —> uses the similie comparing the domestic setting of ‘home’ to ‘heaven’ elevates its status portraying it as idyllic. This portrays the topographical marker of ‘home’ where a family lives as idyllic and positively shown through the adjective ‘good’. This portrays Scrooge’s family as being positive and joyful from the description of Little Fan. Also, the use of the temporal marker ‘for ever and ever’ —> can imply that home is so perfect that Scrooge would not want to leave. This portrays his family and ‘home’ life as having been comforting and loving.
- ‘Father is so much kinder than he used to be’ —> adjective ‘kinder’ —> compares Scrooge’s father as having been more benevolent and caring than previously. This can use the theme of family as a vehicle to catalyse Scrooge’s change by implying that Scrooge can develop and improve to become better similar to his father who developed into being ‘much kinder’ than before.
10
Q
‘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 family 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. This shows the strength of them as a family unit in their joy despite their oppressive conditions. This portrays family as providing comfort and resilience.
11
Q
‘He has given us plenty of merriment, I am sure and it would be u grateful not to drink to his health…’Uncle Scrooge!’
A
- ‘he’s given us plenty of merriment’ –> adjective –> ‘plenty’ –> suggests that Fred has experienced an abundance of joy or ‘merriment’. THis implies that fred is a character who embodies joy and christmas spirit in his ability to experience extreme jubilation.
- ‘drink to his health’ –> reinforces his unconditional love for his uncle since he still toasts and hopes for his health despite this.
- ‘Uncle Scrooge’ —> dedicates a toast of ‘Scrooge’ despite Scrooge’s mistreatment of Fred showing his unconditional love for his family. This portrays Fred as a catalyst for Scrooge to change since Fred’s kindness and joy as a member of the upper class demonstrates Scrooge’s ability to also care for family.
