Ghost of Christmas Present Flashcards
Messenger
There is an obvious change in how the Ghosts are described showing the intentions of the Spirits
A jolly Giant, glorious to see, who bore a glowing torch
The Ghost is presented as very sociable and someone who loves shining warmth on others. The ‘glowing torch’ represents the Christmas Spirit and the Ghost himself could be said to symbolise Father Christmas. The torch continues the motif of light present in the previous stave, presenting light as symbolic of positivity
Plenty’s horn
Symbol of abundance in Greek and Roman mythology
Come in, and know me better, man
The use of the imperative ‘come’ shows his dominance over Scrooge as he is encouraging mankind in general to become more familiar with Christmas and the happiness and joy that surrounds it
He could accommodate himself to any place with ease
Shows how Christmas Spirit is everywhere, blind to class
Antique scabbard
The fact that it contains no sword and is covered in rust shows the reader that Dickens believes the festive time is no place for conflict and should instead be a time of peace
Kind of throne
The fact that the ‘throne’ is formed of excessive amount of food directly challenges the Malthusian view that there were not enough resources to go around. Dickens was famously anti-Malthusian. He vents his own frustrations about social injustice through the Ghost, highlighting the Ghost’s didactic purpose within the stave
Sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch
Sprinkling incense was a way of making disagreements vanish and spreading good spirits in Victorian times. The Ghost emphasises that it wants to spread positive spirits to the poorest as they need them the most. This shows the Ghost is aware of social issues and actively endeavours to do good and it could be argued that the Spirit acts as an example to readers to push social reform
