ghost of xmas past Flashcards
characterisation of the ghost of xmas past
-role is to guide scrooge towards his redemption by choosing to take him to significant and provocative moments from his past
-the spirit prompts scrooge to reflect on his actions by using deliberately leading comments
-for example, after fezziwig’s party, it mocks Scrooge’s delight, calling the party a ‘small matter’
-this portrays the spirit as wise, because it is evident that this comment was used to make scrooge realise the error of his ways
‘like a child…yet…like an old man’
similes:
↳ rather than using modal verbs of certainty, the ghost of past is presented as almost transcendent, with no true form (fluctuated in its distinctness)
↳ ‘like a child’ represents youth and innocence, therefore the most pure and untouched form of a person
↳ ‘like an old man’ represents knowledge, wisdom and experience
juxtaposition: ‘child’ vs ‘old’
↳ show how the ghost encompasses all of scrooge’s past (from youth to old age)
↳ suggests that things that scrooge may have thought impossible to co-exist (like poor people and rich people, actually can)
↳ represents the change scrooge will make on his journey with the ghosts
‘he could not hide the light, which streamed…in an unbroken flood’
‘light’
↳ symbolises enlightenment & memory
modal: ‘could not’
↳ suggests permanence and how scrooge was completely powerless
‘hide’
↳ if something is hidden, it is only obscured however it still exists, this shows how powerful the light/memory is and that it will always be there no matter how much you try to avoid it
↳ at this point, scrooge is overwhelmed and cannot learn from his past, he wishes to suppress it
semantic field of unrelentingness: ‘streamed’, ‘unbroken’, ‘flood’
↳ shows how inevitably the truth will come out & scrooge cannot run from it
↳ alternatively the light could represent hope and how scrooge’s good nature will come out in the end, no matter how much he tries to deter the transformation
flood
