key Themes Flashcards

1
Q

“Squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner” Scrooge

A
  • The asyndetic listing: The asyndetic listing highlights selfish and avaricious character. It portrays Scrooge’s immoral Characteristics as ongoing, casting him as an unrepentant “sinner”.
  • The use of 7 negative adjectives mirrors how there are seven deadly sins, known as cardinal sins, which were seen in the bible as the root of all evil. As the foundations of Victorian morality was religion, the parallels between Scrooge and the sins are used by Dickens to highlight how the rich, symbolises by Scrooge, are more inclined towards moral transgression than the poor. Dickens implicitly critiques societal structures, such as the 1834 poor law, which were ironically designed to address the perceived sin and laziness of the poor.
  • “Squeezing” and “wrenching” connotes struggle: The verb “squeezing and wrenching” connotes a struggle, this illustrates how Scrooge struggles to see the detrimental consequences of his frugality and thus, his role in perpetuating social inequality.
  • Alternatively the undertone of a struggle is used by Dickens to illustrate how the avariciousness of the upper class directly causes a struggle for the impoverished.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

“He seized the extinguisher cap and by a sudden action present it down upon its head.”

A

-Verb pressed and adverb sudden: The aggressive verb pressed combined with the rapid adverb sudden delves into Scrooge’s immersion in deeply suppressed emotions. He reacts irrationally out of sheer panic, anticipating

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly