Social quotes ( pages 3 and 4 ) Flashcards
“What Idol has displaced you”
-the quote emphasises the destructive nature of social class and the effect it has on people like scrooge, and contextually many others during the Victorian era. Like scrooge the pursuit of wealth has had a negative impact on
his ifestyle and abllty to find happiness which is comparative to many poverty stricken but content familles.
-this shows the immense impact of money and social class on happiness during the Victorian era and is demonstrative of the negative effects of obsessing over money like scrooge.
Its feet,observable beneath the ample folds of the parment, were also bare.”
- during the Victorian times having bare feet was seen as a symbol of poverty as you would not be able to afford shoes. This contrasts with the “green Yobe with white fur” as it symbolises wealth during Christmas. This shows how the ghost represented everyone no matter how rich or poor they are or what class.
“But the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day.”
Shows how the poor are happy during this time and highlights how Christmas should be celebrated with one another and how it’s a time for giving.
“A tremendous family to provide for, muttered ScrooRe”
this shows that even though Scrooge had changed he still values money quite a lot, but focuses more on the concern that he should help the ones who are less fortunate.
“These poor revellers.”
- the term “revellers” show how even though the poor can not afford many things like the upper class and celebrate like them they still enjoy themselves highlighting the difference in social class in the way they present celebrations.
“To any kindly given to a poor one most.”
- this shows the recognising stage of how the poor are in need during the Christmas time highlighting the social class in comparison to the upper class as they have all the provisions required during the holidays unlike the poor.
“You would deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day, often the only only day on which they can be said to dine at all.”
during the Victorian times, people were not allowed to work during the special occasions and many poor people didn’t like this ideas as they always looked forward to any opportunity that they could earn money. They needed any opportunity to earn money and always had to ask for a raise so they can still celebrate Christmas highlighting the different perspectives of celebrating Christmas that the lower class had compared to the upper class.
“Such a goose.
-during the Victorian times, the goose was eaten by the poor people as they could not afford to eat a turkey and it was referees as a “poor man turkey”, The cratchit family no matter what still seemed happy about it and didn’t care about the food and cared only about spending time with each other. This also highlights the difference in social class as the goose was eaten by the poor and turkey was eaten by the rich.
“As good as gold”
the use of the simile shows the Importance of the cratchit family but also used as a reference for Scrooge as previously he idolised gold in stave two which now highlights how cratchit cares about family more then money on anything else juxtaposing to Scrooge and how he only cared for money and nothing else around him. This highlights the difference in social class as the poor cared more about the time spent together compared to the upper class as they only cared about the money.
I don’t know much about it, either way. I only know he’s dead.”
-phrase “don’t know” and phrase “either way” has a throwaway tone implying the rich business men Scrooge worked with were indifferent to Scrooge’s circumstance and this reveals the upper class’s lack of compassion for others and focus on money.
“Left it to his Company, Perhaps. He hasn’t left it to me. That’s all I know.”
-use of italics in the first person pronoun “me” demonstrates a self-centredness and sense of entitlement in the upper class
“Old Scratch has got his own at last, hey?”
-the use of colloquial phrases such as “Old Scratch” and*, hey?” again demonstrates disrespect towards the dead and almost seems shameful coming from the upper class which Dickens uses to illustrate the upper class’s misbehaviour as their sole concern is on money and they are unfazed by the plight of even their business colleagues
-also since “Old Scratch” actually refers to the devil in informal terms this is indicative again of their lightheartedness despite the loss of a human being as the upper class see this as an opportunity for humour and merriment
“Not another word. That was their meeting, their conversation, and their parting.”
-the use of the negative sentence as well as the use of anaphora in the subsequent list draws the reader’s attention to the lack of friendliness amongst the upper class as they have no more subject matter to converse on other than financial news or on ‘humorous’ events such as deaths.
“and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and with misery”
-here the combination of rule of 3 and anaphora enhances the overwhelming sense of destitution present as the listing makes the problems seem endless while the nouns “crime”, “filth”, and “misery” generate a semantic field of despair and death
-as a result the reader feels shocked at the state of the poor in contrast with the comfortable lifestyle of the rich
-Dickens uses this to highlight the appalling living conditions of the lower class in order to raise awareness in society and bring about positive societal reform
“mountains of unseemly rags, masses of corrupted fat, and sepulchres of bones.”
-the use of the metaphor “mountains of unseemly rags” and “sepulchres of bones” alongside grotesque adjectives such as “unseemly” and “corrupted” generates a semantic field of decay and an abundance of it which causes the reader to feel repulsed and thus pity the abhorrent living conditions of the poor.
-furthermore, the rule of three used further emphasises the extent of the lower class’s suffering
“Putting it on him to be buried in, to be sure”
-such blunt and nonchalant language as evidenced by the phrases “to be sure” and “to be buried in” referring to Scrooge’s dead body demonstrates a complete lack of respect for Scrooge by the lower classes and thus is indirectly Indicative of the suffering of the lower class as their oppression by the rich has led them to grow bitter towards them and display such behaviour as showcased in this quotation.
