Stave 3

Question 1

I don’t mind calling on you

Answer 1

Direct reference to the reader from the author

Question 2

Bade him enter. He obeyed.

Answer 2

Establishes the power dynamic

Question 3

Simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur

Answer 3

Simple shows his selflessness whilst green has major connotations with Christmas. White fur shows large wealth

Question 4

Holly wreath

Answer 4

Religious imagery evoking connotations with Jesus.

Question 5

‘A tremendous family to provide for.’ muttered Scrooge.

Answer 5

Whilst his attitude has changed slightly, he still values money quite a lot and is concerned with the costs associated with providing for a large family

Question 6

White sheet of snow upon the roofs

Answer 6

The pure white snow on top of the impure blackened roofs indicate that goodness will overcome his bad character and he shall be redeemed

Question 7

Half thawed, half frozen,

Answer 7

Pathetic fallacy representing Scrooge’s changing heart

Question 8

There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town and yet was there an air of cheerfulness

Answer 8

By contrasting the town’s gloomily atmosphere with the joy people felt because it was Christmas, Dickens creates a positive atmosphere within this part of the stave

Question 9

To a fish, went gasping round and round their little world in slow and passionless excitement

Answer 9

Dickensian humour as he is saying dead fish are filled with more Christmas spirit than Scrooge is

Question 10

Carrying their dinners to the baker’ shops.

Answer 10

Not all people had the sufficient means to bake or roast food so they prepared the food at home and took it to the baker’s shop to be cooked

Question 11

I wonder you, of all the beings in the many worlds about us, should desire to cramp these people’s opportunities of innocent enjoyment.

Answer 11

Scrooge tries to justify his cruelty by blaming the spirit for the unjust conditions of the lower class, asking why he did not help

Question 12

He could accommodate himself to any place with ease;

Answer 12

Shows how the Christmas Spirit is everywhere, blind to class

Question 13

Dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap and make a goodly show for sixpence;

Answer 13

Dickens presents Mrs Cratchit as hard-working who makes the of the very little she has. The adjective brave shows her determination to give her family a day where they can forget about their struggles

Question 14

Such a goose

Answer 14

In the Victorian times, a goose was often referred to as the ‘poor man’s turkey’ which further emphasises how poor they are

Question 15

Tiny Tim upon his shoulder

Answer 15

He could represent an angel due to being lifted so high. His innocence, vulnerability and angelic nature makes his potential downfall at the hands of Scrooge all more heartwrenching

Question 16

As good as gold,

Answer 16

Simile. Shows how highly the Cratchit’s value family and it contradicts Scrooge in Stave 2 who idolises material wealth in terms of gold

Question 17

And cheapness

Answer 17

The emphasis on cheap shows how even though they are very poor they celebrate Christmas to the fullest

Question 18

It was a sufficient dinner

Answer 18

Evokes the sense that it was only the bare minimum for the family and the reader can’t help but feel sympathy towards them as Christmas is meant to be a time of indulgence

Question 19

Suppose it should not be done enough. Suppose it should break in turning out

Answer 19

It shows how much of a treat a pudding is in their household and how something so small can be so special

Question 20

Nobody said or thought it was at all

Answer 20

Dickens may be referencing Thomas Malthus, who was an economist who believed the world was so overpopulated that there wasn’t enough food to serve everyone. He was famously in support of the Poor law and workhouses. Dickens was anti-Malthusian

Question 21

Bob held his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him.

Answer 21

Bob loves Tiny Tim with all his heart which is the opposite of Scrooge’s childhood and he is confronting his lack of parental affection

Question 22

Oh, no, kind Spirit. say he will be spared.

Answer 22

For the 1st time in the novella, Scrooge is feeling sympathy for the poor which represents the beginning of his journey to redemption

Question 23

If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.

Answer 23

The Ghost is repeating back to Scrooge what he said in Stave 1 and it shows how far Scrooge’s views have changed from his prior judgemental, biased ones

Question 24

Scrooge was the Ogre of the family

Answer 24

Metaphor. He is seen as a monster however still recognised as part of the family as he provides for them. However ‘was’ indicates a change of heart. The ga that ogres are green could link to Scrooge’s jealousy of their familial relationship

Question 25

By this time it was getting dark, and snowing pretty heavily;

Answer 25

Pathetic fallacy. Reflects back to the beginning when Scrooge lived in the cold and darkness. The fire represents his Christmas Spirit which is increasing as each Stave goes on

Question 26

Solitary lighthouse

Answer 26

Solitary describes Scrooge and like how a lighthouse contains a light that shines bright so does Scrooge

Question 27

Hearty laugh

Answer 27

Fred is full of goodness and there is no sarcasm or spite underneath his laugh tainting it only pure joy

Question 28

His wealth is of no use to him. He don’t do any good with it.

Answer 28

Emphasises how Scrooge’s miserly ways are known by everyone and no one likes him for it

Question 29

I am sorry for him; I could f be angry with him if I tried

Answer 29

Fred feels no anger towards Scrooge but sympathy because of his isolation

Question 30

He said that Christmas was a humbug, as I live.

Answer 30

Fred is making fun of Scrooge’s miserly attitudes

Question 31

Here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand at the moment; and I say, “Uncle Scrooge”

Answer 31

Like the Cratchits, they drink to Scrooge even though he is cruelly and miserable and it gives him hope he can redeem himself

Question 32

From the folding of its robe, it brought two children

Answer 32

The children have been hidden away, forgotten and neglected by society. Children are associated with innocence and purity so it shows that the sins of people like Scrooge affect them the most

Question 33

Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish;

Answer 33

Represent every child in extreme poverty

Question 34

Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked

Answer 34

Religious imagery. Their lives should be filled with innocence and purity (angels) but through the social injustices the have suffered, they’ve been turned into demons

Question 35

Has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Answer 35

Their presences are dangers to humanity yet humanity created them

Question 36

This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.

Answer 36

They are physical manifestations of the social injustices and poverty that plague mankind and their purpose is an allegorical one, showing Scrooge and the reader the effects of extreme poverty. Ignorance shows how the upper-class overlooked the poor and allowed the issues to develop. Want shows how their greed prevented them from aiding. They are not real children

Question 37

Have they no refuge or resource.

Answer 37

Directly juxtaposes Scrooge’s opinion of the poor at the beginning of the novella

Question 38

‘Are there no prisons.’ said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. ‘Are there no workhouses.’

Answer 38

Again, referencing Scrooge’s own words from Stave 1. His malicious tone juxtaposes Scrooge’s statement from before