Stave 4 Flashcards
I fear you more than any spectre I have seen
He describes the final ghost vaguely as to imply the future is vague and unknown. It’s what makes it frightening
I hope to live to be another man from what I was
Scrooge seeks redemption. However the past tense phrase ‘as I was’ suggests that his beliefs have already changed
Lead on.
Scrooge is letting the Spirit have the power and control as he is the one who can help Scrooge change the path of his future. This contrasts Scrooge in stave 2
Chinked the money
Dickens presents the wealth gap between the upper and lower classes by the fact the wealthy have enough that it chinks when the poor have nothing
A great fat man with a monstrous chin
Described with unnatural disturbing features as to dehumanise them and visualise their ugly deeds in their faces
When did he die
Scrooge was so insignificant, his death was of no importance
Very large snuff-box
Tobacco was very expensive during the industrial Revolution as it need to be shipped in from abroad and required a lot of manpower. Further shows off their wealth
It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral
Mirrors Marley’s funeral when Scrooge was only concerned with money. People don’t care enough to give him any extravagance, even in death
They were men of aye business: very wealthy, and of great importance.
During life, these would have been the men Scrooge would usually interact with and seeing the men care so little show how little of a positive impact he has made
Old Scratch
Nickname for Satan or the Devil
Unseen Eyes we’re looking at him keenly
Double meaning as it could be looking at Scrooge positively or sharply
It made him shudder, and feel very cold
Juxtaposes Scrooge in Stave 1 and suggests he has warmed up
The whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery.
Shows the desperate state the poor were living in and caused rich readers to sympathise more with the poor
Corrupted fat
Use of the adjective is interesting as it paints a vivid, chilling image of the conditions some people lived in. It also suggest that corruption is the reason behind it
Sepulchres of bones
Tombs of bone represent the large amount of death in these conditions
Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did.
They are only taking care of themselves but for them it’s a crime whilst when Scrooge stole from the working class no one cared, highlighting the large class divide.
Why wasn’t he natural in his lifetime.
Scrooge was so unloving that he died alone and was stolen from. The thieves represent Scrooge’s prior obsession with money
He isn’t likely to take cold without them, I dare say.
Dark humour suggesting the found Scrooge’s death a joke and it brought joy to peoples lives
Putting it on him to be buried in, to be sure
Scrooge is being cynically mocked demonstrating a clear a scene of sympathy
As they sat grouped about their spoil
Moment is symbolic of the effects of hard hearted news. It is cyclical as all the times Scrooge treated others poorly has resulted in them showing complete disrespect towards his death as they have nothing left to lose
A bare, uncurtained bed:
He had been stripped of all his materials and belongings to reveal his inner personality - awful and ragged
A pale light, rising in the outer air, fell straight upon the bed;
Dickens effectively builds tensions by directing the attention purely on the bed
Avarice
Extreme wealth and greed
Rich end
He’s rich in wealth but not in good deeds. Money has no value in death only good deeds you have done in life now benefit
We may sleep to-night with light hearts
The couple shows no remorse for Scrooge ad they are no longer controlled by him though debt
Quiet. Very quiet
Contrasts with the busy and joyful life in Stave 3. Tiny Tim’s death has affected the family so much. Scrooge has never had such familial support in life or death
And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them.
One of many biblical references
But I think he has walked a little slower than he used,
Symbolic as Bob is walking slower now that he isn’t carrying Tiny Tim on his shoulders. Emphasises how Dickens didn’t see the disabled as burdens on society
But he was very light to carry
Dickens never directly confirms Tiny Tim’s death and leaves you to infer that for yourself.
Green
Colour is representative of many things including new life which Tiny Tim would have in Heaven but also greed and money which is a preferred,ant theme thoughout the novella
My dear
The Cratchit family is the antithesis to the Scrooge family.
If I can be of service to you in any way
Fred starts a cycle of change by offering to help someone of a lower class. It gives the family a sense of hope for the future and Dickens uses Fred as a character to represent how positive change within society can be
I am sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Tim
It juxtaposes the other deaths in the story as he had people who mourn for him because of his kindness in life
Tell me what man that was whom we saw lying dead
Scrooge is still ignorant about the Ghost’s message and stubbornly ignores all hints that the death is his
Inexorable finger
Scrooge is unable to stop the Ghost like he is inane to prevent the future of he doesn’t change
Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only
Syntactic parallelism
Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went;
Dramatic irony as the reader knows the gravestone is his but Scrooge does not know yet
I am not the man I was
Scrooge implies he is going to change linking to the theme of redemption
The kind hand trembled
Scrooge’s pleading causes the immovable spirit to show compassion emphasising his powerful emotions
