(3) ghost of christmas yet to come

• Scrooge is presented as cowardice and petrified of the ghost.

  • He is filled with "solemn dread"

  This supernatural dread is key in Scrooge's emancipation (freedom) as it allows Scrooge to fear the inevitable future he will face if he continues to be shrouded in his own internal darkness.
• His utter terror is so powerful it does not just evoke an emotional reaction from Scrooge, but a physical one:

  • "Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him"

  The alliteration of "silent shape" draws emphasis on the mysteriousness of the ghost.

  • Its faceless figure makes Scrooge lose all composure.
• Unalike to his previous masking of his fear of the ghosts, Scrooge appears honest about his dread, he says:

  • "I fear you more than any spectre I have seen"

  Scrooge's honesty, due to his dropping of his miserable unphased facade, highlights how he is unlearning how to repress his emotions, instead, he is being emotionally vulnerable and open.
• keywords

  • Menacing (scary), ambivalent (having mixed feelings), ominous, bleak, alike to grim reaper, solemn, irreversible gloom, enigmatic (mysterious)
• The triple ominous adverb "slowly, gravely, silently approached" shows this menacing ambience filled with dread.

  • This is exacerbated through the archetypal presentation of a menacing ghost - it is a faceless figure that is there to haunt Scrooge.
• The ghost is "shrouded in a deep black garment" which is reminiscent of the description of the grim reaper, a symbol of death as he was believed to collect people's souls.

  • The alikeness in the description is suggestive that Scrooge's chances of redemption have vanished, and he is now going to be mercilessly taken to his hellish death.
• The enigmatic (mysterious) ghost does not verbally communicate, but physically uses his body as he had an:

  • "outstretched hand"
  • "steady hand was pointed to the head"
• "outstretched hand" and "steady hand was pointed to the head"

  • The use of "hand" repeatedly could be an allusion to the hand of time; the ghost is warning Scrooge that he is losing time and edging closer to his ironically "solitary" death.

  Scrooge longed for a "solitary" existence and now the ghost is solemnly showing him the repercussions of this selfish want.
• The finger symbolises the hand of time and appears "unmoved" and "inexorable" (unstoppable).

  • It illuminates the finality and unstoppable nature of time - it is a precious concept that cannot be reserved, once it is gone, it is gone eternally.
• At the end of the stave, "The kind hand trembled".

  • As it is no longer "unmoved", this is suggestive that Scrooge's plead for redemption has altered the unstoppable nature of time.

  He is now given an opportunity to rectify his wrongdoings and cherish Christmas day again.
• Scrooge sees the irreversibility and permanence of wasting time living a life full of misery as his grave is "overrun by grass and weeds".

  • Scrooge's sardonic (grimly mocking/critical) life has led him to be neglected in his afterlife.
• Dickens tactically sets stave 5 within the London streets full of squalor (extremely dirty/unpleasant) and agony:

  • "smell, and dirt and life, upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery"
• The Victorian era was known as the 'progressive era', a time of technological advancements, therefore Dickens uses his novel as a work of social documentation to highlight the true nature of London.

  • People are treated in dehumanising ways while the streets are filled with abandonment and neglect.
• Dickens chooses the setting of London streets for Stave 5 to show how squalor is synonymous with the ignorant attitudes of the upper class, the attitude that Scrooge is being punished for.

  • Without justice being served to those perpetuating (make something continue) this dehumanising abuse, society will continue to decline.
• Dickens highlights that the neglection of others in turn will cause your own neglection in your death.

  • "It was a worthy place... overrun by grass and weeds"

  Scrooge's decaying and uncared for grave serves as a warning to the reader that neglection is cyclical and will cycle back round to punish you.
• The ghost physically resembles the future itself - an unknown mystery.

  • It can be seen as personifying the concept of memento mori, the inevitability of eventual death.
• Dickens explores that only death is certain, so the life that an individual leads should be based around maximising the life they lead and maximising others.

  • Compassion, empathy, and agape (Christian idea of love for humans) should be central to society.
• The ghost is a microcosm for the bleak future of Victorian society if they undergo no change.