stave 2

• keywords:

  • Vulnerable, exposed emotionally, rejection of redemption, idolisation of money, repression of emotions, benevolence (kindness), innocence, pathos (provoking pity/sadness)
• "still very foggy and extremely cold"

  • The pathetic fallacy foreshadows how Scrooge will remain oblivious and ignorant.

  As 'fog' prevents clear vision, this is akin to how Scrooge prevents himself from embarking on a pathway of redemption.
• "still very foggy and extremely cold"

  • "fog" can also represent institutionalised oppression (the government in charge, controlling people).

  Dickens uses this to subtly indict how oppression is in every crevice of London.

  • Although this it not the focus of the plot at this point, it is always lurking.
• Dickens frequently uses the weather to be symbolic of the change within Scrooge.

  • The diminishing "darkness and the mist had vanished with it" symbolises how with each ghost, Scrooge is gaining clarity, diminishing his own mental darkness, on how to be a moral individual.

  He is unlocking the hopeful potential the reader initially encounters with him being an "oyster".
• The ghost of Christmas past is full of the "bright clear jet of light".

  • This creates an iridescent image with "light" and "bright", this is suggestive of how the ghost is trying to brighten Scrooge's life through revelation (revealing his past) and reminiscence (reflecting on his past).
• The ghost of Christmas past is full of the "bright clear jet of light".

  • The diction "clear" reinforces this clarity of revelation the ghost aims to bring Scrooge.

  This is done through 'lighting up his past and allowing him to reminisce and reflect on his past that has undeniably contributed to his present.
• Scrooge resists his chance of redemption, as the light symbolises revelation and reminiscence, Scrooge wants to exterminate this due to being unable to confront his pain from the past:

  • "He seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden reaction pressed it down upon its head"
• "He seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden reaction pressed it down upon its head"

  • 'cap' connotes restriction, this is symbolic of how Scrooge desperately wants to restrict and repress the memories of his past.

  He envies his free young spirit and regrets his idolisation of money and covetousness (desire for money).
• "He seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden reaction pressed it down upon its head"

  • The aggressive verb "pressed", paired with the rapid adverb of "sudden", explores how Scrooge is engulfed with deeply repressed emotions.

  He acts out irrationally due to his sheer panic that he will have to face these stifled memories of the past.
• As Scrooge is unsuccessful in restricting the ghost's light, this mirrors how Scrooge will be unsuccessful in obstructing his redemption.
• A buoyant (cheerful and optimistic) and infectious atmosphere is presented at Fezziwig's party, compounding Scrooge's nostalgia as:

  • "In come the six young followers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men and women employed in the business."
• "In come the six young followers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men and women employed in the business."

  • The repetition of "in came" followed by vivid descriptions of an abundance of people arriving, creates an atmosphere of entertaining chaos, reminding the reader that there was a time Scrooge immersed himself into social events, most importantly, into society itself.
• Scrooge is presented as having a warm and welcoming ambience around him, as when watching Fezzwig's party unfold,

  • "His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self."

  This is a direct juxtaposition to his former cold presentation where the "cold had little influence".
• Stave 2 is the first insight the reader gets into a compassionate and benevolent Scrooge:

  • "I was bred in this place, I was a boy here!"

  The exclamative sentence provides the reader with the first insight into his raw emotions - his unexpected immersion into his past means that Scrooge is not consciously repressing his emotions.

  • He is emotionally liberated (free from traditional ideas).
• "I was bred in this place, I was a boy here!"

  • A contemporary readership would see "bred" as having animalistic connotations, intensifying their sense of pathos for Scrooge, as it could be an allusion to the animalistic and barbaric treatment he suffered as a child in the late 1700s.
• Dicken's empathy for child exploitation and neglection is a typical trope within his work.
• The description of Scrooge in his childhood holds a parallel language to his description in Stave 1.

  • He is described as "A solitary child, neglected by his friends".

  This is reminiscent of his previous description of "solitary as an oyster".
• The repeated use of the adjective "solitary" highlights how Scrooge's neglected and 'solitary' state as a defenceless child has directly caused his lonesome and 'solitary' adult existence.

  • The ghost even pities his younger self and makes Scrooge recognise how he was an extremely "lonely boy".
• "Home, little Fan?" returned the boy"

  • The motif of innocent children permeates Dickens' work, he uses Scrooge's innocence as a child, paired with his sister's tragic death, to evoke pathos but to also emphasise the injustices that pervaded Victorian society, particularly the victimisation of children.
• Dickens offers an alternative twist on his social commentary.

  • He is scathing of the entitled upper class yet shows how they have the emotions and capabilities to contribute to positive social reform.
• Scrooge's younger self is described as:

  • "He signs of care and avarice. There was an eager, greedy, restless motion in the eye.

  As avarice is one of the 7 deadly sins, condemned in a highly religious Victorian society, his embodiment of the 7 deadly sins foreshadows that the disintegration of his marriage is synonymous with his greed.
• Belle's, Scrooge's ex-wife, eyes are described as "sparkled in the light"

  • Interestingly, Dickens uses the motif of light, alike to the ghost of past, present, and Fred, to reinforce that Scrooge has blindly ignored the beauty and vitality of others and life.
• Scrooge's materialistic pursuit has left him seeking comfort in the "cheap... darkness" as he cannot face how much vitality and light he has let out of his life.
• Poignantly, the reason for the breakdown of Scrooge's marriage was that a "golden" idol has"displaced Belle.

  • As 'golden' connotates valuable and precious, this is used ironically to indict how Scrooge (a microcosm of the upper class) views materialistic items as valuable and precious over loved ones and other members of society.