stave 5

• keywords:

  • Redemption, salvation (preservation from harm), freed, liberated, rebirth, acts of atonement (the acts of making amend for a wrong), compassion, transmogrification (to change or alter greatly)
• Scrooge in stave 5 has clearly embarked on his pathway of salvation and redemption as he is indoctrinating himself with the teachings he learned from the ghost of Christmas yet to come:

  • "I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!"

  The repetition emphasises his persistence to ensure this change is permanent.
• Scrooge's elation (great happiness) at the chance to live the life he once wished away is highlighted through the triple simile:

  • "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy"
• "I am as light as a feather" is the antithesis to the simile in stave 1 of Scrooge being "as hard and sharp as flint";

  • The juxtaposing similies highlight how Scrooge feels he has been liberated, now feeling "light", from the burdens of carrying his "own low temperature".
• The religious simile "happy as an angel" highlights how Scrooge feels that his redemption has led him back to the path of God and faith.

  • He was previously described as a "sinner" embodying the 7 deadly sins.

  Yet, his redemption has led to his restoration of religious morals - these being imperative to Victorian society.
• Scrooge's infantile language in stave 5 indicates his rebirth.

  • He calls himself "quite a baby" and "as merry as a schoolboy".
• Scrooge calls himself "quite a baby" and "as merry as a schoolboy".

  • As both a "baby" and "schoolboy" connotate innocence and youth, Scrooge is showcasing how, through repenting for his sins, he has regained his youthful innocence and the ability to see the world in an untainted light.
• Scrooge calls himself "quite a baby";

  • As being a "baby" is the start of life, this signifies that Scrooge has been reborn as he has gone from an "old sinner" back to the most innocent form of human life.

  He has had the ultimate rebirth.
• The idea of rebirth is salient (important) in Christianity.

  • It is believed that a rebirth indicates that a person develops a strong personal and emotional connection with God.
• The idea of rebirth is salient (important) in Christianity.

  • The idea of rebirth holds significance as Jesus Christ was reborn to provide salvation for mankind.

  This could perhaps suggest that Scrooge's rebirth will provide salvation and relief for others.
• Scrooge's religious rebirth is clear as he now actively seeks solace (comfort) from God as he is relieved with his chance at redemption:

  • "He went to church, and walked about the street"

  The syntax (word order) of the church first, highlights how he has now understood the importance of religious teachings and how it provides an integral moral foundation to an individual.
• The weather is a constant pathetic fallacy and reflection of Scrooge's stagnancy/progression.

  • 'fog' (a symbol of institutionalised oppression and Scrooge refusing to seek clarity in the reasons for his misanthropic ways) is no longer existent in stave 5:

  "No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial"
• The pathetic fallacy ('fog' to 'no fog, no mist') could be symbolic of how:

  • If parsimonious (stingy) upper-class individuals changed, alike to Scrooge, then institutionalised oppression would be eradicated and society would live in harmony.

  London would not be governed by greed but instead by love.
• Scrooge becomes altruistic (unselfish) and benevolent.

  • His acts of atonement towards the Cratchits are exemplary of this: "I'll send it to Bob Cratchit's" - as Scrooge symbolises social reform.
• Scrooge's transmogrification (change in a surprising way) in attitudes to the poor resembles how easy a social reform would be for society if all individuals took accountability for their selfishness.
• Dickens uses Scrooge as a microcosm of the upper class to make them reflect on the immensely positive impact it would have on society if everybody adopted a collective social conscience.

  • The deprivation of the lower classes can be alleviated with the help of upper-class members.
• Dickens highlights that the uniting of the lower and upper classes, consequently eliminating social ills, would make society seem more alike to a family than segregated groups of people.

  • He shows this through Scrooge taking on a paternal role of being a "second father" to Tiny Tim.
• Dickens wanted society to recognise and tackle what Disraeli (prime minster in the 1800s) called "the two nations" - the rich and the poor.

  • He believed that the social remedy for society is compassion and empathy.

  Without this, society would continue to victimise and deprive the people who needed its help the most.