English: ACC Quotes

    Cards (32)

    • "If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population" - Scrooge
      'Surplus' means extra, but is a word used more for money or goods than for people. It shows scrooge's callousness towards other people at the start of the novel.
    • "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence were all my business" - Marley
      In stave one, Scrooge praises Marley's business sense. Marley's reply shows that making money is far less important than caring for other people.
    • "I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master passion, Gain, engrosses you" - Belle
      A 'nobler aspiration' means a better aim in life than just acquiring wealth.
    • "Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern" 

      The repetition of 'melancholy' is used to emphasise how miserable and lonely Scrooge's life is, even if he doesn't realise it yet.
    • "Squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching" 

      The present participle (-ing ending) verb 'squeezing' suggest that scrooge takes every last bit of money or energy he can from every situation, even if that is uncomfortable for others.
    • "odious, stingy, hard" and "unfeeling" - describes Scrooge
      'Odious' means deeply unpleasant
    • "Scrooge kept the cool-box in his own room"

      Scrooge's selfishness is symbolised by the fact that he keeps the coal to himself and makes his clerk sit in the cold.
    • "What's Christmastime to you but a time for paying bills without money?" - Scrooge
      This quotation shows how Scrooge does not understand the true meaning of Christmas, because he always thinks the worst of other people.
    • "External heat and cold had little influence of Scrooge. No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him" - describes Scrooge
      At the start of the novel, Scrooge is often described using words from the semantic field of the cold or winter. It is a metaphor for his cold and cruel personality.
    • "So fluttered and so glowing with good intentions" - describes Scrooge
      The word 'glowing' shows the contrast between Scrooge at the end of the novella and at the start, when he is always being described as being 'cold'.
    • "It was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh. The father of a long line of brilliant laughs" - describes Scrooge
      This quotation occurs during a cathartic moment for Scrooge, when he realises he has not died, and that it is Christmas Day.
    • "Father is so much kinder than he used to be, home is like Heaven!"
      This could hint to Scrooge's transformation later.
    • "It is not my business" - Scrooge
      Scrooge does not care about those who are less fortunate than him and is indifferent to them.
    • "no fog, no mist ... golden sunlight" - describes Scrooge
      Scrooge's mind is now clear and he is now able to see the poverty around him and change it. The fog and mist could metaphorically represent how Scrooge chose not to see all of the bad things happening to those less fortunate than him.
    • "It should be Christmas Day, I am sure" " on which one drinks the health of such an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr Scrooge" - Mrs Cratchit
      Mrs Cratchit doesn't want to toast to Scrooge, but she does it because she understands the spirit of Christmas better than Scrooge does.
    • "It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man's child" - Scrooge

      When he sees the Cratchits' suffering, Scrooge begins to understand that being poor does not make people less deserving to live.
    • "I'll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family" - Scrooge

      By the end of the novel, Scrooge realises that the rich have a responsibility to reduce the suffering of the poor.
    • "He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father" - describing Scrooge
      This quotation shows how generous the Cratchits' are, as they allow Scrooge into their lives in spite of his cruelty to them before.
    • "From the crown its head there sprung a bright, clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm." - describes Ghost of Christmas Past
      The light of the Ghost of Christmas Past's head represents clarity and truth: Scrooge can see the world for how it is by being shown the truth of his past.
    • "It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if disdaining to be warded or concealed by an artifice." - describing the Ghost of Christmas Present
      The Ghost of Christmas present is the most festive in its appearance. It personifies the meaning of Christmas, as a time to be jolly and friendly.
    • "The relentless ghost pinioned him in both his arms, and forced him to observe what happened next" 

      The Ghost of Christmas Past forces Scrooge to confront painful memories from his past.
    • "I am prepared to bear your company and do it with a thankful heart" - Scrooge
      Scrooge's reaction to the final Ghost shows how much he has learnt from the previous ones.
    • "I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good" - Scrooge
      Scrooge is speaking to the Ghost of Yet to Come
    • "The kind hand trembled" - describes the Ghost of Yet to Come
    • "no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused" - Jacob Marley
      Marley appeals to Scrooge to change his ways before it's too late, as it already is for him.
    • "I mean to give him the same chance every year whether he likes it or not" - Fred
      The word 'chance' is important in this novel, as Scrooge is given a second chance to avoid what happens to Marley happening to him.
    • "He's a comical old fellow" ... "that's the truth: and not so pleasant as he might be. However, his offences carry their own punishment." - Fred
      Fred knows that being solitary is more painful than Scrooge realises.
    • "The warehouse was as snug, and warm, and dry, and bright a ballroom" - describing Fezziwig's warehouse
      The word 'warm' used to describe Fezziwig's warehouse is a contrast to the cold of Scrooge's office.
    • "Our contract is an old one. It was made when we were both poor and content to be so" - Belle
    • "not very large or handsome, but full of comfort" - describing Belle's house
      This is contrast to where Scrooge lives, which is bare and uncomfortable despite all of his wealth.
    • "Scrooge bent down upon his knee" 

      Scrooge shows much more respect for the Ghost of Yet to Come than he has done previously, which implies that he has learned a lot from them.
    • "The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached" - describing the Ghost of Yet to Come
      This ghost is more serious and frightening than the others, suggesting that Scrooge is doomed if he does not change his ways.
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