A Christmas Carol: Redemption

    Cards (5)

    • What does redemption mean?
      The action of being saved from sin, error or evil
    • "Solitary as an oyster, the cold within him froze his old features"?

      STAVE 1
      • Implies he doesn't want people to know him - likelihood on the trauma he faced (bullying)
      • Cold imagery connotes Scrooge's heart is also cold. Symbolises that Scrooge is lonely
      • Foreshadows ending - oysters have a pearl inside once opened up. Oysters are tough and you have to forcefully open them in order to find the pearl
    • "Bah, humbug"?

      STAVE 1
      • 'Humbug' is a slang term for nonsense
      • Shows he is bad-tempered and dismissive of Christmas
      • Thinks people are nuisances and contempt
    • "Time is precious to me"?

      STAVE 4
      • Total change in character
      • Scrooge doesn't want to waste time, but instead use it to heal himself and make it up to people he treated wrongly
      • Time is symbolic - the 3 ghosts that appear in a Christmas Carol and represent the importance of each tense
    • Dickens' view on redemption
      REDEMPTION IS POSSIBLE FOR ANYONE
      • Can change regardless how hard-hearted they are
      • Scrooge's transformation demonstrates that people have the ability to choose to be kinder
      REDEMPTION IS A PERSONAL CHOICE
      • People are responsible for taking action to redeem themselves
      • Invites reader to consider their own life trajectories and make changes
      • Redemption is possible ever for a master-misanthrope like Scrooge