a christmas carol

• Stave one: solitary as an oyster - narrator?

  • Scrooge is misanthropic
  • scrooges isolation symbolises Dickens views about middle class isolating themselves from society
  • oyster contains a pearl and a hard exterior like scrooge
• stave one: the cold within him froze his old features - narrator?

  • Semantic field of cold
  • highlights scrooges coldness and lack of generosity
  • suggests Scrooge needs to be warmed up through his interactions with the ghosts
• stave one: Christmas is the only time when men and women seems to open up their shut up hearts freely - Fred?

  • fred version of Christmas reflects Dickens version
  • message of the novel is generosity, kindness, and charity which is the true meaning of Christmas
• stave one: I can’t afford to make idle people merry - Scrooge?

  • idle shows scrooges views that the poor is lazy is symbolic of prejudice views of the rich in Victorian times
  • scrooges language centres around money symbolising his greed
• stave one: very small fire one coal - narrator?

  • Fire symbolises generosity
  • Scrooge lacks warmth and is unwilling to provide Bob Cratchit with a fire symbolises his selfishness
• Stave one: decrease the surplus population - Scrooge?

  • Philosopher Thomas malthus believed poor were the surplus population
  • rich believed belief
  • Dickens hated this belief and uses scrooge to symbolise his hatred of the riches ignorant views
• Stave one: fog and darkness thickened - narrator?

  • Pathetic fallacy reflects scrooge as cold
  • fog shows his blindness and ignorance
• stave two: clear bright jet of light - ghost of Christmas past?

  • Light imagery shows this ghost is bringing enlightenment to Scrooge
  • Suggest heaven and salvation
• stave two: another idol has displaced me a golden one - belle?

  • an idol is an object people worship in the Bible. This was seen as blasphemy and going against God.
  • The golden Idol is money as Scrooge’s greed has corrupted him
• stave two: he has the power to render us happy or unhappy - fezziwig?

  • Power reminds reader the rich have the ability to change many lives as it costs a little but can make a huge difference
• stave two: I have come to bring you home home home - fan?

  • Repetition reveals the potential Scrooge had to love
  • Loss of family was due to his corruption by greed
• stave two: father is so much kinder - fan?

  • exclamatory sentence reveals her joy
  • Fan symbolises joy of family
• Stave three: jolly giant - ghost of Christmas present?

  • Represents plenty and everything, middle class readers have
  • Dressed like Father Christmas and holly in his crown references Jesus
  • Jolly suggests he wants to show Scrooge happiness in everything around him
• stave three: small atom of a bone - cratchits?

  • Atom shows how small their meal is highlighting their poverty and lack of wealth
  • Signifies their close bond
• stave three: threadbare clothes - cratchits?

  • Threadbare emphasises their poverty so poor they can’t afford new clothes despite their clothes being damaged
• stave three: I feel sorry for him - Fred?

  • Emotive language shows that despite the family making fun of Scrooge, Fred shows compassion towards Scrooge
• stave three: God bless us everyone! - tiny Tim?

  • Tim is symbolic of poor children in Victorian times that were victims of corruption despite his innocence
  • Speaking in this way, reveals him to be a Christ like figure as an innocent sacrifice
• Stave three: yellow meagre ragged scowling wolfish - narrator?

  • Semantic field of poverty is a hyperbolic description of ignorance and want
  • Emphasises the suffering of the poor
  • Animalistic language emphasise how the poor are dehumanised by the rich
• stave four: deep black garments - ghost of Christmas yet to come?

  • Symbolises warning, evil and mystery
  • Deep represents the intensity and the unknown
• stave five: I am light as a feather. I am as merry as a schoolboy - Scrooge?

  • Repetition of similes reference Scrooge’s joy
  • Scrooge is painted in a childlike manner, revealing his rebirth showing society that anyone can have a second chance
  • Light shows he is no longer burdened by his sins and is free to live a life of happiness
• stave five: make up the fire, Bob! - Scrooge?

  • Reference to fire reveals his changed heart and eagerness to learn more
  • Invite Bob into helping him in his rebirth
• stave five: he became as good friend as good master as good man as the good old city knew or any good old city - narrator?

  • good repetition reveals Scrooges permanent redemption
  • Scrooge becomes an allegorical symbol of change for Victorian Society
  • Any other good old city suggests that the novella is universal and is about any middle class member of society