Christmas

• “A kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.”

  • Asyndetic list: Stacks up positive qualities to portray Christmas as a season of warmth and goodwill
  • Tone: Uplifting and sincere, Fred acts as a mouthpiece for Dickens’s own view of Christmas
  • Moral values: “Forgiving” and “charitable” link the holiday to Christian kindness, not just celebration
  • Effect: Dickens uses Fred to define what Christmas should be — generous, inclusive, and loving
• “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

  • Metaphor: “Honour Christmas in my heart” shows a deep, emotional commitment — it’s more than a date on a calendar
  • Promise of change: This quote represents Scrooge’s full transformation and acceptance of Christmas values
  • “All the year”: Suggests that the spirit of Christmas — kindness and generosity — should last beyond December
  • Effect: Dickens uses this line to show that Christmas is a mindset, not just a moment
• “It has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”

  • Repetition of “good”: Emphasises the positive, almost healing nature of Christmas
  • Exclamatory tone: Shows Fred’s genuine passion for the holiday
  • Spiritual blessing: Links Christmas to both emotional and moral goodness
  • Effect: Dickens presents Christmas as uplifting and morally enriching — it benefits those who embrace it
• “Every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding.”

  • Violent hyperbole: Humorous but harsh, showing how bitter and anti-Christmas Scrooge is at first
  • Ironic tone: Dickens exaggerates Scrooge’s negativity to make his later transformation more dramatic
  • Juxtaposition: The warmth of “Merry Christmas” clashes with the violence of his reaction
  • Effect: Dickens criticises those who reject Christmas cheer and generosity, setting up Scrooge as someone who needs saving