stave 3

• “jolly Giant’

  ‘glowing torch, in shape not unlike Plenty’s horn’

  ‘open hand’

  ‘sparkling eyes”


  Symbol ‘Plenty’s horn’: symbolic of the abundance of food and wealth open to society = challenging Malthusian attitudes and Dickens’ theory that it is society’s lack of will to redistribute wealth in society

  Adjective ‘open’: generosity contrasts to Scrooge’s ‘tight fist’ in Stave 1

  Motif: light = enlightenment and knowledge and the ‘sparkling’ eyes mirror the description of Fred in Stave 1
• “as good as gold’

  ‘iron frame’

  ‘withered little hand’

  ‘carefully preserved’


  Simile highlights the value that Tiny Tim brings to his family.

  The physically disabled, saintly child is a stock character in Victorian literature which elicits sympathy and support for Dickens’ moral message

  Symbol ‘iron frame’: what is there to support Tiny Tim traps him – his disability casts him as ‘surplus’

  Adjective ‘withered’ = premature aging, frailty and death.

  Connects with the ‘shrivelled hand of age’ that also links W&I to premature death

  Adverb ‘carefully’ and verb ‘preserved’ reflects the power and love of TT. If Scrooge does not change, Tiny Tim will die.
• “begged like a boy to be allowed to stay’

  “at home in five minutes’ - STAVE 5


  Simile: Scrooge is acting like his old, childlike self before he was consumed and blinded by avarice. The verb ‘begged’ reveals his desperation to stay and continue Christmas with Fred’s family. The temporal phrase ‘five minutes’ = A supportive

  family is instrumental in the development and reminds us that family should be seen as paramount in society – forgiveness is swift as family is so important. In Stave One, Scrooge said he

  would rather see Fred in ‘hell’: now he has literally saved himself from eternal damnation through his redemption
• “foldings of its robe’

  ‘yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish’

  ‘claw’ ‘shrivelled”

  Symbol ‘robe’: By placing W&I behind the robe it reminds us how the poor and suffering are hidden from society, swept aside and ignored. The adjectives in this asyndetic list highlight

  the sickness and suffering experienced by those most vulnerable. The animalistic imagery ‘wolfish’ and ‘claw’ reflects the ignorance of men like Scrooge, reducing the poor and children to nothing but animals. The adjective ‘shrivelled’ with

  its connotations of decay and death exposes that it is poverty which destroys innocence and life. This adjective connects with another childhood victim of poverty: Tiny Tim’s ‘withered’ hand earlier in the Stave.

  Motif: children = innocence juxtaposed with what society does to them physically and mentally.
• W&I -

  societal issues of poverty and the lack of education and resources for the poor, highlighting the consequences of societal indifference.