scrooge stave 2

• foggy weather

  • “still foggy and extremely cold” — pathetic fallacy foreshadows how Scrooge will remain oblivious
  • fog prevents clear vision — akin to how Scrooge blinds himself from a pathway of redemption
  • fog may represent institutionalised oppression
  • Dickens subtly indicates oppression floods every crevice of London
  • weather is symbolic of change in Scrooge
  • “darkness and mist had vanished with it”
  • symbolises how with each ghost, Scrooge is gaining clarity, diminishing his own mental darkness
  • unlocking hopeful potential; the reader initially encountered him being an “oyster”
• rejection of redemption - “bright clear jet of light”

  • Ghost of Christmas Past is full of the “bright clear jet of light” creates iridescent image with “light“ and “bright”
  • ghost is trying to brighten Scrooge’s life through revelation + reminiscence
  • diction of clear reinforces clarity + revelation allowing him to reminisce and reflect on his past that has undeniably contributed to his present
• rejection of redemption - fire extinguisher 


  • Scrooge resists redemption
  • wants to extinguish the light of revelation
  • unable to confront pain of the past
  • “he seized the extinguisher cap by sudden action, pressed it down upon his head”
  • ‘cap’ connotes restriction - Scrooge wants to restrict and repress the past
  • he envies his young free spirit and regrets idolising money and covetousness
  • aggressive verb “pressed” paired with rapid adverb of “sudden” explorers how Scrooge is engulfed with deeply repressed emotion
  • act irrationally out of panic about facing suffered memories
  • unsuccessful in obstructing light - unsuccessful in obstructing redemption
• nostalgia

  • buoyant and infectious atmosphere of Fezziwig’s party; compound his nostalgia
  • “in came 6 six young followers. in came all the young men and women”
  • repetition of “in came” coupled by vivid description of an abundance of people arriving creates an atmosphere of entertaining chaos
  • reminds reader how it was a time where Scrooge immersed into society + social events
  • presented as having a warm welcoming ambience - when admiring the party unfold
  • “his heart and soul were in the scene and with his former self”
  • direct juxtaposition to cold presentation where the “cold had little influence“
• evoking pathos

  • first insight to a compassionate and benevolent scrooge
  • “i was bred in this place i was a boy here!”
  • exclamation sentence provides first insight into raw emotions
  • scrooge is not consciously repressing emotions and is momentarily liberated
  • contemporary readership would see “bred” with animalistic connotations
  • intensified pathos for scrooge
  • allusion to barbaric treatment as a child in a zoo
  • child exploitation and neglecting is typical trope
  • parallel language to stave 1 “a solitary child neglected by friends”
  • adjective highlights neglected state as a child has directly caused his lonesome adult existence
  • ghost pities his young self and makes scrooge recognise he was an extremely lonely boy
• dismantled marriage

  • younger self is described as “signs of care and avarice. there was an eager, greedy, restless motion in the eye”
  • avarice is a 7 deadly sin, condemned highly in victorian society
  • embodiment of sin foreshadows disintegration of marriage synonymous with greed
  • belles eyes “sparkled in the light“
  • motif of light to reinforce scrooge blindly ignored the beauty and vitality of others
  • materialistic pursuit left him seeking comfort in ”cheap darkness”
  • cannot face vitality and light
  • poignantly, breakdown of marriage was “a golden idol has displaced me”
  • golden connotes valuable and precious
  • ironic to indicate how scrooge was a microcosm of upper class