A Christmas Carol

• Poverty inequality between social classes: Portly Gentlemen (to Scrooge): “Many thousands are in want of common necessaries”  Thousands of people in Victorian England lacked basic essentials including food and shelter. AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:Scrooge & Portly Gentlemen: “Are there no prisons?” “Plenty of prisons…” hintwhat were prisons used for?what was a Victorian society view on poverty?Dickens context?" " prisons are usually reserved for criminals in some sections of Victorian society poverty may as well have been a crime destitute were looked upon as if they had done something wrong and aspersions were made about their character.    Dickens’ father was sent to prison for debt resulting in Dickens having to drop out of school and take a job and a blacking factory." AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:Scrooge to Portly Gentlemen: ““TheTreadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour then?""what was the poor law?what happened in these places?for some there was a choice to....." " The Poor Law stated that poor people would be sent to a work house and made to work for food and shelter. They were often treated poorly and were made to work tirelessly for a subsistence diet of very little food.  For some there was a choice to starve to death quickly outside the workhouse or slowly within it. " AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:Scrooge to Portly Gentlemen: “If they would rather die… they had better do it and decrease the surplus population…”hintsparroting who?what did this person believe in? - and what was this akawhy does dickens do this?"  Scrooge = parroting ideas of Thomas Malthus society was overpopulated & population would always exceed available resources. Malthus believed the population would self-regulate in order to survive through some having access to resources (e.g. food shelter) and others not having this. Effectively an argument for natural selection or ‘the survival of the fittest’. Dickens has Scrooge put forward these ideas to show how cruel these ideas sound – he is critical of them.  AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:Two young Cratchits (to Martha): “There’s such a goose Martha!”" children easily impressed – a meagre goose is an unimaginable feast to them.  AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:Narrator: ““Its tenderness ""and flavour size and cheapness were the themes of universal admiration” ”" cheapness is put on a par with tenderness and flavour when judging the impressiveness of the goose. showing the Cratchit family priorities AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:Narrator: ""nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family.It would have been flat heresy to""" The Cratchits are incredibly grateful for their Christmas meal. They would never criticise it or think of themselves as unlucky. AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:The Ghost of Christmas Present (to Scrooge):: “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both but most of all beware this boy""societywarning" Victorian society has ignored and mistreated the poor. The Ghost gives ominous warning of consequences if this continues. AnalyseACCquote
• Poverty inequality between social classes:Narrator (on a struggling family that owed Scrooge money): ""it was a happier house for this man’s death!""" The only relief is in Scrooge dying as it buys them some time. A sad sign of just how desperate they are and how scared AnalyseACCquote
• GreedPortly Gentlemen (to Scrooge): “We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner” Irony. Scrooge is just as liberal and generous as his dead business partner which is to say not at all!  AnalyseACCquote
• GreedScrooge (to Bob Cratchit): “A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” Scrooge sees Christmas as a poor reason for him to lose money. At the beginning of the novella he has forgotten that Christmas is a time for generosity and celebration.  AnalyseACCquote
• GreedNarrator: "darkness is cheap and Scrooge liked it """ Scrooge is miserly and does not spend money unless he has to. He eats and lives cheaply. Although it is important to him to be successful in business he does not use this money to make his life any more comfortable.  AnalyseACCquote
• GreedMarley: “I wear the chain I forged in life…” Marley’s sins have resulted in him being cursed in death with the chains that he is now trapped in having got longer and longer as he continued to live in a greedy and immoral way. He is unable to find peace in the afterlife because of the sins he committed in life.  AnalyseACCquote
• GreedMarley: "Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business""" There were things Marley should have focused on other than making money but he was unaware of this at the time and did not act accordingly. This has come back to bite him and he warns Scrooge not to repeat his mistakes.   AnalyseACCquote
• GreedBelle: "“the master-passion Gain engrosses you”" Belle says that Scrooge’s true passion is gain. This means that he always wants more and is never content with what he has.  AnalyseACCquote
• GreedFred (to his guests): “His wealth is of no use to him. He don’t do any good with it."Fred points out that.................Scrooge sees....................             -----> he doesn't use it to........................................." Fred points out that Scrooge’s lifestyle does not help him or anyone else. Scrooge sees money as a commodity to be collected.He does not use it to make himself or others happier or to bring about change.  AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalNarrator: “Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail."" Simile; Marley is definitely dead. Makes it even more shocking when he appears as a ghost. AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalNarrator: the spectre’s voice disturbed the very marrow in his bones " spectre = marleyThe weather gets steadily worse as Scrooge heads home during Stave One. Pathetic fallacy foreshadows dramatic and frightening events to come (meeting marley/other ghosts) AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalMarley to Scrooge: “You will be haunted… by three ghosts”   Marley informs Scrooge that he will be visited three times. These visits will give him the chance to change his life. If he should fail to do this the consequences will be severe – worse than those already being experienced by Marley.  AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalGhost of Christmas Past (to Scrooge): “Bear but a touch of my hand there… and you shall be upheld in more than this!”  The spirits consistently demonstrate their power to Scrooge. The usual laws of logic and reason do not apply to them. Scrooge is unable to challenge or refuse them – he must do as they ask and follow where they lead.  AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalGhost of Christmas Present (to Scrooge): “charge their doings on themselves not us”Scrooge questions?Ghost denies?Society must answer for? When Scrooge questions the closing of businesses shops etc. on Sundays in the name of the Lord and the effect that this has on poor people the Ghost denies that this has anything to do with his kind.Ghost refuses to take responsibility for any harm or wrongdoing committed by mankind. Society must answer for its own actions and not blame a higher power for the inequalities and injustices that exist AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalNarrator: a solemn Phantom draped and hooded-esque?- association?- physical appearance? The final ghost a Grim Reaper-esque figure is the most frightening of the four ghosts.Reapers are associated with death and the harvesting of souls. The physical appearance of this last spirit is deliberately intimidating and shows Scrooge a dark and tragic path if he refuses to change his ways. AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalNarrator: Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him and he found that he could hardly stand(similar to other card) The final ghost a Grim Reaper-esque figure is the most frightening of the four ghosts.Reapers are associated with death and the harvesting of souls. The physical appearance of this last spirit is deliberately intimidating and shows Scrooge a dark and tragic path if he refuses to change his ways. AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalNarrator: had no more power to withdraw the veil than to dismiss the spectre at his side.Scrooge is unable to.........this shows his.......he wishes to...... Scrooge is unable to bring himself face to face with his own dead body....this not only shows his fear but also his revulsion with his behaviour and its consequencesHe wishes to avoid the finality of death at all costs perhaps because he has already learnt from Marley that a terrible fate awaits him in the afterlife – he doesn’t want confirmation that the corpse is his own before he has established that he can bring about change. AnalyseACCquote
• The supernaturalScrooge: “The spirits have done it all in one night."" Again Dickens highlights the power of the spirits showing that they have manipulated time in order to show Scrooge what needed to be seen before Christmas morning.   AnalyseACCquote
• FamilyScrooge: “What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.” Fred:… “What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”Fred compared to ScroogeScrooge.....Fred...... Fred is very different to Scrooge. He is a joyful and generous man who values Christmas. Scrooge looks down on him for this but Fred rejects this judgement and stands up for his beliefs turning Scrooge’s own logic back on him.  AnalyseACCquote
• FamilyScrooge to Fred: “Because you fell in love!” growled Scrooge as if that were the only one thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas.  Scrooge’s relationship with Belle has affected him. ......Over time his heart has hardened and he has become cynical about love. His emotions soften as he goes through his journey. He develops caring feelings towards the Cratchits and his nephew and is touched by many of the things that he sees.  AnalyseACCquote
• FamilyBelle to Scrooge: “Our contract is an old one. It was made when we were both poor and content to be so… you are changed”  Scrooge is no longer the man he was when he and Belle fell in love.His greed has consumed and changed him leading her to resent their relationship and seek to end it AnalyseACCquote
• FamilyPeter (to his family on Bob Cratchit): “I think he’s walked a little slower than he used these few last evenings mother.”  Bob is devastated by the loss of his son. As readers we are given a small insight into his terrible grief. We sympathise with Bob who is always presented as a benevolent and innocent character doing his best for everyone around him. AnalyseACCquote
• FamilyNarrator (on Bob Cratchit): He broke down all at once "Again the reader sympathises deeply with Bob in his grief.Dickens exacerbates this by reminding the reader of how good a father Bob is and how close he was to Tiny Tim – the death has hit him as hard as it has because of just how much Bob loved his son. " AnalyseACCquote
• ChristmasScrooge (to Fred): “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart”  Scrooge associates Christmas with.......he sees it as...... and.... Scrooge associates celebrating Christmas with stupidity and foolishness. He sees it as a waste of time and an inconvenience to others. AnalyseACCquote
• ChristmasNarrator: “yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad”  Christmas makes everyone happy!  AnalyseACCquote
• ChristmasNarrator: “for it is good to be children sometimes and never better than at Christmas” Christmas is a time for reinvesting in the magical. It is a time to embrace one’s inner child to celebrate and to have fun. These were all things that Scrooge was missing out on  but he begins to be excited by Christmas as the novella goes on.   AnalyseACCquote
• Time and ConsequencesMarley to Scrooge: “Or would you know,' pursued the Ghost, “the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself?" .... ""It is a ponderous chain!""Marley lets Scrooge know the..........+ time?Scrooge's only hope is.........................." Marley lets Scrooge know the consequences awaiting him are far worse than even those that Marley has suffered. Scrooge was already as guilty as Marley seven years ago – he has had an additional seven years to commit more sins and make things even worse for himself. Each day that Scrooge lives without changing his ways the situation will worsen. Scrooge’s only hope is a complete transformation – he must change in order to save himself from eternal torment. AnalyseACCquote
• Time and ConsequencesMarley to Scrooge: “…you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. "care?opportunity?" Marley is shown to care for Scrooge and to care about what happens to him. He creates this opportunity for Scrooge to save his former business partner from repeating his mistakes and suffering the same fate.  AnalyseACCquote
• Time and ConsequencesGhost of Christmas Present (to Scrooge): “If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.”Scrooge holds......if he doesn't...........................TT death will be on...................... (and probably .....................)TT & Scrooge's ...................................................... (in saving himself.........................) Scrooge holds the life of a child in his hands – if he does not reform himself Tiny Tim’s death will be on his conscience and also probably on the list of mortal crimes that he is to be held accountable for. Tiny Tim’s fate and Scrooge’s fate are intertwined – in saving himself it is suggested that he will automatically save Tiny Tim and prevent all of the pain that would accompany his passing AnalyseACCquote
• Time and ConsequencesGhost of Christmas Present (to Scrooge): "It may be that in the sight of Heaven you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man’s child""Reminded of comment....Dickens wants to critise..... -> he does this by .............................................. -> moral question.................... -> Dickens: those who have ......................... shouldn't............................." " Scrooge is reminded that of his earlier comments about the “surplus population”. Dickens wanted to criticise the Thomas Malthus' /malthusian idea and show how cruel it was he does this by attaching a face and a name to the cruel idea of survival of the fittest. This poses an important moral question – how could it ever be decided who deserves to live and who deserves to die Dickens: those who have done well in a vicious and competitive society should not be so quick to judge the poor for being so numerous/their “failings”.  " AnalyseACCquote
• Time and ConsequencesNarrator: A churchyard… It was a worthy place.... overrun by grass and weed the growth of vegetation’s death not life. The churchyard is not a pleasant place. It is neglected and little or no money has been spent to make it more pleasant or more comfortable. A fitting final resting place for the final resting place of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.  AnalyseACCquote
• Time and ConsequencesNarrator: read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name EBENEZER SCROOGEScrooge is forced to.....This is ...... Scrooge is forced to face his own mortality. This is clear and unambiguous: if he continues he will die alone and uncared for. His grave is neglected – there is no one to visit him.  AnalyseACCquote
• ChangeScrooge (to xmas past): “There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given him something that’s all.” This is one of the first times where Scrooge shows regret towards one of his past actions. He attempts to minimise this by using the tag “that’s all” almost as if he is shrugging off the feeling or doesn’t want to draw excessive attention to it. There are definite signs of change at this point but they’re slower and more begrudging. As the novella goes on Scrooge increasingly buys into the message of the spirits and the magic of Christmas becoming less circumspect in the way that he talks about changing his life.   AnalyseACCquote