Scrooge

• 'a solitary child, neglected by his friends' - Scrooge
• Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire


  -Adjective 'Hard' suggests Scrooge lacks compassion and empathy

  -Adjective 'sharp' suggests pain and that Scrooge has no mercy for people

  -'Flint' has the ability to light fire and create warmth, hinting at his ability to change
• 'External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, nor wintry winter chill him'


  -Scrooge lives an isolated self-contained life

  -Not even the cold effects him because he has a 'cold' heart

  -Scrooge made the decision to not let external factors, including the weather, influence him

  -His coldness keeps people away from him which benefits his anti-social demeanor
• 'As solitary as an oyster'


  -Scrooge is lonely and does not want to associate or open up to anyone

  -He bottles up emotions and refuses to make connections with people

  -Foreshadows change (oysters contain pearls) and journey of redemption
• 'Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend and his sole mourner'


  -Repitition of sole presents scrooge as lonely and obnoxious, he has witnessed what occurs when disliked people die, yet continues his miserly ways.

  -Dickens draws comparisons between Marley and Scrooge - highlighting ramifications of greed and capitalism

  -Foreshadows Scrooges lonely death if the lessons arent learnt
• Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!


  -Metaphor representing scrooges old fashioned ways (Grindstone is old for Victorians)

  -He has not evolved emotionally or morally

  -Covetous has religious connotations (Thou shalt not covet) suggesting Scrooge isn't religious and knows he is sinning and continues to do so.

  -Scrooge is presented as the antithesis of generosity

  -7 adjectives listed could represent 7 deadly sins
• I cant afford to make idle people merry


  -Scrooges words to the charity collectors

  -'Idle' reveals Scrooge believes the poor are lazy and they are to blame for their own situation

  -Mirrors victorian societies attitude towards the poor

  -'Cant afford' displays his misplaced priorities as he can, he hoards money, only eating cheap foods like 'gruel' and depriving himself of any luxuries despite having the wealth to do so.
• 'If they would rather die, they had better do so and decrease the surplus population'


  -Reference to Malthus' idea that population decrease would improve conditions. Dickens was openly against this idea and criticised it.

  -Reflects many upper-class Victorians views of the poor at the time

  -Scrooge has no sympathy for the poor, and views them as a burden on society, as it is their fault
• 'Humbug! but stopped at the first syllable.'


  -Scrooge was going to dismiss the apparition of Marley after he had left.

  -Unwillingness to continue the negative sentence displays Marley's impact on Scrooge's redemption

  -Shows his active decision to redeem himself, however could also just be tiredness.
• 'He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town or borough, in the good old world'


  -Dickens ends the novella with the idea that anyone can be redeemed if they are willing.

  -Repetition of 'Good' and 'Old' also now describe Scrooge, contrasting to the beginning of the novella