Christmas Carol

• STAVE 1 - Solitary...

  "Solitary as an oyster"

  SIMILE - 'solitary' shows that Scrooge is lonely although he seems to feel adequate in his solitude.

  'an oyster' implies Scrooge is softer on the inside but has a tough shell to hide it, a shell that takes a great effort to crack.
• STAVE 1 - A squeezing...

  "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!"

  ASYNDETIC LISTING - the long list of aggressive almost painful adjectives further exaggerates Scrooge's fear-inducing demeanor.
• STAVE 1 - Motif of weather/temperature


  "the cold within him froze his old features"

  "he carried his own low temperature always about with him"

  "cold had little influence on Scrooge"

  "no wind that blew was bitterer than he,"
• STAVE 1 - He was...

  "He was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled"

  
  

  Our first introduction to FRED Scrooge's nephew, his description greatly juxtaposes Scrooge's
• STAVE 1 - What right...

  " What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough."

  REPETITION - repetition of "have you to be merry" emphasises Scrooge's disbelief at the idea of being merry without money.
• STAVE 1 - What right...


  "What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough."

  SARCASM - FRED's use of sarcasm shows his childish nature and also further extends the list f ways he juxtaposes Scrooge.
• Scrooge: '"Are there no prisons?"'
• Scrooge: '"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?"'
• Scrooge: '"I can't afford to make idle people merry."'
• Scrooge: '"'If they would rather die,' said Scrooge, 'they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."'
• Scrooge's selfishness and disregard for the poor


  • Scrooge's language and disdain for the poor reflects many upper-class opinions of the time
  • Many people saw the poor as lazy people who didn't want to go to work and should be punished
• "SURPLUS POPULATION"


  This can be connected to the MALTHUSEAN THEORY that the supply of food cannot keep up with the growing population and that poor people are a waste of food/supplies
• STAVE 1 - Scrooge took...


  "Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern"

  REPETITION - emphasises just how lonely Scrooge is.
• STAVE 1 - not a...


  "Not a knocker, but, Marley's face."

  "Marley's face." "had a dismal light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar."

  SUPERNATURAL - Scrooge's first encounter with the supernatural, however, he brushes it off as "Pooh, pooh!"

  SIMILE - when lobsters have gone off and start to decompose, they sometimes attract bacteria that glows faintly.
• STAVE 1 - Darkness is cheap...


  "Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it."

  
  

  LIGHT SYMBOLISM - Scrooge likes darkness because he is too miserly to pay for candles. However, this phrase also has a symbolic meaning -- light symbolises goodness and truth, something which Scrooge finds difficult to face.