Christmas Spirit

• ‘He was all in glow:His face was ruddy and handsome;his eyes sparkled’- Foil to Scrooge and just like Scrooges cold heart is reflected in his physical coldness, Fred’s physical warmth reflects his warm heart.He is the physical embodiment of showcasing the Christmas Spirit
• 'I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!'- Fred's view of Christmas.When Scrooge asks what 'good' Christmas does, it is clear that he is thinking of monetary good - while Fred is thinking of kindness and goodness. Dickens is juxtaposing the two views of the same word so that we side with the views advocated by Fred,and his side advocates the Christmas Spirit
• ‘open their shut-up hearts freely,and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave,and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys’- ’fellow passengers‘ emphasises the idea of the transience of life- we all die some day so we are more similar than different. ‘Creatures’-show how rich views poor as less human but Dickens shows readers that this is untrue so the laws for them should be changed
• ’and the clerk....went down a slide on Cornhill…twenty times,in honour of its being Christmas Eve,and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt’- Though Bob was in poverty,he had Christmas Spirit as he wasn’t alluded by wealth to forget the importance of Christmas time and he was grateful unlike Scrooge
• ’No more work,tonight.Christmas Eve,Dick.Christmas,Ebenezer!’- Encouraging employees to go home and celebrate Christmas(contrast to Scrooge).Repetition shows Fezziwig as a festive character and use of simple sentences shows his passion and treatment towards his employees.He can used to portray the idealised middle class man who treats his workers with dignity and respect as Dickens wanted to close the gap between working/middle class
• ‘There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town,and yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad'
• ’For the people who were shovelling away on the housetops were jovial and full of glee…laughing heartily if it went right,and not less heartily if it went wrong’
• ’For the people who were shovelling away on the housetops were jovial and full of glee…laughing heartily if it went right,and not less heartily if it went wrong’
• ’the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day'
• ’And it was a very uncommon kind of torch,for once or twice when there were angry words between…shed a few drops of water on them from it,and their good humour was restored directly’
• ’Mrs. Cratchit, Cratchit’s wife,dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown,but brave in ribbons’(makes an effort despite not having much)
• ’they found a cheerful company assembled round a glowing fire’
• ’But even here,two men who watched the light had made a fire,that through the loophole in the thick stone wall shed out a ray of brightness on the awful sea’
• ’I think,that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm....I mean to give him the same chance every year, whether he likes it or not, for I pity him.’- Christmas Spirit causes Fred to invite Scrooge every year as that is what Christmas is all about,helping those who are less fortunate and although Scrooge isn’t physically in poverty,some could argue that he is mentally in poverty and in need
• ’I will honour Christmas in my heart,and try to keep it all the year’- Dickens view on Christmas and he uses Scrooge as the voice behind this as he believed that society should do what they do at Christmas all year round.He made Scrooge say this to gain the attention of the employers who read his book as this would help them to make change to their own lives
• ’I am as light as a feather,I am as happy as an angel,I am as merry as a schoolboy.I am as giddy as a drunken man.A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world!’- Affects of having Christmas Spirit results in happiness
• ’A merrier Christmas,Bob,my good fellow,than I have given you for many a year!I’ll raise your salary,and endeavour to assist your struggling family’-Scrooge helping would take them out of poverty and is embodied by the Christmas Spirit
• ’it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge’- The actions of the Ghosts helped him to change and carry Christmas Spirit
• ‘shaking hands with every person individually as he or she went out, wished him or her a Merry Christmas.'- Treat everyone the same,no matter status.Dickens use them to show what employers should be like. ‘Individually’ shows the humanity they greet everyone with as they don’t see the poor as ‘creatures’ like Victorian Society