A CHRISTMAS CAROL

• "I will honour christmas in my heart" - Scrooge
• Scrooge changes from a a misanthropic miser to a philanthropic benefactor as he goes on a journey to redeem himself and save himself from purgatory. It is firstly presented when Marley comes as a warning to Scrooge of the consequences of being misanthropic. Dicken's does this through a cyclical narrative
• Victorian's were very religious so the ideology of purgatory scared them as the Bible says to repent
• In ACC, the supernatural is used to catalyse Scrooge's transformation
• Dickens uses religious doctrines to make ACC believable to the Victorian audience who were heavily religious. Dicken's does this to reach all audiences to spread his criticisms of society to improve society
• "yellow , meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish"
• "shrouded in a deep black garment"
• "The Spirit answered not, but pointed onwards with its hand"

  • supernatural is uncontrollable and mysterious
  • doesn't communicate in a usual way- links to how Victorians communicated with ghosts (ouija board, planchet)
• "I wear the chain I forged in life"

  • warning to Scrooge, unable to escape from consequences
  • Marley is trapped and is forced to ruminate over his decisions
  • emphasis on "I"- his own consequences not anyone else
• "there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see"

  • used to describe God, demonstrates that the spirits are linked to a religion- a saviour for Scrooge
• "This boy is ignorance. This girl is want"

  • despite being supernatural, entities have a significant impact on society
  • ignorance and want thriving in society can cause consequences for the poor