A Christmas carol

• “It matters little…to you very little”


  Scrooges former lover

  Her sensitivity and warmth makes Scrooges isolation more painful.

  Sibilane of ‘she said softly’ conveys her gentleness and warmth.Contrasts with Scrooges hard and coldness as he chose money over her.

  She is a new relationship while Scrooge is “quite alone in the world
• ”Another idol has displaced me“


  Scrooges ex lover

  The symbolism of ‘idol’ suggests Scrooges worships money as if it were his religion.

  ’Displaced me’ infers Scrooges believes he can trade and replace people as if they objects
• “Mankind was my business.The common welfare was my business”


  Marley’s Ghost

  Marley only realises After death that ’mankind’ is more important than money.It is too late for him but Scrooge can still be saved.

  The repetition of business emphasises it’s foolish to value finances over mankind
• “sole executor, sole administrator… his sole friend, his sole mourner”


  MARLEY’S GHOST

  • sentence structure - “friend“ and “mourner” come after list of official terms. Shows Marley and Scrooge valued business over everything
  • repetition of “sole“ emphasises isolation of Scrooge
  • ”executor“ - list of official terms is formal with no intimacy or closeness
  • sentence structure - ends with “mourner” to show Scrooge is completely alone now
• “A long, bare, melancholy room… a lonely boy was reading near a feeble fire”


  1st Ghost

  • Shows Scrooge had a painful childhood - his attitude isn’t his fault
  • ”long, bare, melancholy” - mimics Scrooges sad and lonely childhood
  • Alliteration - Dickens uses “feeble fire” to make it sound pathetic. Makes reader feel sympathy despite him treating bob cratchit this way
• “It might be a claw… it brought two children; wretched, frightful, hideous, miserable“


  2nd Ghost

  • Scrooge is learning his lesson and sees brutal reality of ignorance and greed
  • Personification - “want“ and “ignorance“ help Scrooge see effects of his ways
  • ”Claw” - reflects Scrooges actions have led children to be nothing more than animal. Also creates image of starving children suffering from poverty, clawing for food
  • juxtaposition - Children are innocent juxtaposed with effects of society
• “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy …. Hallo there! Whoop!


  Scrooge

  • Scrooge has absolute joy - he has changed and redeemed himself
  • Language - Scrooge always spoke formally, cries of “Whoop!” Are human, natural’ Joyous and informal
  • Similie - “angel” and “schoolboy” highlight his new found innocent and joy.
  • “Light“ and “happy” shows A great burden has been lifted and ”merry” Shows love and Christmas spirit
• “Solitary as an oyster”


  Oysters are hard with a pearl on the inside. Shows Scrooge is hard to open, secretive and isolated. Also foreshadows he can be happy and joyous if he were to be ‘opened’
• ”Hard and sharp as flint”


  Suggest he is a cold, mean, private person. ”Flint“ shows he is hard hearted yet also sharp and angry.
• “Are there no prisons”


  Shows he is cold and uncaring of others. Would rather people be sent to prison then him helping them
• “Remove me! I cannot bear it”


  Scrooge regrets caring more about money than relationships
• “If they had rather die “


  Scrooge would rather people die then him help them
• Context 


  Victorian era

  Dickens was concerned about lower class and criticises upper class and Industrial Revolution

  Large gap between upper and lower class

  Child labour

  Lots of poverty and disease
• Fezzywig


  Foil character to Scrooge
• “Odious, Stingy, hard feeling man”


  Bob Cratchit taking about Scrooge
• “Dear dear brother… I have come to bring you home!… Home home home!”


  Fan

  • Love and family was once part of Scrooges life.He was not born full of hatred, it grew over time
  • Repetition of “dear” shows intimacy and love
  • repetition of “home” shows welcome
  • Shows Scrooge is not heartless as he becomes a “second father“ to Tiny Tim who is similar to Fan, “tiny” and “little”