Fire quote

• Scrooge: 'Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal.'
• The quotation reveals that although Scrooge is a rich man, he does not live like one. He clearly doesn't view warmth and comfort as a necessity, highlighting the poor working conditions he forces Bob Cratchit to work in.
• Motif of fire


  Throughout the novel, the motif of fire is used to symbolise emotional warmth
• The idea that the fires are small in the counting house reflects that there is little warmth and compassion for others in Scrooge's workplace.
• Note how fire is used throughout the rest of the novel: The fire is stacked up at Fezziwig's party, the Cratchits are always together around the fire at home, Fred is described with a semantic field of light and fire...all of these characters are fails to Scrooge.