Characters

• Ebeneezer Scrooge


  Character used by Dickens to criticise the divide between those who have money, and those who do not
• We follow the change in the character of Scrooge


  We learn as a reader that we can change too
• Repetition of 'sole'


  • Emphasises the solitary nature of the lives led by Scrooge and Marley
• Scrooge is described with the simile 'Hard and sharp as flint'
• 'Hard'


  Suggests Scrooge lacks warmth, empathy and compassion
• 'Sharp'


  Suggests pain, implying Scrooge has no mercy towards others
• Comparison with 'flint'


  Dickens might be implying there is the potential for a spark of warmth within Scrooge, who might yet change
• Scrooge is described with the simile 'solitary as an oyster'


  Suggests Scrooge has a tough, hard exterior and is closed to others, but there may be more to be discovered within him
• Dickens uses humour in relation to Scrooge's character
• Scrooge: 'You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!'
• Dickens deliberately uses word play with the pun on 'grave' and 'gravy'


  To make Scrooge's character less two-dimensional and more likely for the reader to engage with and celebrate his transformation
• When visiting Scrooge's old school, the Ghost describes Scrooge as a 'solitary child, neglected by his friends'


  The juxtaposition of 'neglected' with 'friends' develops the reader's empathy towards Scrooge
• When Scrooge 'sobbed' in response to the Ghost noting the young Scrooge's neglect, the reader understands that empathy and compassion have the power to elicit an emotional response from Scrooge
• Dickens reminds us that Scrooge's attitude is changing when the Ghost of Christmas Present appears
• Dickens signals an important moment in Scrooge's character arc when he shows empathy towards Tiny Tim
• Dickens employs statements (declarative sentences) when Scrooge vows to 'honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.'
• Dickens employs more similes to describe the change in Scrooge: 'I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy'
• The simile 'as light as a feather' leads the reader to infer that Scrooge has cast off the chains of his earlier way of life


  Feathers connote freedom and flight, implying that he is closer to Heaven than he was previously
• Scrooge has become a better person, and we, the readers, are left with the understanding that people can change
• Society is a better place if we all look out for one another
• Jacob Marley


  Scrooge's dead business partner
• Marley is the first Ghost to appear to Scrooge
• Dickens firmly establishes that Marley is dead in the opening line: 'Marley was dead: to begin with'
• The words 'Marley's Ghost' promise a supernatural treat and create anticipation
• 'A Christmas Carol' is a story of time-travel, moving around from the present to the past, present to other locations in the present, present to the future and then back to the present
• Marley's visit explains that there will be three more Spirits for Scrooge to learn from
• Dickens uses repetition to emphasise the fact that Marley has passed away
• Dickens develops the theme of the supernatural and begins to create tension when Scrooge first sees an apparition of Marley's face on Scrooge's door knocker
• Marley's Ghost


  • Wearing a chain made of 'cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses'
  • These items symbolise his greed during his life
• Marley's appearance


  Serves as the first warning to Scrooge that he too could be punished for his greed with money and lack of social responsibility if he fails to change his self-centred ways
• Dickens hints at religious reasons for Marley's torment, referencing the Catholic belief in Purgatory
• Dickens's use of the verb 'doomed' implies that Marley has in fact been judged and condemned to 'wander the world' and he has no hope of going to Heaven
• Marley clearly regrets his actions of caring for profit, not people, when he was alive
• Marley's statement 'Mankind was my business'


  Scrooge has just referred to business in the office; Marley uses the word 'business' to tell Scrooge (and, by default, the reader) that we must all look after one another
• Dickens describes Scrooge as Marley's 'sole friend', highlighting how lonely they were in pursuit of money
• Marley was also the 'sole mourner' at his own funeral, emphasising the solitary nature of their work and how Scrooge and Marley were concerned only with their own profits, not with their relationships with others
• Dickens uses Marley as his mouthpiece to emphasise the importance of social responsibility and the need to look after family, friends and employees
• By using the concept of Purgatory, Dickens suggests that it is the Christian duty of his readers to help others