Marley

• “Mankind was by business” (Stave 1)


  Economical language as Marley served as Dickens’s first mouthpiece Using economical language to critique society’s obsession with material wealth and the relentless Pursuit of profit

  Foreshadowing the grim fate awaiting Scrooge if he fails to learn from the eternal punishment of Marley: being reduced to more economic terms upon his death

  Syntax: in terms of syntax, “mankind” preceded “business” indicating the hierarchal order of values that Scrooge, and by extension society should prioritise
• “I wear the chains I forged in life… made it link by link”


  Symbolism of chains: made of links which are interconnecting, alike to how he is warning Scrooge that his covetousness is interconnected to his anguish.

  chain also symbolises restriction and entrapment through Marley “dragging“ his chain is a conceit for the restricting and eternal consequences of being parsimonious

  personal pronoun: use of “I” implies Marley acknowledges his own remorse and the consequences of his own personal and selfish pursuit of material wealth, leading to his eternal and spiritual poverty