Ghost of Christmas past

• Juxtaposition between "child and "old man"


  Metaphorical for Scrooge
• Scrooge appears physically alike to an "old man" yet is vulnerable and isolated akin to how he was a "child"
• This underpins the interconnectedness of time, emphasising that the past inevitably shapes the present and influences the future
• By revisiting Scrooge's childhood

  The ghost aims to catalyse a regression setting him on the path to redemption
• The mixture of both youth and age was a fascination within the Victorian era- their emphasis on the youth of children caused a parallel interest to those of older ages
• “Bright clear jet of light” (Stave 2)

  Motif of light permeates the novella as light evokes images of hope and radiance symbolising a beacon of enlightment tasked with illuminating Scrooge

  “purest” celestial image of heaven and purity from sin

  foreshadowing scrooges spiritual journey towards moral transformation and redemption whilst emphasising the theme of forgiveness