Marley

• It was made of cashboxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds and heavy purses wrought in steel


  They are all indicative of the heavy objects weighing the ghost down and restricting him from freedom in his movement. Each object represents a sin he committed in life. He must drag steel symbols of his greed in afterlife. There is a semantic field of money
• I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link and yard by yard...my own free will


  Metaphorical. He breathed in money which made his chains. This is not something that is imposed on people in afterlife, rather they face the consequences of their actions. This links to the religious context of the Victorian Era. All Christians have a free will, they have a choice. Dickens challenges the stereotypical Christian society that some people do not learn from their mistakes
• Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face


  Emphasises how petrified Scrooge is off the ghost. He can't even physically stand as he is coming to terms with its existence
• Or would you know, the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself


  Prompts Scrooge to think about his own actions. Scrooge has lived 7 more years than Marley which shows that he would have more sins
• My spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money changing hole


  Marley knew nothing except of the lifestyle of obtaining money. Suggests that this way of living would mean that you would end up in a chained state of his. He has to be tortured in afterlife
• Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business


  The poor choices that Marley made are now haunting him in afterlife. Dickens attempts to show the ignorant upper class that their actions have consequences. He is desperately filled with remorse over his actions. This links to the fruit of the spirits from the bible. He did not have good Christian qualities
• Incoherent sounds of lamentation and regret


  Voices of other ghosts like Marley. The adjectives here reinforce how they are forced to feel in the afterlife because of their actions
• Marley was as dead as a door nail Stave 1


  The simile embedded by Dickens right at the onset of the novella foreshadows the arrival of Marley's ghost and other spirits throughout the novella. The fact that it is repeated suggests that this is a crucial element of the story and Dickens wanted the reader to focus on
• Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator etc


  The repetition of 'sole' communicates to the reader the solitary life that Marley led. In Victorian society, a large proportion of the upper class were only acquaintances with people who could benefit them socially and economically. Marley and Scrooge were nothing more than business partners
• There is no doubt that Marley was dead


  The narrator re-emphasises Marley's dead state as if they are almost anticipating the reader's scepticism
• If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlets father...


  Dickens inter textually references Act 1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the play, Hamlet's father comes back to warn him which foreshadows the arrival of Marley's ghost and the effect it will have on Scrooge
• There was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door


  Dickens wants the reader to know that the door knocker is completely ordinary
• Not a knocker but Marley's face.


  The first supernatural apparition is Marley's face in the door knocker. It foreshadows his arrival as a ghost and the other supernatural beings that visit Scrooge. It may not be Marley's face however, Scrooge might be hallucinating. This is true of the gothic nature
• dragging a heavy chain


  This phrase holds heavy Christian symbolism, the chains represent how heavy Marley's chains are and how much of a burden they are. This could also mean that Marley is currently in the state of Purgatory, the chains are dragging him towards hell. It is a wake up call for Scrooge
• Though he felt the chilling influence of his death cold eyes


  Nothing can chill Scrooge as exemplified at the beginning of the novella. Here the phantom has an effect on Scrooge which shows his gradual change. He is a three dimensional character. The word 'it' suggests that he is something else altogether, far from any human traits. The compound adjective 'death cold' suggests that Marley feels no emotions as he is in a state of purgatory
• dismal and appalling noise


  Marley's Ghost uses his chains as a tool of intimidation towards Scrooge
• Ghost, Spirit, Apparition


  The different noun phrases used to describe Marley's Ghost are typical of the Gothic genre. It instills horror
• if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death


  Marley's Ghost warns Scrooge that he will face eternal punishment if he does not change. He has not been admitted to hell yet. The spirit has to roam the Earth which is their version of hell
• Drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business


  This is a metaphor embedded by Dickens to highlight to the audience that to Marley and the rest of the upper class, money should not be the main priority. There are vast number of other things that need to be taken care of