I defy himif he finds me going there, in good temper, year after year, and saying, Uncle Scrooge, how are you? If it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, thats something. The childhood innocence has been 'shrivelled' and 'twisted' showing the ill effects of their treatment. Ideas about purgatory and hell would have been recognisable to the mainly Christian readership at the time - and would have made the allegory more frightening. This shows that scrooge is only hurting himself by being so money orientated it doesnt affect his family but does himself. This quote shows Ebenezer Scrooge's miserly, miserable attitude toward Christmas at the opening of the story; he is obsessed with his money and has no time for festivities, family, or joy. Stave 2 - the Fezziwig's party For example, the first ghost is a metaphor for how memories and the past shape ones experience, while the last ghost is a metaphor for death and ones legacy. This is the image of rich men who are shown to ridicule Scrooge after his death.The rich are presented as unfeeling and callous- their physical ugliness reflects the lack of generosity in their spirits. The adjective 'common' shows the reader that the poor only want those things which should be normal and available for all - the 'common' things rather than luxuries. His house is dark - which reflects the darkness in his character and also adds to the gothic atmosphere of his house. The multiple similes emphasise Scrooge's joy and elation at his second chance. This is one of Freds lines, and it really helps to highlight the difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle. This phrase is repeated to describe both Mrs Crarchit and her daughter. A Christmas Carol: The Ghost of Christmas Present Quotes - SparkNotes The dying fire at the beginning of the novel symbolizes Scrooges lack of either. They often came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did. This use of listing to describe everything as 'good' helps to demonstrate the far reaching consequences of Scrooge's redemption. He has learned his lesson and been transformed from darkness into light - which is reflected in the world around him. Here, we get the image of a country that is united during this time of year; a place where Christmas and Britishness are inextricably linked, which would have been incredibly popular for a Victorian audience who were in the throws of empire building. "The cold within him froze his old features", Early description of scrooge. We are reminded of the contrast between the rendered status. This has a double meaning both as a sympathetic term of endearment and also the fact that thanks to Scrooge the man is literally poor. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them. Here, readers are exposed to the ghost of Christmas yet to come. The ghost breaks the news to Scrooge that the person whose death has been talked about so callously was his own. The simile has connotations of stillness and endings. ', Stave 5: 'No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold;', Stave 5: 'He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.'. Whoop! We can infer that the only other person he cared for was Marley and even that wasn't really because of a friendship. Given an unexpected opportunity to communicateperhaps as a Christmas miracleMarley feels determined to help Scrooge and he warns him here. "Its genial face, its sparking eye, its open hand. We have never had any quarrel, to which I have been a party. The Fezziwigs throw a party and treat everyone the same - no matter their status. Then write the form of that verb The onomatopoetic verb 'gasping' makes the reader explicitly imagine the death, suggesting struggle and pain. Contrasting similes emphasise his god like figure- he is at once innocent and knowledgeable. Of course, the suggestion that people might be talking about him is beastly to Scrooge. uses long and short clauses to show how busy they are. However, inside that shell - like Scrooge - the oyster is soft and vulnerable. One interesting feature of this stave relates to the fact that two people die in it: Scrooge and Tiny Tim: the richest and the poorest people in the book. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse! A happy New Year to all the world! "If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.". They are mans. I am not the man I was. However, this in itself would probably not have been enough to alter his ways. In Victorian times, most of the readers would have been christian and would therefore heap additional judgement on Scrooge who needs to repent. If you watch any of the adaptations of A Christmas Carol Tiny Tim is almost always one of the loveable characters and with good reason. Stave 1 - Scrooge's response to the gentlemen saying that people would rather die than go to the workhouse. Scrooges words to the charity collectors as he refuses to give charity. Whoever the author.Discover new and exciting books to dive into with our Book Explorer Tool. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy., Scrooge says to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart., Two Business Colleagues: Its likely to be a very cheap funeral, said the same speaker; for upon my life I dont know of anybody to go to it., Scrooge to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: I see, I see. The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. Of course, these changes seldom happen so quickly in reality and perhaps thats part of the reason that A Christmas Carol does not receive the critical acclaim that you could argue it deserves. For a start, there is the use of ghosts throughout. Then there are some of the settings contained in A Christmas Carol. This is fitting because it is traditionally colder at Christmas but also because the cold is an apt metaphor for Scrooges personality. The noun unanimity suggests that he is happy to be involved. A description of how the Cratchit family mourned the death of Tiny Tim. Dr Aidan, PhD, provides you with key quotes and analysis relating to the theme of 'Christmas'. Each sentence below contains a verb Although their behaviour is callous and cruel, the italicised personal pronoun he reminds us that scrooge (and the rich) are partly to blame fro the behaviour of the poor. Whatever the genre. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. A Christmas Carol Themes and Analysis | Book Analysis 'A lonely boy was reading near a feeble fire'. The Christmas Spirit I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time the only time when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers. Scrooge will avoid spirits for the rest of his life geddit? Stave 1 - why the portly gentlemen are collecting for the poor - Scrooge, Ever idiot who goes around with merry xmas on his lips should be buried with a stake of holly through his heart, The use of nature with a type of plant typically seen around christmas time makes scrooges comment even more menacing saying that they should kill him with the very thing that is giving him happiness in that certain period.- Scrooge. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! The noun 'father' shows the idea that one laugh leads to another - happiness breeds happiness. "Reeked with crime, and filth, and misery". He stopped at the outer door to bestow the greetings of the season on the clerk, who, cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge. "The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it costs a fortune.". Fezziwig's office has a large fire which adds to the welcoming atmosphere, offering the reader an additional opportunity to compare it to Scrooge's cold office with the meagre fire. The chains are a metaphor for his punishment for his greedy life. Studying Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'? He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.'. A Christmas carol key quotes Flashcards | Quizlet jovial voice.". "The noisy little Cratchit's were as still as status". Themes= greed and generosity/ time. 'The Ghosts' in A Christmas Carol (Key Quotes & Analysis) Dr Aidan 22.1K subscribers Subscribe 47K views 3 years ago Studying A Christmas Carol? In Victorian times, the deceased were usually dressed in their best clothes for burial but here, Scrooge's clothes after death have been removed and sold for money. Without the trauma from Scrooges youth and the death of his sister, Fran, its unlikely that he wouldve become the person that he did. Does this line support or contradict the speaker's statement in the final stanza, "Nothing really happened"? The silent. "I am sorry for him; I couldn't be angry with him if I tried. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. The synonyms 'alone' and 'by himself' emphasise again the loneliness of the life he has chosen. Scrooge's assertion that 'it is not my business' is challenged quickly by Marley's ghost whose view is that 'mankind' should have been his 'business. Dickens uses him to enable the reader to see that this is unfair, perhaps looking to make his readers reflect on the high mortality rate amongst poor children. This poignant moment arrives when Scrooge is looking at Christmas yet to come. It is a dark, sad moment but Bob Cratchit handles the situation with grace and dignity. Foul weather didnt know where to have him. He doesn't believe it, but when he goes to the window, the street is deserted and dark as nighttime. Setting can help create an atmosphere or mood in a literary work. However, the verb 'profit' still has a hint of selfishness - as well as an implication of individual, even material, gain. Are there no prisons?'' Im sure you will all e familiar with the one percent statistic. Themes= Christmas/greed and generosity/family. Instead, once you know and understand the plot, a great idea is to pick three or four major themes, and three or four major characters, and revise them in great detail. Stave 3 - Scrooge's willingness to learn A happy New Year to all the world. In this case, Ebeneezer and Fezziwig are both business owners with employees, but where they diverge is in their treatment of others and in their outlook on life. Repetition of 'chuckle' emphasises Scrooge's newfound delight in giving. Scrooge is presented as a miserly character - his money does not even bring him any happiness. In defending Fezziwig, he is taught a lesson and makes him think about how he treats his clerk, leading to his second moment of regret in which he'd like to 'say a word to two' to Bob. Dickens, therefore, is attacking the Malthusian capitalist theories. "Cherry cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears.". The conditional subordinate clause represents Scrooge's future actions. The ghost of Christmas yet to come is a symbol of the effect that memories have on someone as they age. The Total Abstinence Principle was a phrase used for teetotallers (people who refrained from drinking). 'He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. This reminds us of Freds line during the beginning of the book a phrase that Dickens later called The Carol Philosophy: It is only during Christmas that we open our shut up hearts and think of each other as being fellow passengers to the grave and not other beings on some other journey. During this section, Scrooge is reminded that we all die in the end, it is the only sure thing in life, and that all we have to work with is the short time that we have down here. They are likely to be of even higher class than Scrooge but are choosing to do good for the poor. The image of the 'lonely boy near a feeble fire' reflects very closely the older Scrooge we have seen, alone eating gruel. Himself. Themes= family/poverty/greed and generosity. Of course, Dickens does use his trademark lengthy descriptions but nearly everything has a point. The list of verbs, gives the spirit a threatening air- this is compounded by the fact that he does not speak to scrooge at all. Money 5. All rights reserved. As a result of this he was damned to walk as a ghost chained with money boxes surrounding him. "Tonight, if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it.". however, her reference to their father suggests that he had not been kind in the past, thus reinforcing our sympathy. Stave 5 - Scrooge's reaction to discovering it is not too late Dickens uses these characters to challenge popular preconceptions that the wealthy had about the poor - preconceptions which led to support for the poor law and the workhouses. A Christmas Carol Stave 2 Summary & Analysis | LitCharts And I know I know my dears, that when we recollect how patient and how mild he was; although he was a little, little child, we shall not quarrel easily among ourselves and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it. The metaphor shows that the school didn't help any student achieve their dreams, instead it destroyed their lives as they could not fulfil their potential. Stave 1 - Marley's ghost is distressed at Scrooge's suggestion that he was a 'good man of business'. I am as giddy as a drunken man. It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. A merry Christmas to everybody! Whatever the book. Family Theme Analysis. A Christmas Carol Stave 1 Summary & Analysis | LitCharts A Christmas Carol Book Answers - myilibrary.org Th onomatopoeia here makes the bells sound particularly noise -and yet Scrooge sees them as 'glorious' which is suggestive of noises from heaven. Scrooge listened to this dialogue in horror he viewed them with a detestation and disgust. ", 'A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. The verb sparkled has magical and positive connotations, shows Fred is the antithesis of scrooge. ', 'He was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked', Christmas is a time when people 'Think of the people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. ". It was a worthy place. I should like to have given him something: thats all., About the Fezziwig family: shaking hands with every person individually as he or she went out, wished him or her a Merry Christmas., Scrooge about Mr Fezziwig: The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it costs a fortune., Belle to Scrooge: Another idol has displaced me., Belle about Scrooge: I have seen your nobler aspirations fall off one by one, until the master passion, Gain, engrosses you., Belles husband to Belle about Scrooge: Quite alone in the world, I do believe., There was nothing very cheerful in the climate or the town, and yet was there an air of cheerfulness abroad., About the Ghost of Christmas Present: Sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch., About the Cratchits goose: a feathered phenomenon., There never was such a goose. The metaphor shows he is rigid in his unfeeling behaviour to others. For each of the following sentences, identify the subject of the verb in parentheses. The Ghost of Christmas Past is an interesting vision it changes shape and size, it has many arms and then a few, it seems distant and close, old and young in fact it seems riddled with contradictory images. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear your company and do it with a thankful heart', Stave 1: 'He tried to say 'Humbug!' The ghost of Christmas future symbolizes death and the mistakes that are sure to haunt him after his death. Stave 2 - the spirit takes him to past Christmases including seeing Scrooge alone at school. Underline the word or symbol in parentheses that best completes each sentence. The problem is internal, within Scrooges heart. These compare with the bells at the start of the novel, signifying the hellish arrival of Marley's ghost. ', 'Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts". She looked at me as if I had insulted her. Perhaps Dickens is using him to represent the idea of childhood innocence and how close children were to God in order to reinforce his message that the wealthy need to do more to mitigate childhood poverty. Quotes (A Christmas Carol) - GCSE English Literature Revision the strength of Scrooge's dismay about hearing his own words repeated back to him is reinforced through the use of the nouns, penitence and grief. Stave 5 - the bells ring His narrator describes events as they happened and doesnt spend a great deal of time on extraneous details. The speaker is clearly fed up with Scrooges behaviour and wants him to get to the end of his journey and realize his mistakes as soon as possible. Oh, glorious! A merry Christmas to everybody! Scrooge is particularly affected by the death, and this is a death he is able to reverse in the future when he amends his behaviour. The final ghost appears as a phantom a spectre dressed in black: clearly an image of The Grim Reaper himself. In this way, like a patient completing therapy, he has faced his past, but can now move on. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and, If that spirit goes not forth in life, it is, them both, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is, squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner." ". The 50 Best A Christmas Carol Quotes - bookroo.com Stave 2 - the arrival of his sister, Fan It has harsh imagery and the symbolism of cold, shows he is lacking Christmas spirit. The workers will be repairing the building. Such as the graveyard at the end. Scrooge's language has been formal and official: here he is informal, natural and joyous. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. Copyright2007 - 2023 Revision World Networks Ltd. I am as giddy as a drunken man., Scrooge was better than his word. The noun phantom has negatives connotations in contrast to the more positive spirits - once again, warning scrooge of his fate if he doesn't change his ways. These include Scrooges cold nature, the power of wealth, and loss. Then, choose the verb form that agrees in number with the subject. 35 Best Ebenezer Scrooge Quotes From 'A Christmas Carol' - Kidadl The simile has a snake like connotations, Marley is a symbol of evil. Dickens was familiar with the terrible working conditions of the poor and campaigned for education of children. A Christmas Carol is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a stingy, cruel, wealthy, old bachelor.The book opens with a funeral. The use of nature with a type of plant typically seen around christmas time makes scrooges comment even more menacing saying that they should kill him with the very thing that is giving him happiness in that certain period.- Scrooge If they would rather die, they had better do it and decrease the surplus population. Scrooge's sympathy for himself leads to sympathy for the carol singer from the night before. With in-depth analysis, this video aims. With key quotes \u0026 analysis, this video provides an ideal format to gain a greater understanding of this novella in a matter of minutes. As we will later learn, his bitterness originates at Christmas time and has warped his perspective of it. 6. ', Stave 1: 'that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. He is described as been so dislike that even the weather is better in that at least it 'comes down' gracefully. The image of the oyster is almost perfect for Scrooge at this stage in the book. Pathetic fallacy - Scrooge can see now clearly - reinforced by the adjectives juxtaposing the foggy, misty scenes of earlier chapters when Scrooge could not see the error of his ways. Mr and Mrs Fezziwig ..'.shaking hands with every person individually as he or she went out, wished him or her a Merry Christmas.'. This shows scrooges selfishness and his addiction to money with belle feeling replace with money she feels like she doesnt matter to him and that all he cares about is money. Themes= greed and generosity/time. He did it all and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father., He knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the Knowledge.. Stave 3 - Scrooge asks if Tiny Tim will live, having been moved by his goodness. Imagery of warmth has symbolism of generosity, compassion and forgiveness- Fred always makes a effort with scrooge. Dickens though that this was wrong and aimed to change perception, 'Mankind was my business. ', 'secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.