Scrooge

Question 1

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone

Answer 1

‘Oh’ suggests the narrator has a very strong negative opinion on Scrooge and ‘tight-fisted’ emphasises his cheap and miserly qualities. A ‘grind-stone’ is rough and coarse just like he is and is one of many references to the Industrial Revolution

Question 2

Solitary as an oyster

Answer 2

Simile. Scrooge is hidden within his shell and keeps himself isolated. He is dark and hard on the outside but like a pearl inside an oyster, he has treasure deep within. ‘Solitary’ highlights his isolation, presenting him as hostile. Dickens is telling the reader Scrooge is worth saving

Question 3

A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still

Answer 3

Dickens suggests one of the reasons Scrooge is the way he is, was because he was neglected by society as a child so he now knows no different

Question 4

I should have like to have given him something: that’s all

Answer 4

Remorseful statement shows Scrooge is starting to realise his mistakes and wants to amend them. He doesn’t wish his childhood on anybody else

Question 5

If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population

Answer 5

The Ghost is repeating back Scrooge’s words from Stave 1 and it shows how far Scrooge’s views have changed from the prior biased, judgemental ones. Thomas Malthus’s ideas. Dickens was anti-Malthusian

Question 6

Scrooge was the Ogre of the family

Answer 6

Metaphor. He is seen as a monster but yet still recognised as part of the family as he provides for them. However, ‘was’ indicates a change of heart. The fact an ogre is green could link to his jealousy of their familial relationship that he never had

Question 7

I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy

Answer 7

Instead of using complicated, negative symbolism like Dickens used in Stave 1, he uses positive similes and connotations to represent Scrooge’s joy

Question 8

I don’t know anything. I’m quite a baby

Answer 8

Babies come into the world innocent with a clean slate and Scrooge insists through these supernatural encounters he has been reborn with a clean slate. Redemption is a key Christian idea