Little details Flashcards
(17 cards)
Bob’s name
Bob was a colloquial term for 15 shillings
This was the going-rate for a clerk in the Victorian era
Bob is completely defined by how little money he has - in a world where every aspect of your life is defined by how much money you have
Reinforces Scrooge’s views on workers - he sees Bob as an opportunity for him to make profit, and nothing more, not even as a person who has a family.
Materialistic society deems people’s worth on how much they have.
Bob is paid a Bob which isn’t bad - Scrooge is a miser but he is not a miserly employer - he is simply part of a bigger problem - he needs to be inspired by Fezziwig, the epitome of the employer that Dickens wants his audience to look up to and model.
Shakespeare Structure
5 act structure mimics that of a Shakespearian tragedy - established through structure and hint to “Hamlet” in the first page - Dickens’ audience would have been educated and could have possibly picked up on this intentional structure created by Dickens.
However, he does not call the Acts Acts but Staves. 5 staves found in a carol. The notion of a carol has connotations of happiness, holiness and an overall uplifting feeling.
Perhaps Dickens is hinting that although at first glance Scrooge’s narrative seems to be one of tragedy and a fated, miserable end, the novella is one about transformation. It is an uplifting story about redemption and transforming into a moral person. If Scrooge changes, he can change his narrative, his fated tragic end, into a beautiful, uplifting Christmas Carol.
Underscores that society and humans are dynamic and can always change for the better - there’s always hope for everyone, there’s some good in everyone, no matter how doomed they may seem from the start. In the same way that the Ghost of Christmas Present warns that across Ignorance’s forehead lies “DOOM”, Dickens’ novella is not to scare people (“may it haunt there house pleasantly”), because there’s always hope for change within society and we can always work together to avoid any tragic consequences. Or like Scrooge, we can learn from the consequences of out actions.
What word to describe the scenes within the novella:
vignette
GHOST 1 - past: “it’s dress ____ with _______ flowers”
trimmed - summer
Paradoxical since summer represents new beginnings and the ghost embodies the past - could suggest that through learning about his past and understanding his wrong-doings or even the wrong-doings of others, Scrooge will be able to open a new chapter in his life.
GHOST 2 - present: light imagery
The vignette with the Ghost of Christmas Present features heavily light imagery - this use of chiaroscuro symbolises Scrooge’s progress towards his angnorisis, as well as the joy and hope associated with Christmas in the novella, and Christianity as a whole.
GHOST 2 - present: linked quote: “powerless to make out what (the light) meant”
suggests that once a person lives in the dark, in loneliness and corruption for so long, the beauty of community and in the novella’s case, religion, is obscured to them.
GHOST 2 - present: “dim with their _________ _________”
delicious steam
The second of the three spirits also serves to convey Dickens’ anti-capitalist and anti-Poor Law message. The room is filled with luxurious food and these words could be subtle uses of the motif of fog, insinuating that the rich have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas and turn to materialism instead.
Symbolises the way in which celebrations like Christmas lose their initial purpose and are twisted into capitalist shows of wealth, hence the elaborate display of food.
GHOST 2 - present: “in a shape not _____ _________’s horn”
unlike Plenty’s
This allusion to a universal symbol contradicts the Malthusian idea that Scrooge acts as a mouthpiece for earlier in the novella: while apathetic and socially indifferent people like Scrooge believed that resources like food are limited, and the death of the poor is inevitable, Dickens challenges that there is “plenty” of resources, and food is in abundance, it’s simply unevenly distributed.
GHOST 2 - present: asyndetic list of food
While the rich feast during Christmas, with banquets of food that no one could possibly eat in entirety, the poor die due to malnutrition.
GHOST 2 - present: “open _____” and “______ breast”
hand - capacious
The heart is enclosed in the chest, and the Ghost’s is bare and open, contrasting the rich’s “shut up hearts” and Scrooge’s “tight fist”.
Motif of hands is used to highlight the need for generosity and compassion in society.
Underscored the central theme in the novella that Christmas is about love and truth as well as welcoming others into community as demonstrated by Fezziwig and the Cratchits.
The ghost is presented as omnibenevolent as he holds resemblance to Jesus as well as Father Christmas, perhaps once again highlighting the the convergence of Christmas as a religious day and a commodified holiday.
GHOST 2 - present: “antique _________”
scabbard
Motif of belts - the absence of the sword could amplify Dickens; message of charity and generosity. The metaphor underscores that it is not important to have the “sword” which could symbolise material wealth, if it was given to someone else who was vulnerable and needed protection.
Ebeneezer meaning
The name Ebenezer Scrooge is significant because “Ebenezer” means “stone of help” in Hebrew, and Dickens may have subtly used this to symbolize Scrooge’s initial “stony” heart and his eventual transformation,
Not only does this foreshadow his redemption it also signifies that Dickens wants Scrooge’s narrative to be employed by the business classes who encounter it, to help them realise their own path to redemption for their potential wrong-doings that are in line with Scrooge’s initial personality.
Dickens refers to his novella as a “sledgehammer”. Why?
Sledgehammer could be an allusion to the symbol of a gavel, used in law courts - could be suggesting that this is the Victorian’s opportunity to fix their mistakes and recognise the unjust circumstances that people are living in Victorian England - he wants people to realise that sooner or later justice will be served, but if they do not take notice soon enough, it will happen in “doom”
Could also just be conveying the power in his message, the up-frontness that he wants to achieve.
MOTIF OF LIGHT: 1. “Darkness was _______ and Scrooge..
cheap - liked it”
Scrooge likes to keep himself and his past in the dark, perhaps because it costs him less emotionally.
The darkness is directly linked to the monetary cost of light to demonstrate the way in which Scrooge’s miserly character has led to him being isolated in society and in a state of immorality, where he cannot see the implications of his actions and differentiate why his behaviour is wrong.
Darkness = immorality
Light = truth and morality
Since Scrooge is representative of the upper classes and the business classes we can presume that Dickens is saying that the upper classes are immoral and disconnected from religion and the truth - however, just as Scrooge changes, so can society.
MOTIF OF LIGHT: 2. “from the crown of its head there sprung a bright…
clear jet of light”
The motif of light underscores the Ghost’s role in catalysing Scrooge’s redemption as it sheds light on the Past, and in turn the path from darkness to morality, acting as a guide for Scrooge. Perhaps Dickens’ intention was the amplify that while one may find it difficult to confront past experiences, it does not have to be a negative thing: there is hope in learning from past mistakes.
The Ghost ultimately leaves the choice up to Scrooge, as it is only Scrooge who can use the “extinguisher” to put out the light.
Brings him out of mental darkness so that his path to redemption is clearer.
MOTIF OF LIGHT: 3. “solitary _______”
lighthouse
By highlighting the isolated lighthouse and contrasting it with scenes of communal celebration, Dickens conveys the message that isolation, while potentially providing self-sufficiency, can also lead to loneliness and missed opportunities for joy. Scrooge’s journey through the spirits shows him the importance of empathy and connection, ultimately leading to his transformation from a solitary miser to a charitable and joyful man.
Dickens and writing about education
Dickens, after his time travelling in America, needed money, therefore had to write a novella that would sell.
Before realising that the book would need to be appealing to a readership and sell well, he wanted to write a political pamphlet about the lives of poor children at ragged schools and the importance of education.
Ultimately, he wanted to convince the rich to fund schools for the poor - because EDUCATION was the way out of poverty,
This is represented by Ignorance - “DOOM” - politically, the poor will only seek better lives through violence - if education was not offered to the poor.
Right at the centre of the novella - the plot pivots on this point - so can society - if education was more accessible to the poor, then more would be in better jobs overall leading to a more educated, refined and better-functioning, effective, productive society - society itself can also pivot.
