Scrooge Flashcards
(37 cards)
“cold” “blue” “froze” “frosty”
-the conceit(extended metaphor) of the relentless cold hole parallels to scrooges distant and cold attitude
-depict the manner Scrooge treats others
how is scrooge ostracised from from society
-he willingly takes strolls in “easterly winds” -he yearns for isolation and misery as he favours going out in the bitter cold rather than interacting with the community.
-the use of weather is exacerbated as “the cold within him froze his old features” reinforcing his internal apathy and detachment is so omnipotent it alters his physical appearance
how does weather emphasise Scrooge’s isolation from society
-his internal cold-heartedness has created a “frosty grime” on his head- every inch of Scrooges being,external and internal, is tainted by his distant attitude and want to be ostracised by society
-presented as successful in his ostracisation of himself as even element of nature,typically uncontrollable, he has managed to intercept as even “external heat and cold had little influence” on him
Scrooge warns “All human sympathy to keep its distance”
-he is repulsed by human interaction and affection
-“warn” connotes to alert this is used by dickens as ironic as scorches misanthropic and apathetic nature will imminently cause him to be alerted by the reality of his ways
dickens presentation of Scrooge and message
-archetypal villain in the context of an impoverished(poor)
-D uses his allegorical novel to make Scrooge an emblem of the miser upper class as Scrooge is presented as a scathing microcosm of the frugal rich to critique social injustice prevalent in Victorian society and how it is synonymous with avariciousness from the upper classes
“Squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping,clutching, covetous old sinner”
⁃ The asyndetic listing: The asyndetic listing highlights selfish and avaricious character. It portrays Scrooge’s immoral Characteristics as ongoing, casting him as an unrepentant “sinner”.
⁃ The use of 7 negative adjectives mirrors how there are seven deadly sins, known as cardinal sins, which were seen in the bible as the root of all evil. As the foundations of Victorian morality was religion, the parallels between Scrooge and the sins are used by Dickens to highlight how the rich, symbolises by Scrooge, are more inclined towards moral transgression than the poor. Dickens implicitly critiques societal structures, such as the 1834 poor law, which were ironically designed to address the perceived sin and laziness of the poor.
⁃ “Squeezing” and “wrenching” connotes struggle: The verb “squeezing and wrenching” connotes a struggle, this illustrates how Scrooge struggles to see the detrimental consequences of his frugality and thus, his role in perpetuating social inequality. This struggles may be alluding to Scrooges struggle to assimilate in society.
⁃ Alternatively the undertone of a struggle is used by Dickens to illustrate how the avariciousness of the upper class directly causes a struggle for the impoverished.
-alternatively this is criticism that scrooge does not endure any struggles yet creates struggle for the poor
-“grasping” emphasises his misanthropic attitude toward
“What reason do you have to be merry? You’re poor enough”
-recognises that poverty causes misery as he questions Fred
-however continues to live in a state of ignorance, more significantly, through neglecting others, without offering to alleviate this misery of poverty
“Are there in prisons?… And the union workhouses” “decrease the surplus population”
-reaction to charity men serves as a microcosm for the upper classes relationship with the rest of society
-scrooge questions why he is morally obliged to give,thus giving the Victorian reader an insight to the reason they lived in a destitute society- the rich dont believe it’s their duty to give
-his Malthusian views are prevalent when he questions..
-scrooge is unable to see the poor with any humanity, insted sees them as mere numbers contributing to the surplus population.
motif of weather “fog and darkness” thickened”
-uses pathetic fallacy by describing the setting as having to resemble the bleakness of the protagonist Scrooge.
-contextually, the fog in London from 1873-1879 killed hundreds of people. D may be alluding to how, similarly to the weather, the rich have the ability to destroy lives. This is heightened through the conceit of bitter
Motif of weather “piercing, searching, biting, cold”.
-dickens personifies the weather as it is “piercing, searching, biting, cold”. The powers of the nature maybe be an allusion ti the forthcoming supernatural forces to come
“Still very foggy and extremely cold” stave 2
-the pathetic fallacy foreshadows how scrooge will remain oblivious and ignorant as fog prevents clear vision, this is akin to how Scrooge presets himself from embarking on a pathway of atonement
-“fog” can represent institutionalised oppression, dickens uses this to subtly indict how the oppression is in every crevice in London- although this is not the focus of the plot at this point it is always lurking
“Darkness and the mist had vanished with it”
-dickens frequently use this weather to be symbolic of the changes within Scrooge. The diminishing ‘quote’ symbolises how with each ghost Scrooge is gaining clarity, diminishing his own mental darkness, on how ti be the moral individual- he is unblocking the hopeful potential the reader initially encounters with him being an “oyster”
Ghost of Christmas past aim
—ghost of past is full of the “bright clear jet of light”. This crates are iridescent image with light and bright, this is suggestive of how the ghost is trying to brighten scrooges life through revelation and reminiscence
-dictation ‘clear’ reinforces this clarity of revelation the ghost aims to bring Scrooge though ‘light’ing up his last and allowing him e to reminisce and reflect on his past that has undeniably contributed to his present.
“He seized the extinguisher-cap and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head”
-resits his chance of receptions as the light symbolises revelation and reminiscence, scrooge wants to exterminate this due to him unable to confront his pain from the past
-cap connotes restriction:symbolic of how Scrooge desperately wants to restrict and repress the memories of his past-he envies his free young spirit and regrets his idolisation of money and covetousness
-aggressive verb ‘pressed’ paired with the rapid adverb of ‘sudden’ explores of S is engulfed with deeply repressed emotions, he acts out irrationally due to sheer panic that he will have to face these stifled memories of the past.
-as he is unsuccessful I’m restricting the ghosts light, this mirrors how Scrooge with be unsuccessful in obstruction his redemption
“In came the six young followers whose hearts they broke. I’m came all the youn men and women employed in the business”
-a buoyant and infectious atmosphere is presented at fezziwigs Prague compounding scrooges nostalgia
-the repetition of ‘in came’ followed by vivid descriptions of abundance of people arriving creates and atom o sphere of entering chaos reminding the reading that there was a time when Scrooge immersed himself into social events- most importantly into society istself
“His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self”
-he is presented as having a warm and welcoming ambience around him as when watching fezziwigs party unfold ‘quote’. This is a direct juxtaposition to his former cold presentation where the “cold had little influence”
“I was bred in this place, I was a boy here!”
-first insight the reader gets to a compassionate and benevolent Scrooge
-the exclamative sentence provides the reader with the 1st insight to his raw emotions; his unexpected immersion into his past means that scrooge is not consciously repressing his emotions, he is momentarily liberated.
-contemporary readership would see ‘bred’ as having animalistic connotation, thus intensifying their sense for Scrooge as it could be an allusion for the barbaric reatment he suffered as a childinthelate1700
“A solitary child neglect by his friends”
-description of childhood hold parallel language to description in stave 1
-reminiscent of previous description “solitary as an oyster”
-repeated use of solitary highlights how Scrooges neglected state as a defenceless child has directly caused his lonesome and solitary adult existence
-the ghost pities his younger self and makes Scrooge recognise how he was an extremely ‘lonely boy’
Home, little Fan? Returned the boy”
-motif of innocent children permeates dickens work, he uses both Scrooges innocence as a child paired with his sisters tragic death to evoke pathos but to also emphasise the injustices that pervaded Victorian society- particularly the victimisation of children
-dickens offers an alternative twist in his social commentary- he is scathing of the entitled upper class yet showing how they have emotions and capabilities to contribute to positive social reform
“He signs of care and avarice. There was an eager, greedy, restless motion in the eye”
-avarice is one of the 7 deadly sins, commended in a highly Victorian society, his embodiment of 7 deadly sins foreshadows that his disintegration of his marriage is synonymous with his greed
-Belle eyes are described as “sparkled in the light”. Interestingly dickens uses the motif of light, a like to the ghost of the past present and Fred, to reinforce that Scrooge has blindly ignored the beauty and vitality of others and life
Scrooges dismantled marriage
-S’s materialistic pursuit has left him seeking comfort in the “cheap..darkness” as he cannot face how much vitality and light he as let out of his life
-poignantly, the reason for the breakdown of this marriage was that a “golden” idol had “displaced” belle. As golden connoted valuable and precious, this is used ironically to indicate how Scrooge, a microcosm of the upper class, views materialistic things as valuable and precious over loved ones and other members of society
“Tell me if tiny tim will live” stave 3
-stave 3 clear turning point: displays genuine emotions if remorse, compassion, and empathy. His emotional chnage is clear with his use of imperatives: ‘tell me if tiny Tim will live’
-use of imperatives paired with the verb dried highlights his catharsis as he is so overcome with guilt due to his blatant disregard and ignorance to the plight of the destitute- this being personified through the cratchits
-commanding to know well-being of others: developing solicitude and benevolence
“If he be like to die, he had better do it and decrease the surplus population” ghost of present
-D’s anti Malthusian tale is clear within Scrooges exchange with the ghost
-the ghost emulated Scrooges heartless Malthusian view: ‘quote’ resulting in Scrooge being ‘overcome with penitence and grief’
-feels intense remorse as he has seen the physical effects of his blissful ingnorwnce towards the plight of the poor: tiny Tim is a microcosmic for the victimisation of poor children as infuviduals like scrooge see them as inconvenience in society
“Forgive me if I am not justified in what I ask”
-shows respect and is receptive to the ghosts teaching
-has biblical undertones of asking for salvation and forgiveness from god ‘forgive me father for I have sinned’
-appears to be understanding his need ti be cleansed of sin- he uses the spirit perhaps as an incarnation of god to be aided with this
