Stave 3 quotations (general) Flashcards
(18 cards)
Despite being poor, Peter Cratchit still eagerly eats the food available which contrasts with Scrooge’s thin gruel
“Master Peter Cratchit plunged a fork into the saucepan of potatoes” (3.52)
The Cratchits’ can be a chaotic family, but the children show energy and excitement unlike Scrooge
“two smaller Cratchits, boy and girl, came tearing in, screaming that outside the baker’s they had smelt the goose, and known it for their own” (3.52)
The younger Cratchits are excited for Martha’s arrival
“‘Here’s Martha, mother!’ said a girl, appearing as she spoke. ‘Here’s Martha, mother!’ cried the two young Cratchits” (3.52)
Tiny Tim is physically weak and disabled
“Alas for Tiny Tim, he bore a little crutch, and had his limbs supported by an iron frame!” (3.53)
Bob Cratchit trembles when talking about Tiny Tim, hinting that he may not survive
“Bob’s voice was tremulous when he told them this, and trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing strong and hearty” (3.54)
The Cratchits work well together to do things, showing their love but also their effectiveness together
“Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table” (3.54)
Bob Cratchit is very appreciative Mrs Cratchit’s cooking, showing his love for her
“Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage” (3.55)
Bob Cratchit loves Tiny Tim, but it is also implied he fears he may die
“Bob held his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him” (3.56)
The Ghost of Christmas Present is harsh against Scrooge, telling him how terrible his views on the poor are, and how he may not bee worthy of Heaven
“It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man’s child” (3.57)
Martha desires a good, long rest, showing how exhausting work can be, especially for the poor
“and how she meant to lie abed tomorrow morning for a good long rest; tomorrow being a holiday she passed at home” (3.58)
Family is shown to be important in Christmas
“There, all the children of the house were running out into the snow to meet their married sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts, and be the first to greet them” (3.59)
Christmas can last throughout a person’s life and across time
“The old man… was singing them a Christmas song; it had been a very old song when he was a boy; and from time to time they all joined in the chorus” (3.60)
Christmas’ power to bring joy and happiness even in difficult situations is likened to a gale
“the elder, too, with his face all damaged and scarred with hard weather, as the figurehead of an old ship might be: struck up a sturdy song that was like a Gale in itself” (3.61)
The novel directly states that laughter is contagious and spreads quickly
“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour” (3.62)
Fred explains how Scrooge’s miserly behaviour prevents him from doing anything good with his money, in a way making it useless
“He don’t do any good with it. He don’t make himself comfortable with it. He hasn’t the satisfaction of thinking - ha, ha, ha! - that he is ever going to benefit Us with it” (3.63)
Scrooge is actually quite good at playing blind-man’s buff, showing the potential he has for fun if he opened up to others
“and very often guessed quite right, too; for the sharpest needle, best Whitechapel, warranted not to cut in the eye, was not sharper than Scrooge: blunt as he took it in his head to be” (3.66)
Christmas brings happiness to all, even those who are miserable, as long as they have not completely shut out the spirit of Christmas
“In almshouse, hospital, and jail, in misery’s every refuge, where vain man in his little brief authority had not made fast the door, and barred the Spirit out, he left his blessing, and taught Scrooge his precepts” (3.68)
The text warns about the consequences of a lack of education for the poor through powerful storytelling
“This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased” (3.69)
