"', The ghost of Christmas present focuses greatly on the Crachit family and how, despite their poor financial situation, In the Victorian era, family and family time were extremely important, particularly around Christmas, ' A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. It has harsh imagery and the symbolism of cold, shows he is lacking Christmas spirit. Arguably, this is the most famous quote from A Christmas Carol. They now drag him down in death, and hes forced to wander the earth, unable to undo what he did before. 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. ", cynical- "what's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money", Isolated- "secret and self-contained, and solitary like an oyster. The Total Abstinence Principle was a phrase used for teetotallers (people who refrained from drinking). Stave 5 - pathetic fallacy In this way, like a patient completing therapy, he has faced his past, but can now move on. About Scrooge: As solitary as an oyster., External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge., If they would rather die, said Scrooge, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population., Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it., Marleys Ghost: Mankind was my business., Marleys Ghost: I am here to-night to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate., There was a boy singing a Christmas Carol at my door last night. "The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it costs a fortune.". Being such a short story there is very little that is extraneous. Fred is unrelenting in his attempts to change his uncles way of thinking. This girl is Want. Scrooge's sympathy for himself leads to sympathy for the carol singer from the night before. But I have made the trial in homage to Christmas, and. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! The adjective dismal connotes a lack of light and hopeless atmosphere. Below one can explore the themes, symbols, and more that appear throughout the novel. Scrooge. Stave 2 - Belle's husband tells Belle about seeing Scrooge. Clash, clang, hammer; ding, dong, bell! He teaches scrooge to learn from his mistakes of his past. 5 Quotes You Can Use To Analyse Poverty In A Christmas Carol It also explains why he becomes hard and sharp like a flint, later on. Hangman - Try to complete the word by picking the correct letters. Scrooge makes explicit reference to the Malthusian idea that the population must decrease in order to create better conditions. He always did.". GCSE (9-1): Literature: A Christmas Carol: Key Quotes: Key - Quizlet Whoop! I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse! Dickens uses Tiny Tim to remind his readers of the story of Jesus performing miracles and his teaching of acceptance of all. The synonyms 'alone' and 'by himself' emphasise again the loneliness of the life he has chosen. Watching Scrooge forge his own invisible chain served as part of Marley's punishment for his deeds in life. 'A Christmas Carol' Key Quotations Stave 5 Analysis International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct,London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom, 2023 Book Analysis. Stave 1 - Marley's ghost is distressed at Scrooge's suggestion that he was a 'good man of business'. Stave 2 - Belle breaks off the engagement () *The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. Bob describes his crippled son. However, inside that shell - like Scrooge - the oyster is soft and vulnerable. "I am light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. His most famous saying is bah humbug. He used it as an exclamation when he wanted to express his displeasure about something. Bob said he didnt believe there ever was such a goose cooked., About Tiny Tim: If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die., Bob Cratchit: Ill give you Mr Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast., About Ignorance and Want: This boy is Ignorance. 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. Discuss why you think the poet made these choices. Stave 4 - the final ghost Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. A foil is a character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Stave 3 - Christmas at Fred's The description of Marley's ghost has his chain wound about him. This is one of Freds lines, and it really helps to highlight the difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle. With the title of the book being A Christmas Carol you would expect Christmas to feature prominently throughout the novel. Stave 3 - ignorance and want A Christmas Carol (Key Quotes) 'Mankind is my business' - Marley (Should be Scrooges and everyone elses too) 'I will honour Christmas in my heart and, and try to keepit all the year' - Scrooge (Willing to change, become better person) . When it was made you were another man. Dickens uses the scene to allow the reader to feel sorry for the child 'Scrooge' whose loneliness was not by choice - although the adult Scrooge's is. ', 'secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. 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. * The use of pathetic fallacy shows that he is in direct opposition to anyone who tries to help him. Studying Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'? LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Christmas Carol, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. 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. A Christmas Carol is a well-loved and commonly read novel that focuses on themes of Christmas and poverty. Draw an arrow from each underlined word to the word it modifies. The tremors of the great San Francisco earthquake that occurred in 1906 (was, were) estimated to have measured 8.3 on the Richter scale. Stave 3 - Scrooge asks if Tiny Tim will live, having been moved by his goodness. The adjective solitary and neglected highlight his feelings of loneliness and isolation, creating sympathy for him. ), phrases like holding a candle for someone mean to remember them, while candles are used in c. Scrooge finishes the stave by putting out the candle, which shows him symbolically putting down his past leaving behind the resentment he has harboured at having lost his childhood to neglect. This mirrors the Victorian rich's attitude to the poor. Scrooge awakes and finds his room as dark as when he fell asleep at two o'clock. That being said the fact that Marley is suffering damnation suggests that he too led a similar path to Scrooge. This symbolises his generosity and air of festivity. He spreads joy over all like a force of nature. The Ghost of Christmas yet to come is symbolic. There is a very real suggestion that Scrooge knows that the people are describing him. 'a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. ', People with lots of money already are more likely to be greedy for more, not thinking about sharing that money with others effectively. They often came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did. Stave 2 - The first of the three spirits So, therefore, we should take responsibility for being a positive influence. A Christmas Carol: Key Moments Being such a short story there is very little that is extraneous. He also argues that Time is precious to me. This is most telling of all: whereas the old Scrooge saw little of value beyond his money hole, now he sees the truth that Time itself is precious; and it is, in fact, the most precious thing we. "His eyes sparkled and his breath smocked.". The most clearly religious image though is how it wears a tunic of purest white, as though it is a pure, innocent Angel sent to guide him. 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. A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis - Coggle Themes= family/poverty/greed and generosity. The clerks sprinting home juxtaposes Scrooge's dinner in a melancholy tavern. These include Scrooges cold nature, the power of wealth, and loss. The image of the oyster is almost perfect for Scrooge at this stage in the book. She looked at me as if I had insulted her. 'Christmas' in A Christmas Carol: Key Quotes & Analysis I am not the man I was', When Scrooge sees the name on the gravestone, he realises that time for change is limited, The ghost of Christmas past shows Scrooge some memories that may have been lost to time, Stave 2: 'each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares long forgotten', Stave 4: 'Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only? Everyone is entitled to be a little happier on Christmas, and the Ghost of Christmas Present helps them to be so. Ultimately he tries to extinguish the ghost's light. 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. Himself. Themes= Christmas/greed and generosity/family. " A solitary child, neglected by his friends is left there still - Scrooge sobbed, This shows scrooges lack of companionship and support even since a child this could show why scrooge became so money obsessed, I have always thought of Christmas a good time. A description of the school house that Scrooge was left in as a child, by his family. The verb 'shrouded' makes explicit reference to death which is reinforced by the 'deep black' of its clothes. 'A Christmas Carol' is a widely studied book filled with memorable quotes. sungiemarie. "I am sorry for him; I couldn't be angry with him if I tried. Then there are some of the settings contained in A Christmas Carol. "Business!" "Reeked with crime, and filth, and misery". Contrasting similes emphasise his god like figure- he is at once innocent and knowledgeable. jovial voice.". He looked so irresistibly pleasant, in a word, that three or four good-humoured fellows said, "Good morning, sir. 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. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Y. "I wish you could have gone. Changing the way you learn | Mind Map - GoConqr The style of A Christmas Carol is conversational and direct. A Christmas Carol: The Ghost of Christmas Present Quotes - SparkNotes Analysis. Compare the different settings in "Grape Sherbet" Describe each setting using details from the poem. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didnt thaw it one degree at Christmas. ', Where the portly gentlemen explain to Scrooge about the plight of the poor and the responsibility of the rich to deal with it, In Stave 5, Scrooge begins to redeem himself for all the terrible things he did in the past, Victorian society was still extremely religious at this point and they believed strongly in the impact of sin upon the treatment of one in the afterlife, The way that Scrooge worships money would have been considered as sinful at the time as it is in a way idolising something that is not the holy lord, Stave 5: 'that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge', Stave 1: 'A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping clutching, covetous old sinner! Scrooges words to the charity collectors as he refuses to give charity. ', "Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.". Analysing the evidence "I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. Describes Fred, who is a symbol of Christmas spirit. This is a great description, wanders around holding a candle snuffer that looks like a hat. Towards the end of the book, Scrooge has clearly learnt that fact and decides to spend his remaining days sharing his time, his wealth, and enjoying the fruits of his fellow men. This brightly\underline{\text{brightly}}brightly lit room will be perfect for my art studio. "Every person has a right to take care of themselves. Scrooge realises that his love with money is the reason he pushed everyone away. Are there no prisons?'' My life tends that way, now., Bob Cratchit about Tiny Tims grave: I wish you could have gone. No, Spirit! 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. The two children Ignorance and Want represents the attitudes of the rich to the poor in Victorian society. "It was a large house but one of broken fortunes.". Stave 2 - the arrival of his sister, Fan Oh, glorious. Then write the form of that verb Partially because of the nature of its main character. 2003-2023 Chegg Inc. All rights reserved. Hallo!". The simile has connotations of stillness and endings. At this point, Scrooges character has become fairly well established but the reason that this particular meeting is of such importance is that it highlights Scrooges outlook towards the poor as well as provides his comments about how the poor should be treated. Im sure you will all e familiar with the one percent statistic. The last line of A Christmas Carol is God bless us, everyone. Its spoken by the well-loved character Tiny Tim. Scrooge has been transformed - just as his room has been transformed by the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas present - and wants to learn. 6 Memorable Quotes from A Christmas Carol | Book Analysis 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. - 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. A merry Christmas to everybody! Both have religious connotations and suggest a true depth of despair at his previous notions. We see when Scrooge is presented with the poor children (Want and Ignorance) how instinctively and perhaps despite his character that he is compelled to want to help. A description of how the Cratchit family mourned the death of Tiny Tim. I am as giddy as a drunken man. This again leads back to Dickens' idea of collective responsibility - that everything that we do influences others. 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 chains are a metaphor for his punishment for his greedy life.