Key quote: "Are there no prisons? ... And the Union workhouses?"
Scrooge, Stave 1
Enjoying Flashcards?
Tell us what you think
Key quote: "Are there no prisons? ... And the Union workhouses?"
Scrooge, Stave 1
Analysis
Scrooge displays an uncaring attitude towards the poor, revealing his ignorance of their plight and his flawed views on how to solve poverty issues.
Key quote: "a dismal little cell"
Key quote: "the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle"
Narrator, Stave 1
Analysis
Bob Cratchit's impoverished working conditions symbolize the plight of the poor, underscoring Scrooge's cruel exploitation of the lower classes.
Key quote: "Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner"
Narrator, Stave 1
Analysis
Dickens presents Scrooge and Marley's relationship as purely business-oriented, lacking true friendship or affection.
Key quote: "Mrs Cratchit made the gravy ... Master Peter mashed the potatoes ... Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce ..."
Narrator, Stave 3
Analysis
The Cratchits' united efforts in preparing their Christmas meal highlight the importance of family and its centrality to people's lives.
Key quote: "God bless us every one!"
Tiny Tim, Stave 5
Analysis
This quote conveys Dickens's message of equal opportunity for all and the importance of looking after one another in society.
Key quote: "I am not the man I was"
Scrooge, Stave 4
Key quote: "I am light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am giddy as a drunken man"
Scrooge, Stave 5
Analysis
These quotes illustrate Scrooge's transformation from avarice to benevolence, conveying the universal message that everyone is capable of redemption.
Key quote: "... every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart"
Scrooge, Stave 1
Analysis
Scrooge's violent and hyperbolic language demonstrates his contempt for and aversion towards Christmas, contrasting sharply with his character transformation later in the novella.
Key quote: "My little, little child!" cried Bob. "My little child!"
Bob Cratchit, Stave 4
Analysis
Bob's repeated use of the personal pronoun "my" and his grief over Tiny Tim's predicted death underscore his deep affection for his son and the impact of his death.
Key quote: "secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster"
Narrator, Stave 1
Analysis
The use of sibilance and oyster simile suggests that Scrooge is repressed and emotionally closed , but also foreshadows his character's transformation (a hidden pearl within).
Key quote: "They are Man's....This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want."
Spirit of Christmas Present, Stave 3
Analysis
The two children sheltering underneath the Ghost of Christmas Present metaphorically represent the problems society must take care of.