Stave Two Analysis 

Quotes

‘Strange figure’ – suggests the ghost looks both like a child and an adult, mysterious, provokes curiosity, suggests the journey the ghost is going to take Scrooge on, mirrors scrooge and the primitive, undeveloped thoughts of the rich, ghost innocence and want to help

‘Fresh green holly’ ‘tunic of the purest white’ – symbolises Christmas, ever-green and everlasting, religious connotations, clothing babies wear when getting baptised suggesting Scrooge is about to undergo a hopeful transformation

‘A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still’ – suggests why Scrooge is the way he is now, neglected by society as a child so doesn’t feel part of it as an adult, he’s afraid of rejection, he cries when showed this suggesting his feeling are still raw

‘I should have liked to give him something’ – suggests a change already in Scrooge, sympathy/empathy, regret and guilt, shows he does care

‘Like a man out of his wits’ - simile, shows his development, he’s forgotten about the views he had on society

‘Quite as great, as if it costs a fortune’ – he realises not everything is about money, epiphany, he knows its more about the though and intention/spirit in which it is done, concern and consideration for people other than himself, selfless rather than selfish

‘Mournful shaking of his head’ – occurs when Scrooge sees his sister, he was nervous/anxious and scared to look at her

‘Your lip is trembling and what is that upon your cheek’ – beginning to remember all the memories of his childhood where the good in him is buried, nervous as he feels the atmosphere of where he grew up and became who he is

‘Show me no more’ – Scrooge becomes physically and emotionally distressed, tries to extinguish the ghost’s light, motif of light shows his path/ the right path to redemption which Scrooge at first does not want to see

‘Why do you delight to torture me’ – feels haunted by the memories, ambushed/ torture, trying to hide his true self, trying to protect himself with a wall of money, fear of rejection, dismissal and disapproval, he thinks he’s doing what’s best for him, shutting people ut to avoid being hurt

Summary

The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge his unhappy childhood. They visit the house of Scrooge’s first employer, Fezziwig, who is holding a Christmas party. Scrooge notices how much happiness can be obtained from very little money. Scrooge sees himself as a young man with Belle, the woman he was engaged to marry. Belle breaks off the engagement because she thinks Scrooge loves money more than he loves her. Scrooge also sees himself reading a book in his boarding school as Fan his siter comes to get him, however his father doesn’t like him so refuses to bring him home and instead Scrooge spends Christmas at the boarding school

Context

Christian Ideals- to be a good Christian you must be kind, charitable, polite and religious, a main part of Christianity is Christmas the birth of Jesus, the day in which everyone is supposed to be happy and give

Dicken’s Childhood- Dicken’s experienced many of the things he writes about, so he uses them to describe that Scrooge was an innocent child tarnished by the world too young, at which age he wrote a life script that he was to surround himself with money for protection in which these behaviours are reflected in his adult life, Aristotle said this. However no child is old enough at such a young age to make mature sensible decisions that affect the rest of their lives like this, shown by how raw Scrooge’s emotions still are as a grown man as he has not coped with them well and refuses to do so