Purple questions; very similar theme of greed and plight of the poor- can reuse points and just reword slightly.

How does Dickens present the effects of greed in ACC?

• Mankind was my business

• i wear the chains i forged in life

• ignorance and want

• tiny tims death

• scrooge’s loss of belle- she left because he was too focused on gaining wealth and money that she felt he did not value her anymore.

• through the character of tiny tim, dickens displays the direct consequences of neglect from higher classes through his disability (we can infer is due to malnourishment) and his potential death. There is no way for the cratchits to help tiny tim recover as that would require a substantial amount of money a lower class family simply would not have; there would be no social security or health care that anyone below the poverty line would have access to. Scrooge has the power to assist the Cratchits as said by the ghost of christmas present: ‘if these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die’. The ‘shadows’ are in reference to Scrooge’s greed and reluctance- both dark qualities- to provide any means of financial aid, whether that be in the form of a pay rise for Bob or a donation. Similarly the use of the phrase ‘the child’ severs any personal connection to tiny tim, allowing dickens to make a more general statement about the poor, showing that there are many more families in similar positions to the cratchits. Overall, Dickens is conveying that avarice and neglect of social responsibility from the upper classes leads to the unnecesary and cruel suffering of the hard working lower classes.

• The thieves resorting to crime as victorian society believed they knew best and refused to pay anyone a fair wage. they suffer at the hands of the rich. ‘Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did.’ Justifying their need for crime, and the he always did is a jab at how miserly Scrooge was in life.

• At the beginning of the novella, we see Scrooge is visited by two portly gentlemen who approach him about donating to a benevolent cause- giving money to the poor as a gesture of goodwill at Christmastime. Scrooge responds with ‘are there no prisons? What about the union workhouses?’ Suggesting ‘prisons’ are suitable place to house the poor is likening them to immoral criminals. Scrooge’s response reflects the views of the wider Victorian upper classes at the time- why should they spend their well deserved money on the ‘idle poor’? Benevolence was expensive, and society, Scrooge included, would prefer the undeserving poor to suffer in inhumane conditions- often dying- than act out of charity. The portly gentlemen represent a minority that dickens wants to praise for rejecting Malthusian beliefs, and desires for more to do the same.

How is Scrooge presented?

• a callous man who has little compassion for anyone or anything bar his own money

• someone who regrets his actions and wishes to repent

• a generous and changed man, who appreciates life for what it is.

How does dickens create atmosphere in a christmas carol

• dickens uses the weather to create atmosphere

  • foggy withal- suggests scrooge’s moral blindness

  • clear and bright sunlight at the end- sense of peace, tranquility, everything has been resolved

  • motif of fire- represents generosity and humility. The continual reference to fire and light changes as the novella goes on- at the beginning

  • ghost of christmas yet to come creates an atmosphere of mystery

How does dickens present attitudes towards poverty?

How does dickens present the idea of redemption?

• Dickens presents redemption as attainable by everyone, showing all can change, particularly relevant to a time where christian values are important.

• by describing scrooge as such an awful person at the beginning, dickens emphasises that change is possible in everyone, and that it is never too late to change.

  • at the beginning, scrooge is described as ‘solitary as an oyster’

  • this is showing that from the beginning, we are shown that scrooge has the capability to change

  • oysters have pearls, which could symbolise the goodness within him and the capability to change.

  • oystersare known for being lonely creatures, and paired with the word solitary which has connotations of punishment (solitary confinement) could suggest that scrooge is imprisoned by his own avaricious intent.

  • contrasted to the end of the novella where he is described as becoming ‘like a second father’ to tiny tim, showing that he values those around him and the relationships he’s developed.

• introduction of marley emphasises the need for redemption and what the consequences would be if no redemption occurs.

  • i wear the chains i forged in life

  • the verb forged gives the sense that marley had to put effort into the avaricious and callous lifestyle he harboured potentially displaying that to have a life of humility and kindness is easier, and more freeing, compared to the resultant chains that were worn.

  • similarly, the chains could represent the weight of marley’s guilt that weigh heavy upon him, and the padlocks attaxctehd to them show there’s no escape, without change scrooge would be sentenced to the same life as marley, forever in purgatory.

  • mankind was my business

• at the end dickens shows that the redemption of one person can spark happiness and joy in many others.

  • ‘a great many backpayments are included’

  • the money will benefit many of the poor, bringing happiness at a time of year where they cannot find much to celebrate.

  • giving money to the beggar boy.

How does dickens present the supernatural/the ghosts

• vessels for change- dickens wanted to display to his readers that the sins they were committing everyday would have a detrimental impact on their souls when they go to heaven/ would not go to heaven

• scrooge being either two extremes

• teach lessons

How does dickens present the ghosts

• presents them as benevolent entities who encourage scrooge to learn moral lessons and change as a person.

• ghost of christmas past’s appearance is used to encourage moral change

  • candle with a ‘tunic of purest white’

  • candles and the word pure have religious connotations, encouraging scrooge to look towards the life of morality

  • scrooge tries to extinguish the candle’s light

  • dickens is encouraging the readers to look to the light themselves

• ghost of christmas present, embodiment of christmas

  • crown of holly on his head

  • represents generosity and good will, shows scrooge scenes of people sharing what they have, even if what they have isn’t much at all (the cratchits)

  • nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family

  • familial happiness is more important than material and avaricious wealth.

• ghost of christmas yet to come

  • presents the future as inescapable, in order to catalyse scrooge’s already underway transfromation, to complete it.

  • lack of speech: when scrooge asks if the future is definite, he stays silent- possibly because if he had said it was changeable, scrooge would have just gone back to his oldways.

  • lack of language is also unnatural, heightens scrooge’s fear

  • the portrayal of the gocytc as something akin to the grim reaper, the message of finality is delivered.

How does dickens create an atmosphere of celebration

• fezziwig’s party

• scrooge’s death

• the end of the book

• the cratchits’ celebration of christmas

How does dickens present christmas?

How does dickens present family?

• dicken’s presents scrooge’s family as broken and cold due to his own immorality and tainted beliefs

• Belle’s family as united and tender

• dickens presents the cratchits as a joyous and loving family

How does dickens present social injustice?

How does dickens use the supernatural to create atmosphere?

How does dickens present business and commerce?

How does dickens present death?

• marley’s ghost and moral

  • sinning in life will lead to unending punishment and no rest in the afterlife. Actions (or lack thereof) have consequences.

  • ‘i wear the chains i forged in life’

  • ‘mankind was my business’

  • Marley took too long to discover that benevolence and magnanimity were core parts of life, as once he had realised this fact, many of the poor had lost their lives due to his ignorance- another portrayal of death.

• Scrooge’s childhood

  • scrooge’s experiences with death in the past have lead him down the path he is on- rejecting fred, anger at the portly gentlemen.

  • the death of his own family has lead to self isolation and rejection of company and generosity- sister Fan died- leading to his mistreatment of his nephew fred

• potential death of tiny tim

  • presents death as a lesson

    • neglect of the rich upper classes leads to the undeserving deaths of the lower classes such as tiny tim.

    • Tiny tim’s death is also used as a turning point for Scrooge, and a significant piece of evidence for his transformation (vessel for change). Scrooge is devastated and concerned for Tiny Tim’s mortality

    • ‘oh no, kind spirit- tell me he will be spared?’

    • ‘if these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will die.’

    • serves as a lesson for scrooge, showing him that he needs to take responsibility for the poor and change his ways, otheriwse thousands more like tiny tim will perish under no fault of their own.

• his own death

  • The reputation you garner in life will follow and haunt you into the afterlife

  • death is presented as a final judgement-your death will determine how people remember you by in years to come.

  • compared with the death of tiny tim- Tiny tim’s life was celebrated, while Scrooge’s death was celebrated.

  • tiny tim’s grave is green, scrooge’s is neglected.

How does dickens present the importance of family?

How does dickens present the theme of charity and christmas spirit?

• scrooge’s lack of charity at the beginning

• donating to the portly gentlemen, giving the begging boy money, raised bob’s salary

• the cratchits for christmas spirit.

How does dickens present the theme of regret?

• he presents them through the ghosts who make scrooge feel regretful through showing him the mistakes of his past, present and future.

• past he regrets not giving stuff to the caroler.

• lakc of regret for other characters?

• regret at how treated belle

How does dickens present the transformation of scrooge’s character?

• how scrooge became how he is at the start?

• dickens presents scrooge’s transformation as a gradual and difficult change, as he finds it hard to shake off a lifetime of negative views and correct his morals. for example when he’s with the ghost he says ‘if you have aught to teach me, then let me profit by it.’

how does dickens present the effects of loneliness and isolation?

• scrooge is an outsider in society and is a victim of his self afflicted loneliness, he ostracised himself

• ‘solitary oyster’

• the ghosts visit him because he literally has no one else to talk to who would inspire change

how does dickens present joy and happiness?

• the end of the book

  • Scrooge had become so gay

• fezziwig

• fred’s

• the cratchits

• belle’s family

how does dickens present the suffering of the poor?

• through the character of tiny tim, dickens displays the direct consequences of neglect from higher classes through his disability (we can infer is due to malnourishment) and his potential death. There is no way for the cratchits to help tiny tim recover as that would require a substantial amount of money a lower class family simply would not have; there would be no social security or health care that anyone below the poverty line would have access to. Scrooge has the power to assist the Cratchits as said by the ghost of christmas present: ‘if these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die’ however doesn’t as he has a reluctancy to increase bob’s wages. it highlights the ultimate power the upper class had to decide who livd and died, and the responsibility they neglected. Dicken’s could have just had a poor family, however having a disabled child shows that as he will never be able to work himself, he will always be reliant on the charity of society if his family can no longer provide for him- as the only fit and able member of the family, if bob could no longer work women were seen as unfit to contribute in any meaningful way other than housewifery- his mother would be turned away and all his siblings are female therefore indicating the limited options the poor would have had and highlighting the dire need for a more responsible society.

  • If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.”

  • ‘He was very light to carry’

    • suggesting that their family never saw him as a burden, when the rest of victorian society would.

    • or literally shows the malnourishment and effects of societal greed.

• The thieves resorting to crime as victorian society believed they knew best and refused to pay anyone a fair wage. they suffer at the hands of the rich.

• through the character of tiny tim, dickens displays the direct consequences of neglect from higher classes through his disability (we can infer is due to malnourishment) and his potential death. There is no way for the cratchits to help tiny tim recover as that would require a substantial amount of money a lower class family simply would not have; there would be no social security or health care that anyone below the poverty line would have access to. Scrooge has the power to assist the Cratchits as said by the ghost of christmas present: ‘if these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die’. The ‘shadows’ are in reference to Scrooge’s greed and reluctance- both dark qualities- to provide any means of financial aid. Similarly the use of the phrase ‘the child’ severs any personal connection to tiny tim, allowing dickens to make a more general statement about the poor, showing that there are many more families in similar positions to the cratchits. Overall, Dickens is conveying that avarice and neglect of social responsibility from the upper classes leads to the unnecesary and cruel suffering of the hard working lower classes.