Stave One, Dickens uses a lot of different quotes and conversations to tell the readers how Scrooge really is, most of these quotes are found in the first few pages and describe how much of a horrible, cold hearted person Scrooge is. Scrooge is described as 'hard and sharp as a flint, ' flint is a type of sedimentary rock with a glossy and waxy appearance and inside it 's usually dark grey. Dickens has used this quote to describe Scrooge as an inanimate object and get the effect what he was like, it also describes the same appearance to scrooge that he was hard on other people and wouldn 't show people his true emotions. Another example of Scrooge being described to an object is 'self-contained, and as solitary as a oyster ' this is a simile which is suggesting that Scrooge was a secretive person, who kept himself to himself and he didn 't like to show others how he felt or what problems he was going through. Even when he got to know them he never shared any of his life or past with them, because he probably didn 't want them to know how lonely of a child he was and how his imagination slowly become smaller over his adult years, as all he …show more content…
"When I pay a days wages for no work". Scrooge said this while talking about christmas to the clerk who asked if he could have christmas day off, to which Scrooge said no. Scrooge 's attitude to the poor is based on the common stereotype; poor people are always begging for money, which isn 't always true but Scrooge believed it. In the Victorian era, many Victorians had the same attitudes as Scrooge to the poor, they both disliked them as they always "begged for money" or made a show of their un-wealthy-ness and it made others feel sympathetic enough to donate them money and Scrooge disliked this. Victorian Britain had a huge increase in population. Thousands of skilled and unskilled people started looking for work. For many of those who were employed, their wages were hardly enough. Often 15-20% of people were
In this extract, Dickens presents Scrooge’s character as mean, greedy and rude. The extract initially shows us that Scrooge is an important person, with the evidence being that the gentlemen ‘bowed to him’ and ‘took their hats off.’ It is interesting that these are ‘gentlemen’ but they still feel the need to ‘bow’ to Scrooge, showing how highly regarded he is. We also learn that Scrooge thinks that business is the most important thing in life, thanks to the conversation about ‘Scrooge and Marley’s’ as the name of the business. Scrooge has not changed the business name as he wants to maintain its reputation.
And he sobbed." (Dickens, 2) This quote displays that Scrooge is moved when he sees his former self in practically the same position he is in now: alone and neglected by everyone during Christmas time. It also shows how he has never changed from being the isolated and neglected person he was as a boy. This scene teaches Scrooge that he must change the ways of his life in order to redeem and save the future of not only his life, but the lives of those around him as well, as he can drastically change the outcome of other people’s lives so that they would never have to experience the same fate that he has already
“The cold within Scrooge froze his old features...he carried his own low temperatures always about him”(2). At the beginning of A Christmas Carol Scrooge was a bitter and selfish man who hates Christmas. “What shall I put you down for?” “Nothing!”Scrooge replied(9). This shows that Scrooge is selfish because he doesn’t want to donate money to charity.
Here’s one example that was said by Scrooge, “Are there no prisons and Union workhouses? Are they still in operation?”. Scrooge shows his carelessness by prompting that poor people should go to prison instead of being on the streets. “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population” is another example that was said by Scrooge. This quote can be portrayed as Scrooge disregarding the importance of the poor which is what Dickens wanted the viewers to recognize.
some people business is doing things to make progress, but in the Christmas Carol it means something totally different. In the book the Christmas Carol Scrooge uses different ways of thinking of business. The word business is used a lot in the Christmas Carol but Scrooge changes the meaning a little. Through Scrooge’s experiences and character development, Dickens shows the reader that he believes the “business” of being human is if he helps others and cares about his family and friends. Not about being rich that is portrayedin the beginning of the story.
Although skeptical in the beginning, Scrooge begins to understand why he must change his ways, and he discovers what he can do to become a better person. Throughout most of the first chapter, Scrooge is very greedy. When two kind men come and ask Scrooge for a small donation to help benefit the poor Scrooge asks if any of the prisons or poorhouses are still in operation, and the men tell him: “Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.” To which Scrooge replies with: “If they rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” Scrooge was already being greedy by not giving money to the men, but he was also being extremely rude by saying people should hurry up and die.
In ‘A Christmas Carol’, Dickens presents Ignorance and Want in a metaphorical fashion, depicting them as children. This is done in such a manner as to shock and appall the reader, leading to greater emotional investment. Throughout the extract’s entirety, Ignorance and Want are depicted as children, increasing the atmosphere of pessimism that surrounds them. Dickens describes the manner in which the Ghost of Christmas Present “brought two children” – by describing Ignorance and Want as “children”, Dickens creates the impression of innocence, vulnerability, and weakness.
In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens utilizes a plethora of literary devices such as similes, metaphors, imagery, and denouement to explore the capacity for change. This reveals that changing is never impossible until you’re six-feet under. A simile is a comparison that usually uses the word “like” or “as”. Dickens’ use of similes demonstrates how Scrooge changes throughout the story and because of this, we see how changing all aspects of yourself isn’t impossible. “Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self- contained, and solitary as an oyster.”
This also reflects Dickens' message that money doesn’t buy happiness because Scrooge was rich but unhappy. Scrooge represents the rich in this novel since he is always mentioning money as well as bringing up how much others owe him. Scrooge was unsympathetic towards other people, he showed no interest in helping the poor. He refused to donate to charity, because he thinks he's done enough by paying taxes to support the prisons and workhouses. An example from the novel is that Scrooge’s nephew, Fred said, “His wealth is of no use to him.
Fezziwig is unveiled as the antithesis of scrooge. Fezziwig is characterized as jolly,musical,full of life and has a perfect happy family. "Fezziwig, an old,jolly man, gives Scrooge and another worker the night off for Christmas eve.". By affixing Fezziwig as the sensations of warmth, Dickens makes him symbolize Christmas itself,implying that he also represents the values of goodness and generosity that Scrooge has dissipated.
Christmas Greed Greed is the one thing that everyone in the world has in common. Greed can cause cause someone to be selfish and hurt those around them as a result. Bad greed causes people and others around them to get hurt. Greed can change a person’s personality.
As the spirt begins to show Ebenezer the young boy and girl, he develops an appalled look upon him. Dickens describes the two as a “yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish” looking. The Spirt explains to Scrooge that the two below his robe belong to Man. That the boy represented Ignorance and the girl Want. The Spirt begins to warn him of the boy, “…for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased…”
According to the text he is very Greedy. Scrooge insults his marriage because it has to do with love, and he is selfish and a terrible liar. The text said he doesn't know the big idea about christmas and calls everyone else a jerk and idiot for not trying to work and pay it off. The author explains what he looks like by saying he has a pointed nose, red eyes, thin lips, and a shrew grating voice.
When Scrooge sees the Ghost, he is scared by its frightening appearance, but he knows that the Spirit’s lessons are important. He says, “ ‘But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart’ ” (Dickens 2). In this point of the story, Scrooge wants to change and is ready learn how to change his ways. He realizes that the Ghosts’ lessons are vital if he wants to change.
A Christmas Carol Characterization In A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens describes his main character Ebenezer Scrooge in a direct characterization manner . Dickens begins to describe him directly to the audience as; “..secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.” and also describes him as: “...a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” and lastly describes him as “... a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge!” in page 8. Here Dickens introduces a greedy, self contained and penny-pinching character.