Themes in 'A Christmas Carol'

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  • Themes in 'A Christmas Carol'
    • Family
      • The Cratchit Family
        • Bob says Tiny Tim is as "good as gold"
          • Bob values his son/family over anything materialistic or money related
      • Fred and his family
        • "that he is ever going to benefit us with it"
          • Fred asks Scrooge to visit every Christmas out of the goodness of his heart and because he values family, not because he thinks that Scrooge will ever offer him money.
      • Belle
        • Belle called off her engagement with Scrooge because he began to value money more than personal relationships
    • Isolation and Companionship
      • "A solitary child neglected by his friends is still left there."
        • Scrooge has always been alone / lonely - since a young age.
      • "Back came Tiny Tim, escorted by his brother and sister to his stool."
        • The Cratchit family supports each  despite their social and financial situation
      • "Solitary as an oyster"
        • Scrooge is closed away from society, nobody can get through to him.
    • Criticism of Society
      • "Decrease the surplus population"
        • The rich have a negative attitude to the poor
      • "Are there no prisons [...] are there no workhouses"
        • treats the poor as lesser than the rich people - treated like animals.
      • Ignorance and Want
    • Laughter and Music
      • "More blessed in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew"
        • Even though they are not rich, they are enjoying Christmas
      • "In came a fiddler with a music book [...] and made an orchestra of it"
        • Bringing people together, makes people happy and have fun.
    • Greed and Generosity
      • "What idol has displaced you? [...] A golden one."
        • Scrooge only cares about money and and he has replaced his fiancé with money and stopped caring about other people. "Idol" also shows worship and commitment.
      • "I wear the chain I forged in life"
        • He will have a physical manifestation of the wrong he has done in his life once he died. It is a warning about what could happen and why he must change.
      • "A merry Christmas, Bob... I'll raise your salary"
        • Scrooge has changed a lot. He now has a much better, more respectful attitude. He is being kind and generous.
    • Women
      • "In came Mrs Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile"
        • Kind and welcoming
      • "Uprose Mrs Cratchit [...] brave in ribbons"
        • 'Uprose' + 'brave' shows she is a brave and calm influence over her family despite their social situation.
      • "The colours hurt my eyes"
        • She is emotional but strong in order to support her family.
    • Religion
      • "What idol has displaced you? [...] A golden one."
        • This is a biblical reference which most contemporary readers would understand. It refers to the story of the Israelites in Moses' time worshipping a gold statue and they were punished severely.
      • He hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see"
    • Social Responsibility
      • "Decrease the surplus population"
        • Scrooge uses economic language here to refer to the poor. This shows the negative attitude of the middle classes towards the poor.
      • "Oh God! t her the insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust!"
        • The insect represents Scrooge and the leaf represents the world and therefore shows Scrooge's insignificance.
        • He does not have a say in who lives and who doesn't - only God does.
        • Also, the hunger represents poverty and the term brother shows that he is equal to the poor and is not better than anybody
      • "His wealth is no use to him. He don't do any good with it"
        • Scrooge is selfish and does not use his money to help others and merely keeps it to himself even though he does not need it.
      • "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want"
        • "Beware them both [...] but most of all, beware this boy"
          • It is the wealthier people's responsibility to change things as the Children will probably grow up to be criminals if they remain uneducated.
        • It shows that there are two main problems / causes of problems in society which need to be addressed.
    • Redemption
      • "You're reclamation, then. Take heed."
        • 'Take heed' - urgency
      • "I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it there for all the year"
        • Scrooge has changed / transformed. He now values it so much more - he has emotions.

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Nia89

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thanks alot! x

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