Themes in 'A Christmas Carol'
- Created by: mwhitingrevision
- Created on: 14-05-17 16:48
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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
- Bob says Tiny Tim is as "good as gold"
- 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.
- "that he is ever going to benefit us with it"
- Belle
- Belle called off her engagement with Scrooge because he began to value money more than personal relationships
- The Cratchit Family
- 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.
- "A solitary child neglected by his friends is still left there."
- 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
- "Decrease the surplus population"
- 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.
- "More blessed in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew"
- 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.
- "What idol has displaced you? [...] A golden one."
- 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.
- "In came Mrs Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile"
- 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"
- "What idol has displaced you? [...] A golden one."
- 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.
- "Beware them both [...] but most of all, beware this boy"
- "Decrease the surplus population"
- 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.
- "You're reclamation, then. Take heed."
- Family
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