Summary Grade 9 GCSE English Literature A Christmas Carol Notes
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
This comprehensive study material provides an in-depth exploration of the novel, equipping you with the knowledge and analysis skills necessary to excel in your GCSE exams. Unleash your literary prowess and uncover the rich themes and characters within this iconic tale.
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Scrooge: selfish person whom is unwilling to give or spend/ a miserly person. Scrooge – obscure
English verb meaning ‘squeeze’ or ‘press’.
Scrooge is used to represent the rich in the Victorian era and to highlight to gap between the rich and
poor. He symbolises the theme of repenting. Dickens uses Scrooge to criticise society. Scrooge is a
symbol of the wealthy and aristocratic members of society who are ignorant to the misfortunes of the
poor.
He is presented as a miserly mean character who only cares about money. ‘squeezing, wrenching,
grasping, clutching, covetous old sinner’- Dickens use of verbs presents him as greedy. He ‘squeeze(s)
all the resources out of the poor. An allegory message that the ruling classes are restricting the poor.
‘covetous old sinner’- yearn to possess something belonging to another metaphorically suggesting he
‘covets’ the finances of the poor. ‘Sinner’- transgresses against divine law by committing an immoral
act. He is our archetypal villain; he defies morality and social responsibility.
Pathetic Fallacy is used to represent his character and change: ‘No wind that blew was bitterer than
he’- harsh ‘b’ sound to present his hard nature. ‘External heat and cold had little influence on
Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him’ (alliteration, repetition of ‘no’ is
absolute he is fixed in his ways) portrayed as unfeeling and cold physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Lacks sympathy and apathy for the poor. However, in Stave Five the weather is ‘clear, bright, jovial’
with ‘Golden sunlight’, the change in weather represents how he has become generous, ‘glowing’ and
a ‘good’ person.
Light vs Dark: ‘darkness was cheap and Scrooge liked it’ shows his lack of warmth and character and
closed heart.
Dicken’s use of repetition positions Scrooge as a lonely character at the start of the novella when he
summarises his role in relation to Marley: ‘Scrooge was the sole executor, his sole administrator, his
sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner’. The repetition of the
adjective ‘sole’ emphasises the solitary nature of the lives led by both men. Dickens also uses the
simile ‘Hard and sharp as flint’ to describe Scrooge. The adjective ‘hard’ suggests that he lacks
warmth, empathy and compassion while the adjective ‘sharp’ suggests pain, implying that Scrooge
has no mercy towards others. Dickens might be implying that there is the potential for a spark of
warmth within Scrooge (as ‘flint’ is used to create fire), who might yet change. The simile as ‘solitary
as an oyster’, gives the impression that Scrooge, like an oyster, has a tough, hard exterior and is
closed to others emphasising howe he has chosen to isolate himself. It also suggests that there may
be more to be discovered from Scrooge, just as when forced open, an oyster may contain a pearl, so
Dickens suggests there may be something worthwhile to be found in Scrooge. This imagery
foreshadows the future positive change in Scrooge’s character.
‘if they would rather die... they better do it’ presented as being misanthropic.
‘Marley’s ghost bothered him exceedingly’- the adverb exceedingly highlights the beginnings of a
subtle change.
, The reader begins to feel empathy for Scrooge when he returns to an almost childlike state in the
presence of the Ghost of Christmas Past. The ghost describes Scrooge as a ‘solitary child, neglected by
his friends’. The adjective ‘solitary’ reminds us of the simile except the child Scrooge was not lonely by
choice. The juxtaposition of ‘neglected’ with ‘friends’ develops the reader’s empathy towards him.
When he ‘sobbed’ in response to the Ghost noting young Scrooge’s neglect, the reader understands
that empathy and compassion have the power to elicit an emotional response from Scrooge,
signifying the start of his transformation. It is apparent that Scrooge is starting to realise that
relationships, not money, bring happiness. By encouraging readers to feel sorry for Scrooge, Dickens
is inviting us to develop an interest in his transformation and to celebrate with him at the end of the
novella.
‘Your lip is trembling’ said the Ghost- adjective ‘trembling’ suggests he is not only emotionally
affected but also physically.
Present: ‘Tonight if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it’ interesting use of the word ‘profit
as now it is no longer money but character, attitude and behaviour. Dickens signals an important
moment in Scrooge’s character arc when he shows empathy towards Tiny Tim. The Ghost of
Christmas Present takes him to the Cratchit household, and Scrooge implores the Ghost to tell him of
the boy’s future: tell me if Tiny Tim will live’. Dicken’s use of the imperative signifies that Scrooge
genuinely seems to care about the little boy’s fate contrasting to his earlier comments about the poor
and if they die, this will ‘decrease the surplus population’. His attitude is changing and his hard,
rational attitude to the poor and needy is being replaced with genuine interest in their welfare.
Future: ‘It’s likely to be a cheap funeral... I don’t know of anybody to go to it’ - adjective ‘cheap’
example of anaphora, sad imagery, for a man so greedy and rich his funeral is going to be ‘cheap’ his
wealth was all for nothing, no true purpose in his life. Empathises the solitary life he led. Dickens
employs statements when Scrooge vows to ‘honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the
year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.’ to emphasise the significance of this moment
and adds a tone of solemnity.
‘The only emotion caused by the event was one of pleasure’- people are pleased that he is dead and
‘only’ emphasises this.
‘plundered, bereft, unwatched uncared for’, people are stealing from his grave, nobody is considered
about his dead body. Theme of karma and him being treated like he treated the poor.
In the final section of the novella, Dickens employs more similes to describe the change in Scrooge: ‘I
am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school boy’. These heighten the
contrast with the ‘oyster’ and ‘flint’ similes from earlier in the novel. The simile ‘as light as a feather’
leads the reader to infer that he has cast off the chains of earlier way of life. Feathers also connote
freedom and flight, implying that he is closer to Heaven than he was previously. This links to the
‘angel’ simile, contrasting with the early description of Scrooge as a ‘sinner’. Angels connote
goodness, signifying that Scrooge has become a better person. As Scrooge finishes his spiritual
journey, the readers are left with the understanding that people can change.
Belle
‘a fair young girl in a mourning-dress: in whose eyes there were tears’, filled with negative emotion,
‘tears’ sad relationship and experience with the protagonist and ‘mourning’ shows that she has lost
the man she loved to greed metaphorically.
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