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GCSE AQA English Literature 'A Christmas Carol': Sinner Essay
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To what extent does Dickens present Scrooge as a sinner in Stave One. It was out of 30 marks and I scored 26.
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To what extent does Dickens present Scrooge as a sinner in Stave One.As a didactic novella, Dickens uses the antagonist, Scrooge, in ‘A Christmas Carol’ to
highlight the sin of misanthropic behaviour and his failure to accept his social responsibility.
Through this extract, and the first chapter of the novella, Dickens uses his literature as a
parable, aimed at the middle classes, in which he actively encourages the Victorian readers
to receive his message about their responsibility to the poor. Additionally, he utilises the
novella to challenge the Malthuistic principles that suggested that the poor should be
allowed to die to solve the excessive population. Death from poverty was seen as inevitable
by Thomas Malthus, but Dickens recognised the social good that the middle classes could do
to rectify the struggles of the poor. Through the character of Marley, we see that his
capitalistic attitude has been condemned as sinful and this is symbolised through the chains
and cashboxes and his eternal torment. The reader witnesses what Scrooge’s punishment in
the afterlife will be and this allows him to achieve redemption through rejecting his sinful
life.
Initially, Scrooge shows his capitalistic ideology as he recognises that Jacob was a ‘good man
of business’. This noun phrase exposes the idea that Scrooge sees commerce and miserly
behaviour as positive and he is incredulous as to why his lifestyle is sinful and needs to be
changed. Dickens exposes the value of people over money and contrasts the philanthropy of
Fred over the misanthropic behaviour of Scrooge. We see Fred reaching out to people,
rather than exploiting them for financial gains.
Notably, at the start of the novella, Dickens wishes to use the intrusive narrator to tell the
readers that Scrooge is a sinner. He uses a range of qualifiers when he describes Scrooge as
a ‘squeezing, wrenching, grasping, covetous old sinner.’ He uses excessive adjectives
because he undermines the evil adjectives to show that although Scrooge is branded a
sinner, he is capable of change. Dickens shows us that there is a pearl within the ‘oyster’ of
Scrooge. The ‘old sinner’ is anti-climactic and the lengthy list of adjectives helps to make the
‘old sinner’ less judgmental. The Christian idea of redemption can be achieved because
Scrooge has the capacity to change and Dickens must show his intended audience, the
Victorian middle classes, that they too can change and be socially responsible by helping the
poor.
Moreover, Dickens describes Scrooge as a misanthropic, cold character. The simile ‘solitary
as an oyster’ conveys him to be an anti-social character who rejects society and he is
revealed ‘to edge his way along the crowded paths of life’. This powerful metaphor reflects
how Scrooge goes against the teachings of Jesus who instructed Christians to ‘love thy
neighbour’. In contrast, Scrooge rejects compassion, charity and such behaviour to highlight
his sinful qualities and further reinforce his role as a ‘sinner’.
Crucially, as a business owner, Scrooge shirks his responsibility as an employer, threatening
Bob by saying ‘you’ll keep your Christmas by losing your situation!’ This exclamative serves
to emphasise his Christian duty to show charity to those less fortunate and, instead, he
berates Bob and terrifies him by bullying him. Unlike Scrooge, some Middle class Victorians,
used Christmas as a time to donate to the poor and follow the teachings of Jesus. Scrooge’s
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