GRADE 9 Essay on Tension in A Christmas Carol GCSE
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
This essay focuses on Tension in A Christmas Carol and suspense created at different points in the novella. This essay was written for the Eduqas exam board but can be adapted for any!
Introduction:
In the novella A Christmas Carol, Dickens uses tension throughout Scrooge’s emotional journey, a...
Write about how tension is built throughout the novel.
In your response you should:
refer to the extract and the novel as a whole
show your understanding of characters and events in the novel
refer to the contexts of the novel
(40 marks)
In the novella A Christmas Carol, Dickens uses tension throughout Scrooge’s
emotional journey, as his metal strength is tested by the four ghosts that visit
him, and the events of his life they show him. He also uses the plight of those
less fortunate, Cratchits to create tension, presenting the neglect in Victorian
society towards the working class.
In Stave One, Dickens immediately creates tension by extensively
describing Scrooge using negative imagery. He is described as: ‘solitary as an
oyster’, the metaphor suggesting how Scrooge seeks loneliness and enjoys it.
However, through using the noun ‘oyster’ Dickens implies Scrooge’s character is
similar to that of an oyster, with a hard exterior and a beautiful pearl inside – this
pearl representing perhaps the hope inside him. This creates tension in the
audience towards the possibility of Scrooge’s transformation, and his journey to
a more meaningful life. Dickens uses the asyndetic list: ‘squeezing, wrenching,
grasping, scraping...covetous old sinner.’ The repetition of these verbs creates
tension, as Dickens builds Scrooge’s bad reputation so extensively, that this
description gives the later staves more emotional impact on the reader as they
witness how much Scrooge changes. The religious imagery used in the noun
‘sinner’ suggests that Scrooge will soon face the consequences of his actions –
this idea of retribution the common view held by most in the Victorian Era, as
majority followed Christianity. Dickens creates tension here through the
extensive description of Scrooge’s miserly character, implying to the reader that
he will soon be called upon to rectify these sins.
In the extract, Dickens creates tension through Scrooge, who appears to
be afraid, Dickens stating that he ‘Locked himself in Double locked himself in,
which was not his custom.’ The verb ‘locked’ indicates Scrooge’s desire
for security and that he feels unsafe, evoking tension in the reader as to what
has made Scrooge – being the cold hearted, emotionless character he is, so
uneasy. This action reveals Scrooge’s attempts to avoid and shut out the visions
that he sees; creating further tension in the audience the more that Scrooge
ignores it. The phrase ‘not his customs’ further creates tension in the reader as
Scrooge’ behaviour is presented as unusual. However, the noun ‘customs’ could
perhaps refer to how stuck in his ways he is, and that change is coming –
Dickens skilfully creating anticipation and tension in the audience.
Further in the extract, Dickens creates tension through the imagery of
bells: ‘It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable dread,
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