Scrooge in A Christmas Carol PDF

**[Scrooge in A Christmas Carol]** I. **[Stave 1]** 1. [Ostracised from society.] - He willingly takes strolls in "easterly winds" -- **he [yearns (khao khát)] for isolation** and misery as he favours going out in the bitter cold, rather than interact with the community. - The use...

**[Scrooge in A Christmas Carol]** I. **[Stave 1]** 1. [Ostracised from society.] - He willingly takes strolls in "easterly winds" -- **he [yearns (khao khát)] for isolation** and misery as he favours going out in the bitter cold, rather than interact with the community. - The use of weather is **[exacerbated (trở nên trầm trọng)]** as "the cold within him froze his old features", reinforcing his **internal apathy and detachment (sự tách biệt)** is so **omnipotent**, it alters his physical appearance. - His internal cold-heartedness has created a "frosty rime" on his head -- every inch of Scrooge's being, external and internal, [**is tainted** (bị vấy bẩn)] by his distant attitude and want to be ostracised by society. - Scrooge is presented as **successful in his ostracization** of himself as even elements of nature, typically uncontrollable, he has managed to intercept as even "external heat and cold had little influence" on him. - He [is **repulsed** (bị đẩy lùi)] by human interaction and affection as he warns "all human sympathy to keep its distance". As warn connotes to alert, this is used by Dickens as [ironic (mỉa mai)] as Scrooge's [**misanthropic and apathetic nature** (bản chất ích kỷ và thờ ơ)] will imminently cause him to be alerted by the reality of his ways. 2. [Emblem of the Victorian upper class.] - Dickens creates Scrooge as an **archetypal villain** (someone who is seen as evil, typically self-centred and power hungry) in the context of an **impoverished** (poor) society. - He aims to critique, from the offset, that **social injustice is synonymous** (linked to) with **avariciousness** (greed) from the upper classes. - The **asyndetic listing** (a list that uses commas rather than the word 'and') of "squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner" highlights his **frugality**. - The use of **7 negative adjectives** mirrors how there are **7 deadly sins** -- these are called **cardinal sins** and were seen in the bible as the root of all evil. - As the **foundation of Victorian morality was religion**, the parallels between Scrooge and the sins are used by Dickens to highlight how the rich, symbolised by Scrooge, are more sinful than the poor. At the time, laws such as the 1834 poor law were put in place to combat the 'laziness' of the poor. - Dickens is **inverting** this idea that the poor are sinners, instead highlighting the rich are more immoral. - 'squeezing' and 'wrenching' connote a struggle, reinforcing how Scrooge struggles to **assimilate** (blend) into society. Alternatively, this is a criticism that Scrooge does not endure any struggles yet creates a struggle for the poor. - Interestingly, Scrooge recognises that poverty causes misery as he questions Fred "What reason do you have to be merry? You're poor enough.". However, he continues to live in **a state of ignorance**, most significantly through neglecting others, without offering to **alleviate this misery of poverty**. - Scrooge's reaction to the charity men serves as a **microcosm** (a person/ idea representing a bigger group of people and ideas) for the upper classes relationship with the rest of society. - Scrooge questions why he is **morally obliged** to give, giving the Victorian reader an insight to the reason they lived in a **destitute** society -- the rich don't believe it is their duty to give. - His **Malthusian views** are prevalent when he questions "Are there no prisons?\...And the union workhouses?". Scrooge is unable to see the poor with any humanity, instead sees them as mere numbers contributing to the "surplus population". 3. [The setting. ] - The weather is a **motif** (recurring symbol) throughout the novella, typically changing alongside Scrooge. - Dickens uses **pathetic fallacy** (when the weather reflects the mood) by describing the setting as having "fog and darkness thickened" to resemble the bleakness of the protagonist Scrooge. - Contextually, **the fog in London from 1873 -- 1879 killed hundreds of people**. Dickens may be alluding to how, just as the weather has the ability to destroy lives, the rich posses this same power. This is heighted through the conceit of the bitter weather we mentioned above. - Dickens **personifies** (giving something non-human, human features) the weather as it is "piercing, searching, biting cold". The power of nature may be an **allusion** to the forthcoming supernatural powers to come.