A Christmas Carol How Does Scrooge Change Through Staves 1 - 5?

A Christmas Carol How Does Scrooge Change Through Staves 1 - 5? By Louise Sophocleous A Christmas carol is a moral story and focuses upon the redemption of the most hardened miser Ebeneezer Scrooge. In stave one he is presented as selfish, rude, angry and lonely. 'Warning all human sympathy to keep its distance.' he is thoroughly dislikeable. Through the attentions of Marley's ghost and the journey Scrooge takes through the past present and future Scrooge changes and becomes likable. He recovers his sense of joy in the world and this transforms all aspects of his life. How he reacts to people how he reacts to his setting, to Christmas and how he spends his money. It is a miraculous transformation. Dickens is saying that no matter how cruel, hard, old, bitter and unpleasant you are there is good in you and you can change. In stave 1 Scrooge is seen as a 'squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scrapping, clutching, covetous old sinner'. Dickens stresses the coldness of Scrooges bearing. 'He carried his own low temperature with him'. His atmosphere is like constant winter. However it also describes him as 'solitary as an oyster' and this image gives a hint that he is protecting himself and is scared of the world. His hatred is a defence. He is cruel to his Clerk who whom he will not allow more than one coal for the fire. A contrast is made between Scrooge and his cheerful nephew.

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  • Word count: 1386
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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