Bad Scrooge
Summary:
At the beginning of the novel, Dickens tells us that Jacob Marley is dead. In fact, he repeats that
Marley is dead, wanting his readers to understand that, when Marley appears later, he is definitely a
ghost! We find out that Marley had been Scrooge’s business partner and that the events of the
novel take place some years after Marley’s death. Scrooge had been Marley’s only friend, and the
only person who went to his funeral.
We are then told about Scrooge’s character, and he sounds very unpleasant. Dickens tells us that
he is mean and cold, and no one ever stops in the street to greet him or ask how he is. However, we
are told that Scrooge likes to live this way, keeping his distance from others in the same way as they
keep their distance from him.
Key Quotes: Context Links:
Backdrop of this novella is Christmas. A time
"Marley was dead to begin with" for friends, family and most importantly
"His sole friend, his sole mourner" giving! We see from the very start that
"As sharp as flint" Scrooge is the complete opposite, which is
" He was a tight fisted hand at the grindstone" what emphasises his transformation so
"Solitary as an oyster" much at the end of the novella.
, Counting House
Summary:
It is Christmas Eve and Scrooge is at work in his counting house, which today we would call his
accounts office. It is dark and foggy, setting the rather miserable mood for what is to come. Scrooge
works by a small fire, but his clerk, Bob Cratchit, has an even smaller fire that looks like only one
coal.
Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, comes to invite his uncle to Christmas dinner. He is a cheerful man and
contrasts greatly to Scrooge, who refuses his offer and suggests he does not wish to celebrate
Christmas, repeating ‘Humbug!’.
Two portly gentlemen also visit Scrooge, asking for a donation for the poor. Scrooge tells them that
he will give nothing and that it is not his business to do things for others.
The section finishes with Scrooge reluctantly giving Bob Christmas Day off.
Key Quotes: Context Links:
This section highlights the key reason that motivated
"Had a fire that looked like one piece of Dickens to write this novella. It highlights the wealth
coal" gap in Victorian society and how the poor were left to
their own devices to survive. There was no help from
"Are there no prisons? No workhouses?"
the government, a part from the workhouses which
"If they rather die, they better do so and
were horrible. Only people who were truly desperate
decrease the surplus population"
used these facilities as they were dangerous and could
"It's not convenient." lead to people dying.
Summary:
At the beginning of the novel, Dickens tells us that Jacob Marley is dead. In fact, he repeats that
Marley is dead, wanting his readers to understand that, when Marley appears later, he is definitely a
ghost! We find out that Marley had been Scrooge’s business partner and that the events of the
novel take place some years after Marley’s death. Scrooge had been Marley’s only friend, and the
only person who went to his funeral.
We are then told about Scrooge’s character, and he sounds very unpleasant. Dickens tells us that
he is mean and cold, and no one ever stops in the street to greet him or ask how he is. However, we
are told that Scrooge likes to live this way, keeping his distance from others in the same way as they
keep their distance from him.
Key Quotes: Context Links:
Backdrop of this novella is Christmas. A time
"Marley was dead to begin with" for friends, family and most importantly
"His sole friend, his sole mourner" giving! We see from the very start that
"As sharp as flint" Scrooge is the complete opposite, which is
" He was a tight fisted hand at the grindstone" what emphasises his transformation so
"Solitary as an oyster" much at the end of the novella.
, Counting House
Summary:
It is Christmas Eve and Scrooge is at work in his counting house, which today we would call his
accounts office. It is dark and foggy, setting the rather miserable mood for what is to come. Scrooge
works by a small fire, but his clerk, Bob Cratchit, has an even smaller fire that looks like only one
coal.
Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, comes to invite his uncle to Christmas dinner. He is a cheerful man and
contrasts greatly to Scrooge, who refuses his offer and suggests he does not wish to celebrate
Christmas, repeating ‘Humbug!’.
Two portly gentlemen also visit Scrooge, asking for a donation for the poor. Scrooge tells them that
he will give nothing and that it is not his business to do things for others.
The section finishes with Scrooge reluctantly giving Bob Christmas Day off.
Key Quotes: Context Links:
This section highlights the key reason that motivated
"Had a fire that looked like one piece of Dickens to write this novella. It highlights the wealth
coal" gap in Victorian society and how the poor were left to
their own devices to survive. There was no help from
"Are there no prisons? No workhouses?"
the government, a part from the workhouses which
"If they rather die, they better do so and
were horrible. Only people who were truly desperate
decrease the surplus population"
used these facilities as they were dangerous and could
"It's not convenient." lead to people dying.
