https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas Starting with this extract, to what extent does Dickens present Scrooge as a sympathetic character? en-us 2019-01-11 14:26:52 UTC 2026-02-26 05:35:41 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342742322 One place where Dickens effectively makes the reader feel sympathy towards Scrooge is through flashbacks in stave 2, shown by the ghost of Christmas past. 

Scrooge is shown his former self at school by the ghost where he is depicted as lonely with only his imagination to accompany him.

"It's dear old honest Ali Baba!" emphasises the isolation Scrooge felt in school, and possible neglect. "Honest" is seen as a fantastic quality by Scrooge, suggesting that he has had a lack of honest people in his younger life. "dear" suggests that one of his closest friends was fictional, and his younger life lacked affection. This leads the readers into developing a sense of sympathy for him as they start to understand why Scrooge is so callous in later life- because of his early neglect.

Scrooge who has been observing himself the whole time is clearly distraught shown by his exclamation of "Poor boy!" and the fact that he cries twice during the flashback. This leads to an instinctive reaction from the reader, as humans are naturally feel sympathy to others when they are crying as it shows vulnerability.


Scrooge is also shown as very distraught when he is shown Belle and her family. Belle is with another man, which could have been Scrooge as well as many children. This upsets Scrooge greatly shown by his exclamatory language in a "broken voice". One quote to show his distress is "I cannot bear it!".  ]]> 2019-03-19 09:14:33 UTC https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342742322 https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342742560 Dickens evokes a sense of sympathy for Scrooge in Stave 4. He does this by showing the other characters lack of sympathy for him. An example of this is when Scrooges past business partners are shown as being callous, saying they would only go to the funeral 'if lunch is provided'. Later on in this stave we then see his house keeper Mrs Dilber selling his belongings to a pawn broker,Joe. Dickens envokes smypathy for Scrooge as, when discovering Scrooge's death - both upper and lower class showed little to no remourse or feeling toward Scrooge and only focused on how his death would effect them financially. ]]> 2019-03-19 09:15:42 UTC https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342742560 https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342747779 Dickens portrays Scrooge as a sympathetic character through the use of tone. The tone at the beginning is pleading and full of desperation. Dicken’s shows a new side to Scrooge through the change in his character from ‘hard and sharp as flint’ to ‘quite desperate’. This portrays him as lonely and hurt which makes the reader feel sympathetic towards his character. 


Dickens further shows how Scrooge is affected by what he was shown by his plea to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, he begs to see ‘any person in this town who feels emotion caused by this mans death’. This change in attitude towards death shows his redemption. In this extract, he is anxious about what people think of him after death whereas at the beginning he suggests ‘decreasing the surplus population’. 


Dickens has used Dramatic Irony throughout this scene, as the reader knows that the body Scrooge has seen is in fact himself. His reaction to it, even though he does not know who it is, shows the reader that he is no longer ‘callous’ and uncaring. This emphasises the sympathy felt for Scrooge. ]]> 2019-03-19 09:22:39 UTC https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342747779 https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342750304 Dickens evokes sympathy for Scrooge by using religious language to emphasise the joy that the couple feels at his death. This contradictory reaction helps build sympathy for Scrooge as the audience laments the lack of mourning at his death. The religious language can be seen when the wife declares that Scrooge’s death is a “miracle”, and she was “thankful in her soul” for his death. Both “miracle” and “soul” have heavily religious connotations, and since religion was very important in Victorian society, this serves to emphasise the intensity and gratitude of their emotions. It is also a realisation for Scrooge that his transformation, or “rebirth” is mandatory to escape his “miserly” qualities and this fate of being disdained even after his death. This builds sympathy for Scrooge because he is now self-aware of his resentment from ordinary people because of the religious language’s emphasis on how “merciless” he was. ]]> 2019-03-19 09:30:51 UTC https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342750304 https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342754081 In A Christmas Carol, Dickens presents Scrooge at the start as a heartless and callous character. The word "Scrooge" nowadays is associated with traits of stinginess and misery. Dickens creates a redemptive story arc in which the reader is obliged to go on a journey with the main character. As we go on this journey, we see him in a whole new light.    ]]> 2019-03-19 09:43:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342754081 https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342755765 To conclude, Dickens has shown Scrooge in a sympathetic way in the extract as well as in the novella as a whole. He has done this by showing differing opinions on Scrooge, which creates empathy between Scrooge and the reader. This sympathy is important because otherwise the reader would feel alienated from Scrooge which would make ‘A Christmas Carol’ less of a success. ]]> 2019-03-19 09:48:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rachel_thanassoulis/dx3zzhdc9kas/wish/342755765