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Ghost of Christmas Past - Coggle Diagram

- - - - reflects the timeless nature of the ghost, and could be a metaphor for scrooges past. it knows his childhood and him as an old man, and is prepared to show scrooge his past, which frightens scrooge (we know this since he attempts to put a cap on the ghosts light). a child has connotations of innocence and purity. we can interpret this as scrooge being as such as a child. in contrast, he is now an old man, broken and emotive.
        
        alternatively, this ghost could be a personification for memory. this is supported by the quote "fluctuated in its distinctiveness", just like how memories fade and alter in the subconcious
    - - (shadows)
    - - in addition, many biblical images are presented in the descriptions of the ghosts. for example,
        
        alternatively, the three ghosts themselves could be an allusion to the Trinity, a big ideology in christianity.
        
        the ghost of christmas past as jesus; a guiding light to the path of redemption
        
        the ghost of christmas present as the father, who is presented as loving, welcoming and caring; sacrificing his one day of christmas to help scrooge, which is much like how the father made sacrifices in the bible by sending his song jesus down to earth.
        
        the ghost of christmas yet to come as the holy spirit; who cannot talk, and only points to the path of redemption; which could be interpreted as a subtle guidance, just as the spirit is said to do in the bible.
        
        "tunic of purest white"
        
        angelic image. christians would know that angels are sent to deliver a message, so are inclined to trust and listen to this strange figure.
      - "uncommon strength"
  - - - change is a key idea presented in the novella. dickens, being a member of the lower class for much of his life, realises the need for change in victorian society. dickens intention while writing this novella as an esteemed writer was to influence the readers of his book to understand the truth. in a way, dickens is 'shedding light' on the reality of the problems caused by the huge class divide.
      - is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap, and force me through whole trains of years to wear it low upon my brow!
        
        here, this ghost is a mouthpiece for dickens, who is directly criticising the upper classes for being ignorant; "one of those"
- - - - we come to sympathise with scrooge because we realise his prolonged isolation as a child has led to him being isolated now, because although it is by choice, it is what he is used to; and we know that scrooge does not like change.
      - scrooge "sobs" as he recalls this memory, perhaps because it is painful for him to remember it. we can infer from this that it is a sensitive topic for scrooge
        
        this visit is important because it allows the reader to understand why scrooge acts the way he does, and we no longer see him as a cold-hearted, evil character; but instead, we see him as an unfortunate, sad and traumatised child who grows up to reject any emotion because he doesnt want to get hurt.
        
        it is also inferred that scrooge's father was abusive.
        
        "father is so much kinder now"
  - - - dickens does this to exaggerate the difference between the two employers. at this point, scrooge feels ashamed of his actions, which is great character development as he feels remorse for how he is treating his own employee, cratchit.
      - "fuel was heaped upon the fire"
        
        i love this quote. it directly highlights the difference between the two men as the reader recalls when scrooge, at the beginning of the novella, only let bob cratchit use one piece of coal.
- - - - this also emphasises how desperate scrooge is when he attempts to "wrestle" with the ghost, seeing as it is obviously a much higher power than him
  - - - also, it could be an ~amalgamation~ of all the different people in the memories he is about to show scrooge