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Use of language in A Christmas Carol (What to do when analysing the…
Use of language in A Christmas Carol
What does he do?
Uses language to draw us into the story and present characters and scenes that are entertaining
He uses a strong narrative voice that comments on the characters at the same time as telling the story
The narrator, has opinions about Scrooge and his tale
The narrator also places himself and the reader at the heart of the action, by suggesting that he is 'standing in the spirit at (the reader's) elbow'
What to do when analysing the language Dickens has used
Examine words and phrases
Think about the sorts of words he chose
Positive
Negative
Descriptive
Explore layers of meaning
What else could a phrase refer to or suggest?
Notice any literary techniques
Simile
Metaphor
Alliteration
Explain the effects of the language
How does it make you feel?
Evidence and explanation of the language used
Clear narrative voice
Dickens uses a narrative voice that offers opinions on the characters
'Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge!'
The narrative voice is entertaining and instructions the reader how to feel about Scrooge
We trust the narrator and know instantly that Scrooge is a man who is miserly and unpleasant
Simile
When Dickens first present Scrooge he describe him as 'Hard and sharp as flint'.
Likens the character to something that the reader can recognise
We see that Scrooge is tough and unbreakable
Dialogue
Dickens reveals the characters through the things they say. Scrooge famously uses the words 'Bah!' and 'Humbug!' in response to Christmas wishes
The simple words are memorable and show that Scrooge is dismissive about Christmas
Scrooge's determination to disengage with the spirit of Christmas show him to be bad-tempered
Personification
When Dickens describes Scrooge's childhood, he uses personification to emphasis how 'merry' the sound of the young boys is by saying 'the crisp air laughed to hear it!'
The sound of the boys playing and shouting is so delightful that even the 'air' is laughing
The effect of this personification is to show how everything is affected by the good nature of the children. This contrasts with Scrooge's adult self
Metaphor
The children 'Ignorance' and 'Want' are used to represent all the poor children in society: 'They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish'.
The children under the Ghost of Christmas Present's cloak are a metaphor showing the effects of greed and miserliness
The reader, like Scrooge, feels pity for these 'ragged' children and this extends to a sense of responsibility for all the poor and homeless children in society