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bob cratchit - Coggle Diagram
bob cratchit
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family
dickens highlights theme of family through characterisation of bob by spotlighting the extent to which he values his family and presents them as an essential part of his christmas celebration
"mrs crotchet made the gravy... master peter mashed the potatoes... miss belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce..."
bob is presented as the ideal family figure who valued, loved and respected his family - he appreciated their efforts, calling the meal "the greatest success achieved by mrs crotchet since their marriage"
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"ill give you mr scrooge, the founder of the feast"
by including this toast to scrooge despite the terrible way he treats bob. dickens exemplifies bobs patience and compassion, as he is grateful and good natured towards his employer regardless of the way he is treated
"founder of the feast" elevates scrooges scrooges position and attributes importance to him regardless of whether he deserves it - could be argued dickens does this to highlight superiority of rich over lower class. even in his apparent absence bob gives scrooge a sense of respect and honour
dickens depicts him as a loving father and husband which could be interpreted as an idealisation of the lower class
dickens may have represented his character holistically to present the lower class in a different light. usually in victorian literature, the working classes were depicted as peripheral, unimportant characters - dickens defies these expectations by presenting them in a positive light and as multi faceted characters
context
in the victorian era, 'bob' was a slang word for shilling - could be argued that there is a greater meaning to cratchits name.
highlighted by the pun "bob had but fifteen bob a-week himself" - perhaps this serves as a constant reminder of how little bob earns and may be to represent importance of lower class, so much that it can alter life and death, as seen in the case of tiny tim
poverty
plight of the lower classes is highlighted through bobs character - dickens highlights his maltreatment in the office by contrasting his fear to dependence on scrooge
he explores this theme in a way which is sympathetic and compassionate, which may not have linked with the views of some of his contemporary audience
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instead of presenting the cratchits as ungrateful ro lazy, he repeatedly references their contentment - "nobody said or thought that it was a small pudding for a large family" and the fact that both bob and martha are working
he builds on this by including the fact that bob has a "situation (job) in his eye for master peter", which ultimately characterises the family as hardworking
religion
after returning form church with tiny tim he "trembled" as he told the family that tiny tim had told him that he hoped when people saw him they would remember jesus, the man who "made lame beggars walk". - the verb "trembled" highlights his deep emotional connection with religion
furthermore, when his wife expresses her distaste for scrooge during bobs toast, he reminds her it is christmas day, highlighting the respect and honour he gives the celebration. here, dickens presents crotchet as a morally righteous young man as readers are likely to associate religion with a strong moral standing