Charles Dickens Essay

Belle says: â€Å"Our contract is an old one. It was made when we were both poor and content to be so†¦ † Dickens shows that they were content when they were poor. â€Å"You are changed. When it was made you were another man. † Dickens shows that since Scrooge has got wealthy he has changed. Dickens uses Italics on â€Å"are† to show that Belle is very certain that Scrooge has changed. Belle continues saying that Scrooge has changed and also that he was different when he was poor. Dickens uses this to show Scrooge how he has changed and that he was different before. Belle also says: â€Å"But if you were free today†¦ Can even I believe that you would choose a dowerless girl-you who in your very confidence with her, weigh everything by Gain†¦ † Dickens uses this sentence to show that Scrooge would not be with Belle if she wasn’t rich. Belle then says, â€Å"A very, very brief time, and you will dismiss the recollection of it gladly, as an unprofitable dream†¦ † This implies that because this event isn’t profitable, Scrooge will forget about it quickly and â€Å"†¦ From which it happened well that you awoke. † Implies that he thinks it is good that he can forget about it leave it without any loss. The second incident involves 3 people trading Scrooges belongings after he is dead in the 4 stave. Firstly Dickens describes the narrow, haunted streets that the ghost takes Scrooge by using adjectives such as, â€Å"Naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. † Dickens uses many adjectives at a time throughout this book to help better describe the scene. He is persuading the reader that where the ghost and Scrooge are visiting isn’t pleasant. Dickens describes the shop as, â€Å"†¦ Den of, infamous resort, there was a lowbrowed, beetling shop below a penthouse roof, where iron, old rags, bottles, bones, and greasy offal were bought. † Objects in which we would not really want to purchase and these objects imply hideousness into the scene. Dickens keeps the reader guessing because the conversation the three people are having starts off by not telling too much information and shows that this affair is frequent in occurrence. The woman gives a clue to the reader by saying, â€Å"That’s enough. Who’s the worse for the loss of a few things like these? Not a dead man, I suppose? † Immediately the reader figures out that these people are talking about a dead man. The woman describes the dead man as a â€Å"Wicked old screw†. The reader gets a little bit more information on who the dead man is and dickens uses these techniques to keep the reader guessing. The people are sarcastic and cold; these features make the reader despise these people. The woman says something that provokes scrooge into thinking that they could be talking about him, â€Å"This is the end of it, you see! He frightened everyone away from him when he was alive, to profit us when he was dead! † There is irony here because it shows all the money Scrooge greedily gathered was of no purpose or use because he is dead. Scrooge starts to realize that they could be talking about him. My third incident is where the ghost takes Scrooge to the graveyard and shown his own tombstone, this incident is also in the fourth stave. Dickens starts describing the graveyard by calling it â€Å"A worthy place† which is ironic because this graveyard is not looked after and is a place where people are buried and then forgotten. Dickens carries on describing it: â€Å"Walled in by houses; choked up with too much burying; fat with repleted appetite. A worthy place. † Again Dickens describes it as â€Å"A worthy place† and describing the graveyard as an unvisited place. Dickens shows that Scrooge wasn’t looked after well and just forgotten after he died. Dickens starts to create tension: â€Å"Scrooge crept towards it, trembling†¦ † The reader is caught up in the tension reading on to find out who’s name is on the tombstone. Dickens still describes everything: â€Å"†¦ Neglected grave†¦ † Suddenly Scrooge realizes everything and is showing despair: † ‘Am I that man who lay upon the bed? ‘ he cried upon his knees. † He is desperate and shocks the ghost: â€Å"Tight clutching at it’s robe† Scrooge begins to show signs of change and declares: â€Å"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. † Dickens uses language brilliantly by Scrooge saying that he â€Å"Will honour†¦ † and also that he â€Å"Will live†¦ † He is making a strong statement that he will change. In a desperate plea he asks the Ghost, â€Å"Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone! † Dickens still is creating tension and is further showing Scrooges anxiety: â€Å"In his agony†¦ † Dickens creates a tension cliffhanger and leaves the reader guessing and wondering, has Scrooge been saved? In my conclusion this novel is a masterpiece in which Charles Dickens creates a simple story that is easy to understand and follow. Dickens uses many adjectives in one go to best describe an object. He creates a great amount of tension in this book and manages to keep the story warm and exciting. His clever use of language ensures the reader is always kept guessing but interested.