One of the most effective passages for provoking the

audience’s empathy with the Poor was the Spirit of Christmas

Present’s monologue in ‘A Christmas Carol’. How does
Dickens achieve an impact on his reader? Comment on his
use of poetic techniques and devices, characterisation and
structure.

Dickens wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’ in 1843 as an allegory for society as he

saw it. He perceived that people at the time were becoming more selfish and
he wished to address the issue and make people think about the way they
were behaving and reflect on their treatment of others. Dickens uses a range
of techniques to ensure that the audience react emotively to this scene, as it
is the climax of the story when his main message is presented. This is the
moment when the Christian ideals of Christmas that underpin the story are
presented to the reader.

It is worth noting, before proceeding, that when Dickens wrote the tale he had
a particular readership in mind: people who were living in the mid nineteenth
century. Though the story still retains its relevance today, we did not form
part of Dickens’ original perception of his audience.

Empathy is defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of

another” (OED) and many of the techniques that he deploys to evoke this
sentiment are most often found in works of poetry. These include metaphor,
simile, personification and cunning use of adjectives. These techniques
combine together to ensure that the reader, both of the time and of today,
cannot help but inwardly reflect on their conduct and empathise with the
characters.

Firstly to look at Dickens’ use of metaphor in this scene of ‘A Christmas

Carol’. A particularly good example occurs very close to the opening of the
section. Dickens refers to “misery’s every refuge” when he is describing the
journey of Scrooge and the Spirit. This immediately shows us as readers that
much of society is very poor and struggling. Many places are listed, places
which existed in both the nineteenth century and still exist today and with
which all readers would be familiar. They are described in terms of
unhappiness – “misery” itself being an example of an emotive word.

When describing the children, whom it is fair to presume are related in some
way to the aforementioned “misery”, he says of them “Where angels might
have sat enthroned, devils lurked.” This is metaphorical because the children
are not literally either of these things, but associating them first with angels
and then with devils gives the audience the perception that they could have
been angelic were it not for the “misery” that they have had to endure. This
evokes pity and inevitable sadness in the audience and they cannot help but
feel for these children. It is natural for all creatures to wish to protect their
young and seeing the wasted potential in these children would cause a very
emotional reaction from the reader.

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Dickens does not use many similes in this passage, but when he does the
audience is forced to react with horror. He is again referring to the children.
We all have certain expectations regarding how children should be and thus
the image of a “stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age” evokes feelings of
disgust and slight nausea. The reader is forced to wonder what is going on
and thus they are primed for Dickens’ message. He is telling the reader that
unless things change in society then this is what will happen to the children.

Having looked at metaphor and simile use, we now need to look at Dickens’
deployment of adjectives. These abound throughout the text and are too
numerous to cover individually within the scope of this essay. However, it is
how the adjectives are used in this section which is of greatest interest and
relevance. Dickens regularly lists his adjectives, separating them with
commas, before he finally arrives at his noun. For example, of the girl he
says: “Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish”. Of the children he says
“wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable”. The effect of doing this is to
really underline his point in the minds of the reader. They are not just one of
these things, which would be bad enough, but they are all of them.

These poetic techniques, though striking, are perhaps of lesser importance in

relation to the emotions of the reader than personification. We have touched
briefly on this already, when discussing the children, but it needs a much
more detailed examination. The children are used to represent Want and
Ignorance. ‘Want’ in this sense means “the state of being poor and in need of
essentials” (OED) and 'Ignorance' means “lack of knowledge” (OED). As
these words are introduced as the children’s names, they have, quite
correctly, been given uppercase initial letters. They are also the titles of the
states they represent. As we have already seen, humankind has certain
perceptions of what children should be – innocents, full of potential and love
for life. People naturally hope children are happy and have their whole futures
ahead of them. For Dickens to use children to personify two states of abject
misery is thus very striking. Crimes against children today are viewed with
total horror by the general populous and thus would be the suffering of the
youngsters we have presented before us. We empathise with them and feel
that we should de something to help.

Dickens also plays on the emotions of the reader by pricking their religious
consciences. This is done in two ways: firstly, through the fact that Christmas
is a Christian festival; secondly through his use of language within the text.
These aspects are both worthy of individual consideration.

In Dickens’ times, England was a predominantly Christian society. There was

not the wealth of religious beliefs with which we are familiar today. Thus, the
majority of the Victorian readership would allegedly hold Christian values and
celebrate the festival accordingly. By using this festival to demonstrate the
true nature of society at the time, Dickens would reach his entire public.
Christmas was a time when people would be openhearted and in a more
generous mood. Dickens enters these open hearts at an opportune moment
and delivers his message harshly by showing tales of suffering and misery.

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Despite the fact that it is the festive season, these children, instead of having
fun, playing with new toys and eating well, are “monsters…so horrible and
dread”. Quite the opposite of how people would like to think of their infants at
this celebratory time.

Secondly, Dickens reminds the reader that Christmas is not just about food
and presents: it is a religious festival. He does this through the words of the
Spirit: “Slander those who tell it ye…And bide the end”. This is archaic,
almost Biblical wording and serves to show the audience that Christmas is not
just about material matters. This biblical echo makes the reader ponder his
own religion and how he practices it. The reader is forced to reflect on how
he goes about his daily business: is he adding to the plight of the poor, or
does he remain open hearted throughout the year? At the time, with
industrialisation well under way, many people could not have honestly replied
in the affirmative to this question.

In relation to the language, the Spirit uses another technique to make

Scrooge, and by implication the audience, consider his message. He echoes
Scrooge’s own words, “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?”
These were highly unpleasant places, predominantly populated by the poor,
and the reader is hence forced, along with Scrooge, to consider their true
function in society.

Further to this, the Spirit also issues a stark warning: “Beware the boy”
(ignorance). Scrooge and the audience have remained deliberately ignorant
of the plight of the poor. By pretending they do not exist through lack of
acknowledgement, they cannot be held responsible for the state they are in.
The Spirit tells Scrooge that it is this which leads to the formation of an
underclass in society, an underclass that will eventually rise up to change
things.

As well as being largely Christian in nature, Victorians believed in ghosts.

Though some people still do today, it is much less pervasive due to advances
in science and a more widespread scepticism. The Victorians believed that
ghosts appeared to the living in order to offer guidance. It was thus not a
fantastic story for the time and the audience may have perceived the entire
chain of events as highly plausible. This is why the story works as an
allegory, a symbol for society at the time. It is this moment within it when the
reader sees Scrooge altering his perspective and becoming more ‘Christian’.
The reader, through recognising aspects of his own character within the
personality of Scrooge, is forced to empathise with him and reflect on his own
conduct.

Having looked at the various ways in which the reader is impacted upon:
through imagery, personification, language and common recognition of the
self, it is also notable that the structure of the text as a whole facilitates this
reaction. The children shown to Scrooge are the ultimate horror and as such
follow a chain of events which lead up to them. If we had seen them at the
beginning then they would lose their impact. It is the timing of their arrival,

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accompanied by the Spirit’s ominous diatribe, that ensure maximum reaction
from the audience as well as from Scrooge.

However, ‘A Christmas Carol’ is ultimately a positive story. The Scrooge

character is himself a personification of all that is bad in society and if he has
the potential to change then all cannot be bad. Dickens was fundamentally
trying to get people to think about what they were doing before it was too late
and this is why there is the underlying sense throughout this scene that time is
running out. Literally, the Spirit’s walk “ends to-night” and by implication this
is the last chance for mankind too.

To conclude, we can clearly see how this section of the story is of

fundamental import. It is a moment of realisation, awakening and redemption
for the central character. As a reader we are going through the experience
too, so it is a moment of realisation and awakening for us also. Without this
section, the height of emotional tension, the whole story would be bland and
no one would think about its message. Dickens would have failed.

NOTES:

• This essay would get an A*. This is partly because I wrote it AND I
marked it, but also because I paid particular attention to the criteria
when I was writing it.
• It’s about 1, 700 words, which is ideal.
• It is not the only way to address this question – it is my personal
response to it. The higher grades like to see personal response.
• I have used shorter quotes, within the sentences, as it’s better this way.
Longer quotes, also known as space fillers because you can’t think of
what to put next, are less hard hitting and don’t flow as nicely.
• Also, I have explained my quotes, following the P(oint), E(vidence),
E(xplain) format.
• I’ve basically followed the essay plan you were given, as I thought it
would be more helpful to you. However, you don’t have to follow it –
remember what I said about personal response. If you don’t follow it,
you MUST do a plan, or you’ll go off the point.
• During this essay, I kept referring back to the question. This is a good
thing as it refocuses you as you write and your reader as they read.

Finally:

• Sorry for any typing errors and I would point out that my conclusion is
not as good as it could be.