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Dickens was especially aware of the plight of poor children in the 19th century, and children appear in the story as symbols of the ruined youth of Industrial Capitalism. The youths of Ignorance and Want are especially clear representations of these problems. And Tiny Tim is a lasting symbol of the power of goodness and generosity to overcome adversity. Putting these large themes in the figures of children emphasizes the tragedy of the premature suffering of the Victorian youth, affected by the grinding poverty created by the Industrial Revolution and England's poverty laws which made being in debt a crime punishable by forcing debtors into working houses. The story is also populated with images of age, which taunt Scrooge with the idea of the past and of his approaching death. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a strange mixture of the two, both elderly and childlike.
Images of Age and Youth Quotes in A Christmas Carol
The A Christmas Carol quotes below all refer to the symbol of Images of Age and Youth. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Stave 2
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It was a strange figure-like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child's proportions.
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Stave 4
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'If he wanted to keep them after he was dead, a wicked old screw,' pursued the woman, 'why wasn't he natural in his lifetime? If he had been, he'd have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself.'
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Images of Age and Youth Symbol Timeline in A Christmas Carol
The timeline below shows where the symbol Images of Age and Youth appears in A Christmas Carol. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Stave 2
This new ghost appears as if through “some supernatural medium”, giving his aged features child-like proportions. He has white hair, but smooth skin. He wears a glowing white...
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...over the scenes of Scrooge’s boyhood. The ghost is wise and motherly, and Scrooge becomes childlike in his care. He feels like he is surrounded by ghostly “odours”, full of hopes...
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Stave 3
...conditions the revelers are in. But as they travel, the Ghost of Christmas Present is noticeably aging . He says his brief life will be over at midnight.
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...and time passes, Scrooge notices something strange under the Ghost of Christmas Present’s robe. Two children creep out. They are miserable animals, so sick and shriveled that they look old instead...
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Stave 4
...Scrooge realizes that Tiny Tim has died. Bob is due home but one of the children says he’s been walking slower recently, and they all agree that he used to go...
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