To make the atmosphere joyful Dickens even incorporates a little bit of humour when Scrooge turns to
Bob Cratchit and offers to raise his salary Bob reaches for a ruler as if his boss has gone mad. ' which compares Scrooge to foul weather. les to stress how unsociable Scrooge is:'Hard and sharp as flint' and 'solitary as an oyster', these are negative comparisons along with:'No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. He is portrayed in a very melancholy light. Scrooge talks in longer sentences, which have more feeling put in to them and he jokes with everyone. It makes the reader feel as though they are with the spirit and experiencing what Scrooge faces. 'Dickens uses alliteration of 's' sounds to make an impact and accentuate the conditions. He also uses onomatopoeia for example, 'clash' and 'whoop!' to create a scene with sound. Even though he uses positive images he is still very descriptive, as in the beginning of the story. The most eloquent passages in the book are ones dealing with deprivation, for example when the Spirit of Christmas yet to come directs Scrooge to a graveyard:'Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their offences of smell and dirt, and life upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery. Dickens also writes so that Scrooge talks in his head, which suggests that he has no one else to talk to and so he speaks to himself and it emphasises his solitary existence. To create this impression Dickens uses very short, snappy and infantile phrases, which are limited to insults. This enables Dickens to enter his own opinions. From the first mention of Scrooge the reader is told he is an unpleasant, covetous old man and the story doesn't leave the reader in any doubt. Dickens writes in first person but you never get to find out the character he is playing.
