The Characterization of Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

The hyperbolic description of Scrooge in the early stages of the book is used to describe a large proportion of those who were better off in Victorian London.
Scrooge is a 'squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner'. Dickens uses the present participle extremely effectively here as he is writing it in a way that he might describe Scrooge if he was talking aloud. Dickens also directly addresses the reader, such as 'Scrooge and Marley had been partners for as long I can remember'. This makes the character more believable as Dickens is implying that he once knew him and makes the novella almost biographical.
The description of Scrooge is associated with weather, 'a frosty rime on his head' and 'the cold within him froze his old features'. This is clever as no weather has affect on him. This also gives a good indication of his appearance. We can imagine he is very pale, has cold red eyes and thin blue lips. When we picture this we see someone ...