In stave 4, Dickens opens stave 4 with “he recoiled in terror,”which demonstrates that Scrooge is now absolutely terrified of death rather than just a little bit scared. He steps back after noticing the shroud, demonstrating his inability to understand what he is seeing. The word "terror" connotes utter fear, anguish, and horror, and this is the first time we have witnessed Scrooge displaying such intense feelings. Dickens emphasises Scrooge's fear of death in the gothic depiction of the animals trying to enter the room of death, which is creepy and terrifying. "A cat was tearing" and "gnawing rats" are used as verbs to describe how the animals strive to enter. Additionally, "Scrooge did not dare to consider" suggests that he does not want to face the terrible …show more content…
At this moment, the dramatic irony heightens the tension because we know that Scrooge has been left helpless by death, even though he isn't conscious of it (although one could argue that he is subconsciously aware of it and is simply unable to acknowledge it due to his terror). Scrooge admits his weakness to the ghost when he says, "I have not the power," and the fact that he says it again indicates that he is now ready to own up to his mistakes, demonstrates that he understands that death is painful and useless for him, and demonstrates his fear of it since he is not yet ready to give up on life. In fact, he is ready to change, which is demonstrated by the way he fervently repeats the mantra "I will live in the past, the present, and the future" at the beginning of Stave 5 to demonstrate that he has realised he fears death, wants to live, and will be a better man as a direct result of all the ghosts'