‘A Christmas Carol’By Charles Dickens

‘A Christmas Carol’ trivia

• At the time this story was written (1843), the generous spirit of Christmas charity was non-existent in England.

• Many people did not believe in giving to the poor. Instead, they believed the poor somehow brought poverty upon themselves.

Historical London

• London was the largest, most spectacular city in the world.

• Many unskilled rural people moved in to take industrial jobs.

• Irish moved there to escape the potato famine

• Clogged with ships, shops and people – both rich and poor.

Streets

•Filth and poverty – due to so many people.

•No indoor plumbing – mess•Horses as transportation – mess•Chimney smoke everywhere•Sewage overflowed from

underground, flooding the river•Pickpockets, beggars, vagrants –

mess and crime•Streets were rarely lit - expensive

Sanitation and Disease

• Living conditions – cramped and unhealthy – more disease

• Death rate was twice the birth rate, but population increased due to immigrants

• Average lifespan of an Englishman was 29 • Cleanliness or clean clothes were not a priority• People smelled and drank unclean water

• Half of all of the funerals were for children under 10

The Law

• Law and order was for the better neighborhoods

• In the back streets and slums – violence and crime

• Poor Law – sent needy to prisons and workhouses, kept the poor from bettering themselves, they lost hope

Education and Children

• Poor families could not afford to send children to school

• Ragged Schools (charities) provided free education but the kids were often needed to make money for the family instead

• Children as young as five worked – begging and sweeping chimneys, also in mines and factories because of their size

• Little chance of health and survival or a better future

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

• Overview: Scrooge, a tight-fisted and bitter man, is visited by 3 spirits to bring about his redemption before his death. He learns to love his fellow man after being shown the love and generosity that symbolizes Christmas.

A Christmas Carol

• Pay careful attention to the three ghosts. Each message has a specific effect on Scrooge.

• What does the ghost of Christmas past remind Scrooge of?

• What does Scrooge’s future hold if he continues to be greedy and self-absorbed?

PERSONIFICATION• Dickens portrays

Ignorance and Want as two frail, ghastly children.

• Do you think the main causes of poverty are ignorance and want? Explain why or why not.

Major Themes

The Christmas Spirit

•Above all, A Christmas Carol is a celebration of Christmas and the good it inspires. At Christmas time, people cherish friendship, charity, and celebration. Fred and Fezziwig are examples of good cheer, generosity and love.

Redemption and free will

•The greatest pleasure is watching Scrooge’s change from money loving sad man to generous gentleman. His redemption is made possible through free will (his choices). While Scrooge is shown visions of the future, he has the power to change the future with his present actions; if Scrooge can change, then so can anyone.

Afterlife

•Dickens shows us what happens to people who died but haven’t really lived their lives when they could. When they lived, they didn’t laugh with others nor didn’t help anyone. Now they walk the streets as ghosts and watch other people laugh and cry but they can’t laugh or cry with them. They are stuck somewhere between heaven and hell.

Childhood

•Scrooge had a really unhappy childhood. Do you believe this had lead him to become the sad man he was?

Act One Scene 1 and 2

1. A. Explain how Scrooge originally knew Marley. B. According to the narrator, what about Marley must be distinctly understood?

2. Describe the difficult working conditions that Scrooge’s clerk must endure.

3. Tell how Scrooge responds to each of the following (in detail): a. his nephew’s invitation, b. the gentlemen’s request for money for the poor, and c. the boy who sings a carol through the keyhole.

4. A. Describe Scrooge’s house using 5 details. B. How does it reflect his personality?

5. A. Describe Jacob Marley’s ghost. B. Why must the ghost travel “far and wide” (think about what sort of person he was when alive)? C. How did he get his chain? What does it symbolize? (think about what was important to him in life)

6. A. According to Marley’s ghost, why is he visiting Scrooge? B. Whom does he tell Scrooge to expect next?

Extra Credit: Compare and contrast Scrooge and his nephew in at least a paragraph. Use details from the play.

Act One Scenes 3-6

1. A. According to the nearby church chimes and his own watch, what time is it when Scrooge wakes up? B. Tell why he finds it hard to believe it is the correct time.

2. A. How does the Ghost of Christmas Past get Scrooge’s attention? B. List five physical and personality details that give this ghost a strange appearance. (What does it look like?)

3. Discuss what the Ghost says is her business with Scrooge.

4. The Ghost helps Scrooge visit scenes from FIVE past Christmases. Briefly summarize the events that Scrooge witnesses in each of the FIVE scenes.

5. Explain how Scrooge gets rid of the Ghost from Christmas Past.

Act One Scene 7 – Act Two Scene 1

1. A. What makes Scrooge realize that the second of the three spirits has arrived? B. Describe the scene surrounding the second Spirit when Scrooge first sees it.

2. A. Describe the physical characteristics of the Ghosts of Christmas Present. B. What does he carry in his hand? C. For which class of people does he have the most sympathy?

3. Describe how the Cratchits celebrate Christmas. Use 3 details.

4. A. Describe Tiny Tim’s handicap. B. What does Scrooge ask the Ghost to tell him about the boy? C. What is the Ghost’s reply, and how does Scrooge react to it?

5. A. Describe Mrs. Cratchit’s feelings towards Scrooge. B. Why does she think of him this way?

6. A. Describe the scene in Scrooge’s nephew’s house – list three things they say about Scrooge. B. Tell how Scrooge reacts to what is said.

7. A. List SEVEN words that Dickens uses to describe the two children discovered beneath the Ghost’s robe. B. What does the Ghost say are their names? Explain.

Scene 2-31. A. Describe the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. B. What aspect of the

Ghost’s behavior scares Scrooge the most?

2. Tell what Scrooge overhears the merchants at the Exchange discussing. Who in particular does Scrooge hope to see there?

3. A. List the four people at the junk dealer’s shop. B. What are the three of them trying to sell? C. Where and from whom did they did they get the goods? D. Tell how Scrooge reacts to what he witnesses at the shop.

4. A. Explain why the young man and his wife Caroline feel relieved that the unnamed businessman has died. B. What is Scrooge’s reaction to this scene?

5. A. List three details that alert you to the fact that Tiny Tim has died. B. In what ways has Scrooge’s nephew shown “extraordinary kindness” to the Cratchit family?

Scene 4-End

1. A. What does Scrooge conclude when he sees his bed curtains have not been torn down? B. What day is it when he wakes up?

2. What errand does Scrooge hire a boy to do?

3. A. Scrooge meets the “portly gentlemen” who visited his office in Act One. B. In your own words, explain what Scrooge tells his man.

4. A. Tell how Scrooge is welcomed at his nephew’s house. B. What TWO wonderful things does Scrooge enjoy here?

5. A. What joke does Scrooge play on Bob Cratchit? B. What is Bob’s first reaction to the new Scrooge? C. What does Scrooge do to make up for how he has treated Bob in the past?

6. A. Explain how Scrooge’s relationship with the Cratchit family changes. B. What happens to Tiny Tim?

Essay: How do you think Scrooge changed his life after the experiences with the ghosts?

• Intro– Describe how Scrooge lives his life

when we meet him– Use specific examples of how he treats

people (the poor, his clerk, his nephew, children)

3 Body Paragraphs

• Spirit of Christmas Past– Describe the ghost (what does it look like?

His/her personality)– What does the outfit/colors symbolize?– What does the Spirit show Scrooge –

describe their interaction– How does Scrooge change after – what

does he do or say that shows he learned a lesson

Continued

• Spirit of Christmas Present– Describe the ghost (what does it look

like? His/her personality)– What does the outfit/colors symbolize?– What does the Spirit show Scrooge –

describe their interaction– How does Scrooge change after – what

does he do or say that shows he learned a lesson

Continued

• Spirit of Christmas Future– Describe the ghost (what does it look like?

His/her personality)– What does the outfit/colors symbolize?– What does the Spirit show Scrooge –

describe their interaction– How does Scrooge change after – what

does he do or say that shows he learned a lesson

Illustrate the 3 Spirits (3 different pictures)

• Pay attention to what each spirit wears.

• Focus on the scene that has the most impact on Scrooge in your opinion.