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Study Booklet

A Christmas Carol

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Big Question ‘Hard and sharp as flint’ – How does Scrooge differ from Fred?

Pages: 1 - 8

Vocabulary

Miserly Miserable Unsympathetic

Insensitive Uncharitable Greedy

Impolite Parsimonious Uncaring

Snapshot The novel was published in 1843. At the time, London was rapidly expanding; between 1800 and 1900, the population grew from roughly one million people to over six million. As a result, overcrowding was a serious problem and the majority of Londoners lived in poverty. Look out for this later on in the novel: Bob Cratchit (Scrooge’s clerk) lives in cramped conditions and struggles to provide for his family.

Extract Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing,

wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as

flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-

contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features,

nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes

red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime

was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low

temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t

thaw it one degree at Christmas.

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Big Question ‘Many thousands are in want of common necessities’ – What do Scrooge’s interactions with others reveal about his values?

Pages: 8 - 15

Vocabulary

Charity Wealth Equality

Class Poverty Greed

Snapshot In 1834, an amendment to the original Poor Law of 1601 was introduced that reduced the amount of welfare available to those in need and made entry to a workhouse conditional. Food and shelter were not provided to those who did not work in these harsh places. In some cases, families were separated and made to live in different areas of their assigned building; they were essentially powerless. The flawed idea behind the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was to discourage those in poverty from relying on the state for support.

Extract ‘At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge,’ said the gentleman, taking up

a pen, ‘it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight

provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time.

Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are

in want of common comforts, sir.’

‘Are there no prisons?’ asked Scrooge.

‘Plenty of prisons,’ said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

‘And the Union workhouses?’ demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?’

‘They are. Still, returned the gentleman, ‘I wish I could say they were not.’

‘The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?’ said Scrooge.

‘Both very busy, sir.’

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Big Question ‘In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley’ – How is Marley’s Ghost presented and how does Scrooge initially react to seeing it?

Pages: 15 - 22

Vocabulary

Apparition Uncertainty Disbelief

Shade Dismissal Illusion

Humour Apprehension Fear

Snapshot It was said that Dickens had ‘a hankering after ghosts.’ This isn’t to suggest that he believed in them, but it’s fair to say that he was interested by the literary possibilities they offered him. In the novel, ghosts have the capacity to be both frightening and comical. Jacob Marley’s ghost provides a good example of this: it has ‘death-cold eyes’ (frightening) and yet Scrooge also remarks that he is able to see ‘the two buttons on his coat’ through the transparent body (comical).

Extract The same face: the very same. Marley in his pigtail, usual waistcoat, tights and

boots; the tassels on the latter bristling, like his pigtail, and his coat-skirts, and

the hair upon his head. The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was

long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it

closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought

in steel. His body was transparent; so that Scrooge, observing him, and looking

through his waistcoat, could see the two buttons on his coat behind.

Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he had never

believed it until now.

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Big Question ‘Captive, bound, and double-ironed’ – In what ways does Marley’s Ghost suffer?

Pages: 23 - 28

Vocabulary

Regretful Distressed Anguished

Confined Restricted Desperate

Snapshot Dickens foreshadows the appearance of Marley’s Ghost when Scrooge arrives home. The yard is dark, the rooms he occupies are ‘gloomy’ and he is the sole inhabitant of the building. The image of Marley appears in the knocker of the door; it has ‘ghostly spectacles’ and a ‘ghostly forehead’. Although Scrooge dismisses what he sees, he nonetheless feels a sense of ‘horror’ and he is ‘conscious of a terrible sensation’. Later, he sees Marley’s face in the tiles of his fireplace and hears the ‘clanking’ of his chains.

Extract The Ghost, on hearing this, set up another cry, and clanked its chain so hideously

in the dead silence of the night, that the Ward would have been justified in

indicting it for a nuisance.

‘Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed,’ cried the phantom, ‘not to know,

that ages of incessant labour by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into

eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. Not to know

that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will

find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no

space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused! Yet such

was I! Oh! Such was I!’

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Review of Stave One 1. When was the novel published?

2. In which city is it set?

3. What is the name of Scrooge’s former business partner?

4. For how many years has he been dead?

5. In which year was the Poor Law Amendment Act passed?

6. What is the ‘treadmill’ a reference to?

7. What is a ‘union workhouse’?

8. In which area of London is Scrooge’s house located?

9. What is the weather like when Scrooge arrives there?

10. What image does Scrooge see on the knocker of his door?

11. What is an ‘apparition’?

12. Finish the quotation: ‘Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but…’

13. Finish the quotation: ‘I wear the chain I…’

14. How many spirits is Scrooge told will haunt him?

15. What does Scrooge see out his window at the end of the chapter?

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Big Question ‘It was a strange figure’ – How is the Ghost of Christmas Past presented and how does Scrooge react to his appearance?

Pages: 29 - 34

Vocabulary

Confused Dismissive Composed

Snapshot The Ghost Christmas Past is a strange and fantastic presence in Scrooge’s cold, dark bedroom and stands in contrast to the ‘dreadful apparition’ of Marley. Initially, Scrooge seems relatively unperturbed at what he sees. He even reflects that ‘a night of unbroken rest’ might do more for his welfare than being ’gently’ guided away by the ‘strong hand’ of the Spirit.

Extract Its hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white as if with age;

and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin.

The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were of

uncommon strength. Its legs and feet, most delicately formed, were, like those

upper members, bare. It wore a tunic of the purest white; and round its waist

was bound a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It held a branch of

fresh green holly in its hand; and, in singular contradiction of that wintry

emblem, had its dress trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing

about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of

light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its

using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held

under its arm.

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Big Question ‘And he sobbed’ – How does Scrooge react to his seeing his village and schoolhouse and to what extent does he change?

Pages: 35 - 42

Vocabulary

Memory Recognition Delight

Happiness Sadness Distress

Isolation Neglect Regret

Snapshot Scrooge is described in the first stave as being ‘hard and sharp as flint’. However, he seems to change after seeing ‘the shadows of the things that have been.’ In an ‘act very foreign to his usual character’, he expresses regret that he didn’t pay a carol singer who recently came calling at his door. Think back to the beginning of the novel when Scrooge resolutely refuses to help the ‘hundreds of thousands’ of people who are ‘in want of common comforts.’

Extract To hear Scrooge expending all the earnestness of his nature on such subjects, in

a most extraordinary voice between laughing and crying; and to see his

heightened and excited face; would have been a surprise to his business friends

in the city, indeed.

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Big Question ‘Why, it’s old Fezziwig!’ – How does Fezziwig differ from Scrooge?

Pages: 42 - 47

Vocabulary

Warmth Celebration Laughter

Joy Satisfaction Wealth

Snapshot Fezziwig is a caring, energetic and generous employer. He seems to be the very opposite of Scrooge himself. Think back to how Scrooge treats Bob Cratchit: he is made to work in the freezing cold and is only allowed to spend Christmas day with his family if he returns to work ‘all the earlier’ the next day. Whilst Scrooge is connected to the bleak and foggy darkness, Fezziwig and those around him seem to radiate heat and light.

Extract A positive light appeared to issue from Fezziwig’s calves. They shone in every

part of the dance like moons. You couldn’t have predicted, at any given time,

what would have become of them next. And when old Fezziwig and Mrs Fezziwig

had gone all through the dance; advance and retire, both hands to your partner,

bow and curtsey, corkscrew, thread-the-needle, and back again to your place;

Fezziwig ‘cut’ – cut so deftly, that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came

upon his feet again without a stagger.

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Big Question ‘May you be happy in the life you have chosen’ – How does Scrooge react to seeing the life he could have had?

Pages: 48 - 55

Vocabulary

Avarice Greed Selfishness

Love Relationship Regret

Despair Family Comfort

Snapshot Scrooge says to Belle that nothing ‘is so hard as poverty.’ However, as she reminds him, they got engaged when they were both poor and seemed ‘content to be so’. When he is transported to Belle’s current home, he notices that it is ‘not very large or handsome, but full of comfort.’ Clearly, the family are not wealthy. However, they are gloriously happy in their own company and want for nothing. In contrast, as Belle’s husband remarks, Scrooge is ‘quite alone in the world’.

Extract The noise in this room was perfectly tumultuous, for there were more children

there, than Scrooge in his agitated state of mind could count; and, unlike the

celebrated herd in the poem, they were not forty children conducting

themselves like one, but every child was conducting itself like forty. The

consequences were uproarious beyond belief; but no one seemed to care; on

the contrary, the mother and daughter laughed heartily, and enjoyed it very

much; and the latter, soon beginning to mingle in the sports, got pillaged by the

young brigands most ruthlessly. What would I not have given to be one of them!

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Review of Stave Two 1. What time is it when Scrooge first wakes up?

2. What time does he recall going to bed?

3. At what time does the Ghost of Christmas Past appear?

4. What does the word ‘jocund’ (as in the ‘jocund travellers came on’) mean?

5. What is the name of Scrooge’s sister?

6. What is the name of Fezziwig’s other clerk?

7. Finish the quotation: ‘Fezziwig, skipping down from…’

8. How many daughters does Fezziwig have?

9. What is the name of Scrooge’s fiancé?

10. What ‘Idol’ displaced her?

11. Finish the quotation: ‘Leave me! Take me back! Haunt me…’

12. What does Scrooge do right at the end of the chapter?

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Big Question ‘Look upon me!’ – How is the Ghost of Christmas Present portrayed and why is it significant that Scrooge’s room transforms?

Pages: 57 - 63

Vocabulary

Abundance Celebration Transformation

Snapshot Scrooge says to the Ghost of Christmas Present that he has ‘learned a lesson’ and adds that he wants to ‘profit’ from further teaching. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge was motivated solely by the accumulation of wealth. However, he has clearly changed and seems more interested in the ‘nobler aspirations’ that Belle said had fallen off ‘one by one’ when he was a young man.

Extract It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. This

garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if

disdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice. Its feet, observable beneath the

ample folds of the garment, were also bare; and on its head it wore no other covering

than a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles. Its dark brown curls were

long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its

unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air. Girded round its middle was an antique

scabbard; but no sword was in it, and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust!

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Big Question ‘These young Cratchits danced’ – How are the Cratchit family presented and does it matter that they lack money?

Pages: 63 - 70

Vocabulary

Family Warmth Gratitude

Humour Anticipation Excitement

Snapshot Writing in 1798, the economist Thomas Malthus argued that the population would soon grow too large to be sustained by current and future food supplies. He warned that this would lead to increased levels of poverty and, eventually, famine and premature death. His views are reflected in Stave One when Scrooge talks about the necessity of decreasing the ‘surplus population.’ However, we get an alternative and more optimistic perspective of the lives of the working poor in Stave Three through the Cratchit family. Bob is paid a meagre weekly wage of ‘fifteen copies of his Christian name’ but, nevertheless, the family seem happy to live in the moment and help each other make do with the limited resources available.

Extract Then up rose Mrs Cratchit, Cratchit’s wife, dressed out but poorly in a twice-

turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap and make a goodly show for

sixpence; and she laid the cloth, assisted by Belinda Cratchit, second of her

daughters, also brave in ribbons; while Master Peter Cratchit plunged a fork into

the saucepan of potatoes, and getting the corners of his monstrous shirt collar

(Bob’s private property, conferred upon his son and heir in honour of the day)

into his mouth, rejoiced to find himself so gallantly attired, and yearned to show

his linen in the fashionable Parks.

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Big Question ‘Tell me if Tiny Tim will live’ – How is Tiny Tim presented and how does Scrooge react to seeing him?

Pages: 70 - 77

Vocabulary

Frail Vulnerable Brave

Stoical Uncomplaining Tolerant

Empathetic Caring Affectionate

Snapshot Tiny Tim remarks to his father that he ‘hoped people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.’ He embodies Christian values through his stoicism and generosity of spirit. His presence in the novel contradicts the fallacy that poverty was the natural result of some sort of moral failure. Indeed, he is one of the ‘poor and destitute’ who Scrooge was wrongly scornful and dismissive of in Stave One.

Extract The children drank the toast after her. It was the first of their proceedings which

had no heartiness. Tiny Tim drank it last of all, but he didn’t care twopence for it.

Scrooge was the Ogre of the family. The mention of his name cast a dark shadow

on the party, which was not dispelled for full five minutes.

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Big Question ‘For it is good to be children sometimes’ – How do Fred and his family behave and how does Scrooge react to what he sees?

Pages: 77 - 86

Vocabulary

Warmth Light Laughter

Joy Merriment Delight

Snapshot Fred’s home is characterised by warmth and harmony. The bustling central figure in the family is his wife who is described as having ‘the sunniest pair of eyes you ever saw’ and plays ‘well upon the harp’. She – along with Mrs Cratchit – is the embodiment of domestic virtue and helps to convey idealised Victorian middle-class values.

Extract When Scrooge’s nephew laughed in this way: holding his sides, rolling his head,

and twisting his face into the most extravagant contortions: Scrooge’s niece, by

marriage, laughed as heartily as he. And their assembled friends being not a bit

behindhand, roared out lustily.

‘Ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha!’

‘He said that Christmas was a humbug, as I live!” cried Scrooge’s nephew. “He

believed it too!’

‘More shame for him, Fred!’ said Scrooge’s niece, indignantly. Bless those

women; they never do anything by halves. They are always in earnest.

She was very pretty: exceedingly pretty. With a dimpled, surprised-looking,

capital face; a ripe little mouth, that seemed made to be kissed—as no doubt it was.

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Big Question ‘Wretched, abject, frightful, hideous’ – What messages does the Ghost of Christmas Present convey about poverty?

Pages: 87 - 91

Vocabulary

Poverty Misery Despair

Snapshot Through the grim allegorical figures of Ignorance and Want, Dickens expresses his belief that poverty is the result of a failure to understand and meaningfully engage with the struggles of those who live precarious existences. Indeed, it is fitting that the Ghost of Christmas Present repeats Scrooge’s own words back to him at the end of the stave: the ‘monsters’ he sees before him are the result of his callous disregard of those ‘in want of common comforts’.

Extract They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate,

too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out,

and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of

age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels

might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no

degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of

wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried

to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be

parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude.

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Review of Stave Three 1. Where does the Ghost of Christmas Present appear?

2. What is ‘Plenty’s horn’?

3. Finish the quotation: ‘Scrooge entered timidly, and…’

4. What is the colour of the robe that the Ghost of Christmas Present wears?

5. Finish the quotation: ‘I learned a lesson which is…’

6. What happens when Scrooge touches the robe?

7. What is the Ghost of Christmas Present’s ‘uncommon torch’ able to do when angry words are exchanged?

8. How many rooms does Bob Cratchit’s house have?

9. Where is Tiny Tim sitting when he and Bob enter the house?

10. Finish the quotation: ‘Such a bustle ensued that you might’ve thought a goose the…’?

11. What is the ‘speckled cannon-ball’ a reference to?

12. Who does Bob claim is the ‘Founder of the Feast’?

13. What does ‘baleful’ mean?

14. What does ‘plaintive’ mean?

15. Who is Scrooge taken to observe after the miners?

16. Finish the quotation: ‘There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as…’

17. What is the name of Scrooge’s nephew?

18. What is the name of ‘comical fellow’?

19. Who plays the blind man in blind-man’s buff?

20. What does ‘imperceptibly’ mean?

21. Who grows ‘older, clearly older’?

22. What is the name of the boy?

23. What is the name of the girl?

24. What is written on the boy’s brow?

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Big Question ‘Lying gasping out there, alone by himself’ – What are the consequences of Scrooge’s lonely and selfish life?

Pages: 94 - 104

Vocabulary

Isolated Miserable Friendless

Terrified Rejected Selfish

Snapshot During the nineteenth century, the population of England grew from 8.9 to 32.5 million. This increase resulted in changes to where and how people lived. Most significantly, there was widespread movement from the countryside to the city. Urban living conditions at the time were often cramped and unhygienic; crime and disease were rife. Dickens provides a miserable snapshot of this through Scrooge’s visit to ‘an obscure part of the town’ where he has never been before. The streets are ‘foul and narrow’ and house are ‘wretched’. Think back to stave three and the two doomed children, Ignorance and Want, who live in poverty and suffer greatly because of it.

Extract He knew these men, also, perfectly. They were men of business: very wealthy, and

of great importance. He had made a point always of standing well in their esteem:

in a business point of view, that is; strictly in a business point of view.

‘How are you?’ said one.

‘How are you?’ returned the other.

‘Well!’ said the first. ‘Old Scratch has got his own at last, hey?’

‘So I am told,’ returned the second. ‘Cold, isn’t it?’

‘Seasonable for Christmas time. You’re not a skater, I suppose?’

‘No. No. Something else to think of. Good morning!’

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Big Question ‘No, Spirit! Oh no, no!’ – Why does Scrooge become increasing agitated as the chapter progresses?

Pages: 104 - 115

Vocabulary

Grief Regret Mourning

Isolation Affection Love

Memory Contrition Change

Snapshot In contrast to the bustling scenes of merriment from stave three, the Cratchit household is now ‘very quiet’ and the family are in mourning. Bob Cratchit eventually breaks down ‘all at one’ and cries loudly and wretchedly for his deceased son. Scrooge’s own passing brings with it no such grief: he dies alone in his bed and, later, his gravestone is described ‘neglected’. In short, nobody seems to care.

Extract A churchyard. Here, then; the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay

underneath the ground. It was a worthy place. Walled in by houses; overrun by

grass and weeds, the growth of vegetation’s death, not life; choked up with too

much burying; fat with repleted appetite. A worthy place!

The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to One. He advanced

towards it trembling. The Phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that

he saw new meaning in its solemn shape.

‘Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,’ said Scrooge, ‘answer

me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they

shadows of things that May be, only?’

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Review of Stave Four 1. What colour is the garment that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come wears?

2. Who is likely to have a ‘cheap funeral’?

3. Who is Old Scratch?

4. Finish the quotation: ‘The whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth and…’

5. Finish the quotation: ‘He frightened everyone away from him when he was alive, to profit…’

6. Finish the quotation: ‘The only emotion that the Ghost could show him, caused by the event, was…’

7. What is the name of Scrooge’s nephew?

8. What name is written on the gravestone?

9. At the end of the chapter, what does the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come ‘dwindle down’ into?

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Big Question ‘I shall live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!’ – How has Scrooge changed since the beginning of the novel?

Pages: 117 - 126

Vocabulary

Generosity Charity Affection

Forgiveness Responsibility Morality

Snapshot Scrooge emerges from the ghostly visits as a completely changed man. He finally understands that the wealth he has accumulated should be used to help alleviate the struggles of others and bring greater happiness to their lives. In short, Scrooge now embodies the ideals of morality and social responsibility.

Extract Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny

Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good

a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city,

town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the

alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise

enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which

some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such

as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should

wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own

heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

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Review of Stave Five 1. Finish the quotation: ‘Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to…’

2. Who is ‘old Jacob’ a reference to?

3. What is the weather like when Scrooge looks out of the window?

4. What is a ‘poulterer’?

5. What does Scrooge instruct the boy in the street to purchase?

6. What word does one of the portly gentlemen fail to fully pronounce when he says ‘munifi––‘?

7. What does ‘unanimity’ mean?

8. Whose salary does Scrooge decide to raise?

9. Finish the quotation: ‘Scrooge was better than his…’

10. Who does Scrooge become a ‘second father’ to?

11. What prompts some people to laugh at Scrooge?

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Overview of Big Questions

1. ‘Hard and sharp as flint’ – How does Scrooge differ from Fred? 2. ‘Many thousands are in want of common necessities’ – What do Scrooge’s interactions with others reveal about his values? 3. ‘In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley’ – How is Marley’s Ghost presented and how does Scrooge initially react to seeing it? 4. ‘Captive, bound, and double-ironed’ – In what ways does Marley’s Ghost suffer? 5. ‘It was a strange figure’ – How is the Ghost of Christmas Past presented and how does Scrooge react to his appearance? 6. ‘And he sobbed’ – How does Scrooge react to his seeing his village and schoolhouse and to what extent does he change? 7. ‘Why, it’s old Fezziwig!’ – How does Fezziwig differ from Scrooge? 8. ‘May you be happy in the life you have chosen’ – How does Scrooge react to seeing the life he could have had? 9. ‘Look upon me!’ – How is the Ghost of Christmas Present portrayed and why is it significant that Scrooge’s room transforms? 10. ‘These young Cratchits danced’ – How are the Cratchit family presented and does it matter that they lack money? 11. ‘Tell me if Tiny Tim will live’ – How is Tiny Tim presented and how does Scrooge react to seeing him? 12. ‘For it is good to be children sometimes’ – How do Fred and his family behave and how does Scrooge react to what he sees? 13. ‘Wretched, abject, frightful, hideous’ – What messages does the Ghost of Christmas Present convey about poverty? 14. ‘Lying gasping out there, alone by himself’ – What are the consequences of Scrooge’s lonely and selfish life? 15. ‘No, Spirit! Oh no, no!’ – Why does Scrooge become increasing agitated as the chapter progresses?

16. ‘I shall live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!’ – How has Scrooge changed since the beginning of the novel?

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Essay Question Source: https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-87021-SQP-V1.PDF

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Essay Question Source: https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/sample-papers-and-mark-schemes/2017/june/AQA-87021-QP-JUN17.PDF

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Essay Question Source: https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/sample-papers-and-mark-schemes/2018/june/AQA-87021-QP-JUN18.PDF

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Key Words

Link Hint Show Strengthen

Firstly Implies Expresses Highlights

Secondly Suggests Conveys Emphasies

Finally Foreshadows Expresses Amplifies

Ultimately Signals Demonstrates Elevates

Conclusively Indicates Reveals Contrasts

• Firstly, Dickens reveals that Scrooge is a coldly parsimonious character…

• In contrast, Fred is…

• The acute sense of isolation that Scrooge feels in the darkness of his room conveys his wretchedness…

• Dickens clearly demonstrates Scrooge is a changed character at the end of the novel…

• Dickens emphasies the impoverished circumstances of the Cratchit family by…

Narrative Protagonist Tension Ambiguity

Narrator Tone Gothic Power

Setting Mystery Anxiety Supernatural

Context Foreboding Uncertainty Isolation

Poverty Hardship Class Wealth

Responsibility Morality Charity Duty

Checklist ✓ Handwriting

✓ Capital letters

✓ Sentence structures

✓ Apostrophes

✓ To / Too / Too

✓ Their / There