1. ‘A Christmas Carol’
By Charles Dickens

2. ‘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.

4. 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.

5. 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 –

7. 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

9. 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

10. 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

12. 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.

13. 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?

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

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

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. Scene 2-3
1. 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?

23. 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?

24. 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)

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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.