A Christmas Carol Flashcards
1
Q
what is the novel about
A
a bitter miser called Scrooge, with the help from 3 ghosts changes dramatically, becomes kind and generous by the end
2
Q
what is the message of the novel
A
- emphasises importance of social responsibility, people have a duty to help less fortunate
- the Christmas values like generosity and kindness and love should be shown all year round
3
Q
Chapter one: summary
A
- starts with Scrooge and Bob Cratchit working
- Fred arrives, wishes merry christmas, invites him to celebrate with family. scrooge refuses
- Scrooge goes home, sees Marleys face on door knocker
- visited in the evening by Marleys ghost who is wrapped in chain
- Marley says Scrooge will suffer same as him unless he changes his ways, visited by 3 spirits only chance to save himself
4
Q
Chapter two: summary
A
- ghost of Christmas past appears
- takes scrooge to village he grew up in, school, alone
- then sees happier christmases, sister Fan take him home from school, party organised by Fezziwig meets belle
- then when belle broke up with him bc of scrooge’s obsession with money
- sees belle grown up with her family
- transported back to bedroom
5
Q
Chapter three: summary
A
- ghost of Christmas present arrives on throne of food
- visit the Cratchits eating Christmas dinner, learns Tiny Tim soon to die
- visit Fred’s house, making fun of him
- ghost reveals two starving children within his robes, ignorance and want
6
Q
Chapter four: summary
A
- ghost of Christmas yet to come appears
- shows people’s reaction of unknown persons death, nobody cares he’s dead
- people try sell dead man’s belongings
- visits Cratchit family, Timy Tim died, very upset
- goes to graveyard points to grave with scrooge name
- scrooge promises he will change his life and honour Christmas
7
Q
Chapter five: summary
A
- scrooge awakes in bed
- discovers it’s Christmas day
- has completely changed
- buys Cratchits a huge turkey invites Fred’s family over and gives Bob a pay rise
- Tiny Tim survives
8
Q
themes
A
- Christmas spirit
- redemption
- poverty and social responsibility
- family
9
Q
what does the Cratchits’ Christmas celebration demonstrate
A
that love for each other is more important than wealth and presents
10
Q
what does Fred think about Christmas
A
- fully embraces the Christmas spirit
- refers to it as a “kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time” that brings out the best in people and hopes Scrooge will join
11
Q
what is scrooge’s ideas of the poor
A
- he’s apathetic (uninterested) towards them
- believe his taxes pay for the prisons and workhouses, doesnt feel needs to give to charity
- “decrease the surplus population”
- “i cant afford to make idol people merry”
12
Q
Cratchits show what living in poverty is like
A
- live in 4 room house
- small or sometimes no amounts of food
- wear threadbare clothes
- Tiny Tim will soon die due to malnutrition and poor quality of life
13
Q
how does Joe’s shop (Scrooge’s stolen belongings) show poverty
A
- streets are foul with people who steal to survive
- filth part of city populated with drunken uglies
- do not care about Scrooge, see him as another rich loner
14
Q
Dickens shows that people can be rich financially but also
A
rich in other ways such as enjoyment, love and companionship
(fezziwig, cratchits)
15
Q
how does Fred emphasise the value of emotional richness to him
A
says that even though Christmas has never “put a scrap or gold or silver in his pocket” it’s made him rich in person
16
Q
fezziwig wealth
A
uses his wealth to bring happiness and joy to himself and others
17
Q
are there no prisons? are there no…
A
are there no prisons? are there no workhouses?
18
Q
i wear the chains…
A
i wear the chains i forged in life
19
Q
mankind was…
A
mankind was my business
20
Q
not a handsome…
A
not a handsome family
21
Q
i’m not the…
A
i’m not the man i was
22
Q
small pudding for a…
A
small pudding for a large family
23
Q
i see a…
A
i see a vacant seat
24
Q
i cant afford to make…
A
i cant afford to make idol people merry
25
quote that shows: social injustice
are there no prisons? are there no workhouses?
26
quotes that show: redemption
i am not the man i was
27
quotes that show: moral responsibility
mankind was my business
28
quotes that show: christmas
I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year
29
quotes that show: regret
i wear the chains i forged in life
30
quotes that show: family
oh a wonderful pudding
31
quotes that show: threat of time
i see a vacant seat
32
quotes that show: inequality
i cant afford to make idol people merry
33
quotes that show: greed vs generosity
another idol has displaced me. a golden one
34
quotes that show: poverty
If they would rather die they had better do it and decrease the surplus population
small pudding for a large family
35
quotes that show: isolation
solitary as an oyster
36
quotes that show: repentance
i’m not the man i was
37
solitary as…
solitary as an oyster
38
hard and…
sharp as flint
39
another idol…
another idol has displaced me. a golden one
40
decrease…
decrease the surplus population
41
god bless…
god bless us everyone
42
father is much…
father is much kinda then he used to be
43
tell me i may sponge…
tell me i may sponge away the writing on the stone
44
i’ll give you…
i’ll give your Mr Scrooge, the founder of the feast
45
our contract…
our contract was an old one. it was made when we were both poor and content to be so
46
he was a second…
he was a second father
47
i am as light…
i am as light as a feather, i am as happy as an angel, i am as merry as a schoolboy. i am as giddy as a drunken
48
a good time…
a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely
49
symbols in the novella
- light/warm/fire
- the cratchits
- marley’s chains
- ignorance and want
- tiny tim
50
darkness is cheap…
darkness is cheap and scrooge liked it
51
i see a…
i see a vacant seat
52
words to describe fezziwig
- joyful
- comfortable
- generous
- jovial voice
53
reasons why Scrooge’s overall change was selfish
didn’t want to become, or become worse,than Marley (have longer chains)
54
8 most important moments in the novella
- Marley appears with chains
- past appears
- fezziwig party and belle break up
- present appears
- cratchits christmas (tiny tim will die)
- future appears
- own grave
- scrooge change
55
quotes that show redemption
i am not the man i was
56
examples of Cratchits’ love for each other
Bob is disappointed when he finds out Martha isn’t coming on Christmas Day, he’s relieved when she appears from her hiding spot, very important to Bob that they are all together as a family on Christmas
57
what does scrooge think about when he thinks of the things family brings
- financial burden
- how can someone be merry (Cratchits) when they have to support whole family on low wage
58
To emphasise the difference between the rich and the poor, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the food in the shops followed by:
the cratchit’s small dinner
59
In Chapter Three, Bob Cratchit mentions Scrooge at dinner. What is the reaction to hearing his name?
the family toast scrooge without enthusiasm
60
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge a vision of a body in a bed. Scrooge then asks the spirit to show him a vision of:
somebody who has been emotionally affected by the man’s death
61
What effect did the 1834 Poor Law have on Victorian society?
people without jobs were made to work in workhouses
62
Tiny Tim “hoped the people saw him in the church” because it might help them to remember “who made lame beggars walk and blind men see”. What does this say about Tiny Tim’s character?
he’s selfless
63
Which of the following best describes Scrooge by the end of the novella?
generous
64
In Chapter Four, the body of the dead man “announced itself in awful language” but Dickens doesn’t explain what this is. Which of the following best explains why Dickens doesn’t fully describe this scene?
To emphasise the horror of what Scrooge is seeing
65
In Chapter Four, Scrooge sees a vision of a couple who feel both “sorry” and “thankful” about the unnamed man’s death. Why do they feel conflicting emotions?
They owe the man a debt, which they now may not have to repay
66
How does Scrooge react when the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him a vision of his old town?
He is filled with happiness
67
At the end of Fezziwig’s party, Fezziwig shakes hands “with every person individually” and then “did the same” with his two apprentices. What does this suggest about his character?
He treats everyone as equals
68
What do the Cratchits, Fred’s family and Belle’s family have in common?
they are all happy
69
True or false? Christmas was a popular celebration at the start of the 19th century.
false
70
What lesson does Scrooge learn from Fezziwig’s party?
That happiness is more valuable than money
71
In Chapter One, Fred says that at Christmas, wealthier people should “think of people below them” as “fellow‑passengers to the grave”. What lesson is Dickens trying to teach people through this?
treat everyone as equals
