A Christmas Carol - Summaries

Question 1

Chapeter 1 - key events, attitude to christmas, his character at this point, attitude to marley

Answer 1

• scrooge and clerk bob cratchit working on christmas eve. Scrooges nepher fred invites scrooge to christmas dinner but he refuses, also refuses to give money to charity collectors - marleys ghost appears warning him he will be visited by 3 ghosts to help him change
• shows dislike to christmas by forcefully referring to those who celebrate is as “fools” and they should be “buried with a stake of holly” through their hearts
• described as “gloomy” and “dreary”, reinforces his miserable character - also establishes serious mood toprepare reader for marley
• treats ghose with “humility and deference” and calls him a “good friend”, contrasts with attitude for bob cratchit and fred, more respect for ghose than real people

Question 2

Chapter 2 - key events, howhe treats bob, emotional to what ghost shows him, descriptions of his past vs present

Answer 2

• ghost of christmas past appears and shows him visions of scrooge reading alone in school and another of his sister fan taking him home - sees himself as an apprentice with his master fezziwig - then sees former fiance belle breaking off their engagement and her as a married woman with a family
• after he sees how fezziwig treated him he wanted to “say a word” to bob
• chapter one presented as cold and unsympathetic, but in this chapter he laughs and cries, he is so upset by belle he seems “broken”
• vivid decriptions of his past, very different to dull descriptions of present - past he uses senses descriptions like fezziwigs “fat, jovial voice” ot the “earthy savour” of the school - present described as “usual melancholy tavern” emphasising dullness

Question 3

Chapter 3 - key events, cratchits are poor but loving, ignorance and want inclusion

Answer 3

• meets gost of christmas present, vision of cratchit family followed by visions of christmas celebrated in remote places like lighthouses or mines, then they see christmas at freds house, then introduction of ignorance and want (children)
• cratchits christmass pudding described as “small for a big family”, yet they are still grateful and spread love, this earns readers sympathy and increase resentment of scrooge and how society treats working class, cratchits provide sharp contrast with scrooges misery and lack of interest in family, they are “pleased with one another” and involved in eachothers lives
• ignorance and want are symbols of problems caused by poverty, suggests the problems in society are the fault of humanity, they are”mans” children, ignorance has “doom” on forehead, acts as a warning of the consequence of not sorting the problem

Question 4

Chapter 4 - key events, reactions to death, dramatic irony, attitude to transformation throughout chapter

Answer 4

• ghost of christmas yet to come shows vision of people talking about a man whos died, thieves trying to sell his property, ghost shows cratchit family mourning tiny tim, scrooge sees gravestone with his name on it
• thieves laugh - their actions are “judgement” to his wickedness - couple are “thankful” - more time to pay his money - business men gossip but are not upset
• the reader guesses the dead man is scrooge before he realises it, creates suspense of when he will find out
• at the start scrooge is hopeful about his change, by the end he is despairing - when scrooge meets ghosts he says he wants to be “another man”, he is confident - by the end he begs “upon his knees” to “assure” him he can change, doubting himself

Question 5

Chapter 5 - key events, end of chapter 4 vs start of chapter 5

Answer 5

• scrooge wakes up christma day realising he still has time to change, orders turkey to be sent to bob, promises money to the collector and spends christmas with fred, on boxing day he treats bob generously, his transformation permanent
• ## chapter 4 ends with tense mood, scrooge in “agony” before spirit leaves ending on cliffhanger, in contrast chapter 5 is immediately has light hearted, jovial mood with scrooge as “giddy as a drunken man” as he can change

Question 6

The circular structure showing change

Answer 6

• dickens repeats ideas from chapter 1 in chapter 5 to highlight how much scrooge has changed - the circulat structure allows reader to compare his behaviour and clearly see differences in him - e.g scrooge dismisses the charity collectors in the start but in the end he approaches one and promises to pay him a “great many back payments” - then tells bob to “make up the fires” contrasting with how he forced him to work in freezing conditions in the start - demonstrate a new generous attitude