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GCSEs > English A Christmas Carol > Flashcards

English A Christmas Carol Flashcards

1
Q

How long do the events last in A Christmas Carol?

A

1 night

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2
Q

Who is Scrooge’s clerk?

A

Bob Cratchit

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3
Q

What is Fred to Scrooge?

A

Scrooge’s nephew • and they are foils

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4
Q

Stave 1 events

A

• Scrooge rejects Fred’s Christmas dinner invitation (isolation)
• Scrooge leaves a pair of gentlemen empty handed after requesting for donations (greed)
• Scrooge begrudgingly agrees to give Bob a day off only for him to come earlier the next day (greed)
• Ghost of Jacob Marley appears and warns Scrooge of 3 spirits

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5
Q

What was the occupation of Scrooge and Jacob Marley?

A

Debt collectors

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6
Q

How long has Jacob Marley been dead for?

A

7 years

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7
Q

What does Scrooge blame for seeing Marley’s ghost?

A

Food poisoning

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8
Q

What do Marley’s chains symbolise and what objects do they contain?

A

Symbolise sin and greed • Contains cashboxes, padlocks and steel purses

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9
Q

Quotes that portray Scrooges avarice in Stave 1

A

‘Are there no prisons, and workhouses?’ (parallels with Dickens’ experience and role as social reformer)

‘they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population’ (Thomas Malthus)

‘I can’t afford to make idle people merry’ (no social responsibility)

Described as: ‘Hard and sharp as flint’

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10
Q

What time does Scrooge sleep and wake up before the meeting the first spirit?

A

He sleeps at 2 am but realises he wakes up at midnight

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11
Q

Harsh synonym

A

Draconian

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12
Q

Who was Thomas Malthus?

A

An economist who believed the population should be reduced in order to support limited food production (parallels with Scrooge’s ‘decrease the surplus population’)

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13
Q

How is Jacob Marley presented? (Stave 1)

A

• Chance of redemption and acts a moral compass • Religion (belief in purgatory) • Embodies consequences of greed

Quotes:
• ‘I wear the chain I forged in life’
• ‘I girded it on my free will’ (ignorance)
• ‘Mankind was my business’ (exploitation)

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14
Q

Why might Marley be the first ghost Scrooge encounters?

A

It could suggest Scrooge is still emotionally attached to Marley

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15
Q

Who is Fan?

A

Scrooge’s sister • Dies after giving birth to Fred

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16
Q

Why is Scrooge contemptuous towards Christmas?

A

He was neglected by his father and was isolated in his school during childhood at Christmas

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17
Q

Intertextuality meaning

A

Similarities across different texts eg Scrooge and Macbeth both hallucinate a ghost

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18
Q

Nomanclature meaning

A

When a characters name reflects their character

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19
Q

Epiphany meaning

A

Moment of realisation

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20
Q

What quote from Stave 1 is reminiscent of the upper class in Victorian England?

A

‘I can’t afford to make idle people merry’ • Scrooge refuses to donate to charity • Suggests that he thinks the poor are lazy and are to blame just like the upper class do • reveals ignorance

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21
Q

What did Scrooge send to the Cratchits’ house?

A

A turkey

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22
Q

How is pathos towards the charcacter of Scrooge used?

A

Scrooge is described as ‘neglected by his friends’
• Readers sympathise with Scrooge and his loneliness
• Neglect can happen to anyone
• Encourages upper class reader to look after children well and be more socially responsible
• Emphasises significance of childhood in later life

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23
Q

How does Scrooge react to revisiting his childhood?

A

He becomes emotional • ‘Your lip is trembling’ (Ghost of Christmas Past) • Demonstrates loss of control over emotions and is expressing his true self

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24
Q

Events that take place in Stave 2

A

• Ghost of Christmas Past arrives • It takes Scrooge to his old school • A party thrown by Fezziwig • The engagement gets broken off by Belle • Scrooge becomes emotional

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25
Q

How is the Ghost of Christmas Past presented in Stave 2?

A

• ‘like a child yet not so like a child’ • ‘figure itself fluctuated’ • Represents memory and how the past is not fixed but it can change • Glowing head suggests the illuminating power of mind

26
Q

How is Fezziwig presented in Stave 2?

A

• Name is a nomenclature to portray vibrant character
• Charitable and socially responsible
• He holds a lively party
• Long list of people who came emphasises the contrast with Scrooge in Stave 1

Quotes:
• ‘Organ of benevolence’
• ‘power to render us happy or unhappy’
• ‘A positive light appeared to issue from Fezziwig’s calves’

27
Q

How is Scrooge’s epiphany indicated?

A

‘I should like to say a word or two to my clerk’ • Realises he should treat Bob Cratchit better

28
Q

How is the Ghost of Christmas Present presented?

A

• “the spirits eyes were clear and kind”
• “my life upon this earth is very brief”
• “jolly giant”

29
Q

Key themes in A Christmas Carol (8)

A

• Greed / Sin
• Poverty
• Abundance
• Redemption
• Christmas
• Isolation
• Family
• Time

30
Q

Stave 3 events (6)

A

• Ghost of Christmas Present is reminiscent of father Christmas and abundance

• Takes Scrooge to Cratchit family and are presented as deserving poor

• Scrooge starts to change when he hears Tiny Tim might die (redemption)

• Scrooge is taken to miners’, lighthouse workers’ and a ship pilot’s Christmases (poverty)

• Fred’s party is lavish in laughter and elation (family)

• Children named Ignorance and Want revealed by the spirit (greed)

31
Q

Stave 4 events (5)

A

• We meet the Ghost of Christmas YtC who doesn’t speak
• Businessmen discuss possibility of free food at Scrooge’s funeral
• We see the undeserving poor after they hear of Scrooge’s death
• Cratchit family mourn TTs death (family)
• Scrooge gets revealed his death date and pleads he will change (redemption)

32
Q

Stave 5 events (6)

A

• Scrooge wakes up ecstatic on Christmas Day
• Buys a turkey for the Cratchits
• Gives to charity men
• Attends Fred’s party
• Gives Bob a pay rise
• Cyclical structure

33
Q

Characters synonymous with greed in ACC

A

• Scrooge
• Ghost of Jacob Marley

34
Q

How is the deserving poor presented in ACC?

A

(Stave 3)

• Presented as grateful, moral and worthy of support • Included to challenge the upper class ideology of the poor

35
Q

Quotes that relate to the deserving poor (Stave 3)

A

• “Cratchit’s wife dressed in a twice turned gown”
• “But brave in ribbons” (determination and positivity)
• “Cheerful company assembled around a glowing fire”
• ”Labour in the bowels of the Earth” (backbone of society)
• “Mr Scrooge, the founder of the feast!”

36
Q

How is the undeserving poor presented in ACC?

A

• Presented as selfish and exploitative
• They emulate Scrooge which suggests the upper class can have a negative influence on lower classes
• They’re only referenced in one scene to challenge the stereotype of the immoral poor (only a minority of the poor are immoral)
(Stave 4)

37
Q

Quotes relating to the undeserving poor (Stave 4)

A

• “Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did”
• “marketing the corpse itself ” (mirrors Scrooge’s exploiting behaviour)

38
Q

Characters living in poverty in ACC

A

• Bob Cratchit and family
• Miners
• Lighthouse workers
• Helmsman

39
Q

Characters that symbolise abundance / generosity in ACC

A

• Ghost of Christmas Present
• Fezziwig
• Fred

40
Q

Indications of Scrooge’s redemption in ACC (5)

A

• Pathetic fallacy
• Religion
• Realisation
• Self - pity
• Cyclical structure

41
Q

Quotes that depict Scrooge’s redemption in ACC

A

• “ I will honour Christmas in my heart (5)

• “Light as a feather, happy as an angel“ (freedom (5))

• {“Piercing, searching biting cold”} (1)
{VS}
• {“No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial”}
(pathetic fallacy (5))

• “Wept to see his poor forgotten self” (2)

• “ If you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it” (humility/morality (3))

42
Q

Synonym for someone who is asocial

A

Misanthropist

43
Q

How is the theme of Christmas presented in ACC?

A

• Religion and morality (being charitable)
• Spending time with family (Cratchit family are united)
• Gratitude and joy (deserving poor)
• Change in the weather

44
Q

Quotes that depict the theme of Christmas

A

• “God bless us everyone” (Inclusion (5))

• “Impossible to keep the infection off” (Fred’s laughter (3))

• “My little, little child” (Intimacy (4))

• “Sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch” (3)

45
Q

How is pathetic fallacy used to indicate redemption in ACC?

A

• The weather transforms from gloomy at the start to glorious at the end
• Might show that the upper class (Scrooge) has the power to change society for the better
• Dickens encourages the upper class to be charitable

46
Q

How is religion used to indicate redemption in ACC?

A

• Scrooge prays for forgiveness in stave 4 and then goes to church in stave 5

• This might show how his relationship with God is being restored and how he’s starting to refrain from hypocrisy

• Dickens could be criticising upper class Christians for the lack of impact their faith has had on them

47
Q

How does Scrooge’s realisation indicate his redemption in ACC?

A

• He has an epiphany and regrets mistreating Bob in stave 3
• Foreshadows he’ll no longer be ignorant and is getting socially responsible

48
Q

How does Scrooge’s emotion fluctuation indicate his redemption in ACC?

A

• Scrooge becomes emotional when visiting his childhood
• He pities his loneliness and now acknowledges the effects it has
• Dickens could be promoting better treatment of those in poverty and loneliness

49
Q

How is a cyclical structure an indication of redemption in ACC?

A

• Scrooge hesitates giving Bob a day off in stave 1 and now gives him a pay rise in stave 5
• Second father to Tiny Tim
• Dickens demonstrates redemption is possible for everyone

50
Q

Quotes that depict loneliness in ACC

A

• “solitary as an oyster” (1)
• “external heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge” (1)
• “solitary child neglected by his friends” (2)
• “patted children on the head, questioned beggars” (5) (lack of it)

51
Q

A Quote that demonstrates the hypocrisy and greed of the upper class

A

“Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked”
(Stave 3)

• Biblical allusion
• Weak connection with God
• Greed and selfish desire is dominant in a Victorian society
• Could foreshadow change
• Could also be predicting stagnation in society

52
Q

A Quote that demonstrates Scrooge as a misanthropist

A

“External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge” (Stave 1)

• Presented as stubborn and stoic
• Self-absorbed and isn’t concerned for others (external)
• Hints towards ability to change and chance of redemption (little)

53
Q

How is the theme of time presented in ACC?

A

• A striking clock is used through out to denote finite time
• Scrooge’s past stimulates his regret
• Illustrates that the past shapes who we are
• The short time we have in the present should be cherished not misused
• All the events in ACC happen over 1 night

54
Q

Quotes that present the theme of time in ACC

A

• “My life upon this globe is very brief”
(GoCPr S3)
• “a solemn phantom, coming like a mist along the ground” (S3)
• “I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future” (S5)

55
Q

How is Fred presented in ACC?

A

• Benevolent capitalist
• Represents the moral upper class
• Symbol of Christmas Spirit
• Contrasts Scrooge’s miserly nature
• Engineered by Dickens to be likeable

Quotes:
• ‘revelled in another laugh’ (compared with joy from being drunk) (3)
&
• ‘was impossible to keep the infection off’ (3)
• ’I’m sorry for him and couldn’t be angry with him if I tried’ (scrooge) (challenges status quo)

56
Q

How is Bob Cratchit presented in ACC?

A

• Kind- hearted and diligent
• Dedicated family man
• Microcosm of the resilience of the lower class during adversity
• Shows gratitude despite poor working conditions

Quotes:
• Refers to Tim as ‘good as gold and better’ (3)
• ‘My little, little child’ (4)
• ‘Scrooge the Founder of the Feast’ (3)

57
Q

How is Bob’s family relationship depicted?

A

Bob’s strong relationship with his son contrasts with Dickens’ and Scrooge’s relationships with their fathers and how they were neglected

‘My little, little child!’

• Possessive pronoun portrays intimate relationship
• Repetition and exclamative suggests strong emotion
• Short sentence denotes despair
• Challenges stereotype that men shouldn’t express emotions

58
Q

How is the Ghost of Christmas Present depicted in ACC? (Stave 3)

A

• Represents generosity and goodwill
• Symbol of abundance
• Willing to show Scrooge what a true Christmas looks like
• Challenges the Malthusian theory

Quotes:
• ‘More than 1800’ brothers (many who suffer)
• ‘Bore a glowing torch and held it up, high up’ (accessibility)
• ‘Capacious breast was bare’ (heart is open and generous)

59
Q

How is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come presented in ACC? (Stave 4)

A

• Presented as a grim reaper
• Synonymous with death
• Doesn’t speak
• Emphasises the importance of reflection and repentance
• Life is short and uncertain

Quotes:
• ‘coming like a mist along the ground’
• ‘slowly, gravely, silently approached’
• Scrooge is ‘tight clutching at its robe’

60
Q

Didactic

A

Word for
the intention of teaching the reader

61
Q

Significance of the final words in ACC

A

“God bless us, every one!”

• The last words are from a child to emphasise the importance of how they’re brought up in the society

• Shows compassion as he decides to include everybody and reaffirms the theme of morality

• Dickens paints the deserving poor in a positive light as the reader is left being more likely to remember TT’s words

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