Paper 2 - A CHRISTMAS CAROL Flashcards
Summarise Stave 1
• The opening lines declare that a man called Jacob Marley is dead
• Marley had been a former business partner and only friend of Ebenezer Scrooge
• The scene shifts to Scrooge in his counting house on Christmas Eve
• Scrooge refuses to spend money to sufficiently heat the building and his clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in an adjacent room
• Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, arrives and invites his uncle to Christmas dinner but the invitation is declined
• Disappointed, Fred departs and two gentlemen arrive seeking a contribution to their charity
• Scrooge refuses and declares that the poor can seek shelter in the workhouse or prison
• Later that evening, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley
• Marley informs Scrooge that he has been condemned to wander the Earth, weighed down by heavy chains, due to his selfish deeds
• He warns Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits over the next three nights
• Marley disappears into the night and Scrooge falls into a deep sleep
Summarise Stave 2
• Scrooge awakens in the darkness and a clock chimes
• A spirit appears (the Ghost of Christmas Past) described as a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head
• The spirit takes Scrooge’s hand and they fly through the air
• The spirit shows several visions from Scrooge’s past:
• His school days as a child
• His going home for Christmas with his sister, Fan
• His apprenticeship with an employer called Fezziwig
• His engagement to a young woman called Belle
• Scrooge becomes distraught by the visions and implores the spirit to take him home
• The spirit brings Scrooge to Belle’s home where her husband informs her that Marley is dying and Scrooge will be alone in the world
• Incensed by these visions, Scrooge attempts to extinguish the spirit’s light but fails
• He returns to his bed and falls into a deep sleep
Summarise Stave 3
• Scrooge awakens, the clock chimes and a voice beckons him into the next room
• He is confronted by another spirit in a green robe: it is the Ghost of Christmas Present
• The spirit brings Scrooge into the London streets and to the house of Bob Cratchit, where Bob’s wife and several of their children are preparing Christmas dinner
• Bob arrives with their youngest son, Tiny Tim, who is evidently in poor health
• Perturbed by Tiny Tim’s appearance, Scrooge inquires if the boy will live
• The spirit responds that Tiny Tim will die if nothing occurs to alter his future
• Upon Bob’s insistence, the rest of the family reluctantly drinks a toast to Scrooge
• The spirit brings Scrooge to numerous places where people are revelling in the festive season
• They arrive at Fred’s house where the guests are playing a game and they raise a toast to Scrooge
• Scrooge and the spirit depart and visit other homes, hospitals and jails
• As Scrooge observes the spirit beginning to age, two starving children emerge from under its cloak
• When the clock strikes midnight, the spirit disappears and a solemn figure moves toward him
Summarise Stave 4
• Scrooge is confronted by another spirit: the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
• Despite some trepidation, Scrooge agrees to follow the spirit
• The spirit shows Scrooge various scenes related to the death of an unnamed man:
• He hears city merchants conversing, unpleasantly, about the man
• He witnesses the man’s belongings being sent to a Rag-and-bone shop
• He sees the corpse of the man lying on a bed under a sheet
• Scrooge demands that the spirit show him someone who has feelings about the man’s death
• They journey to a house where a couple is rejoicing about the man’s death, as they owed him a debt
• Scrooge demands that the spirit shows him an example of people displaying sensitivity towards someone else’s death
• He is taken to the Cratchit’s house, who are grieving the death of Tiny Tim
• Scrooge demands to know the identity of the dead man and is taken to a graveyard, where he sees a tomb with his name written upon it
• Scrooge pleads with the spirit for an opportunity to change his future but the spirit vanishes
Summarise Stave 5
• Scrooge is elated as he realises he has been given the chance of redemption
• Upon finding out it is Christmas Day, he orders an enormous turkey and sends it to the Cratchits’ house
• He dresses in all of his fineries and walks amongst the streets, acknowledging everyone with a smile and a Christmas wish
• He sees the gentleman who had previously requested a charitable donation from him and gives him a large amount of money
• Scrooge visits Fred’s house for Christmas dinner and he has a joyous evening
• The next morning, Scrooge returns to his counting-house and offers to raise Bob’s salary and to help his struggling family
• Scrooge changes his ways and becomes a “second father” to Tiny Tim, who does not die
• The novella ends with Tiny Tim’s expression for God to bless everyone.
