A Christmas Carol Review
Name:
About the author – Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffman Dickens was born in 1812 in England. Because he was often sick as a child, he could
rarely play outside with other children. Instead he became an avid reader.
When Charles was only ten years old, his family was so deeply in debt that they had to sell all of their belongings
and move to London. Charles could no longer afford to attend school either. When he was 12 years old, his father
was thrown into debtor’s prison and Charles had to go to work at a factory gluing labels onto bottles of shoe
blacking (aka, shoe polish).
Because of his own circumstances, for the remainder of his life Dickens had a real concern for the poor and
disadvantaged of society, especially the children. He combined his love of the written word and his concern for
the underprivileged and began his own writing career when he was just 15 years of age.
By the time he was 24 years old, he published a collection of his stories call Sketches by Boz which was well
received by the public.
A Christmas Carol was published in 1843. In part, this book helped shape the spirit of furture Christmas seasons
in England. It became a timeless classic. Christmas cards became popular. Decorating trees, begun in Germany,
became traditional. Family feasts and parties became even more important.
Charles Dickens died in 1870, leaving behind him a legacy of literature that is still cherished and read 150 years
later.
After reading about the life of Charles Dickens, explain why you believe he wrote A Christmas Carol. Use
evidence from the text above and/or the story to support your ideas.
(Minimum 6-8 sentences. Include a topic sentence and concluding statement. Write in complete sentences).
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Character Identification
For each character below, explain who they are. (Think about what their relationship is to Scrooge and/or
how this person impacts Scrooge’s life). Give as much info as you can for each character.
Character
Mr. Fezziwig
Fred
Who they are/Relationship with Scrooge/Impact on Scrooge
Belle
Jacob Marley
Bob Cratchit
Charwoman
Tiny Tim
Mrs. Cratchit
Fran
Martha
The Ghosts
For each ghost, briefly summarize what each showed Scrooge. Then explain what Scrooge learned from
them or how he was impacted/changed.
Ghost of Christmas Past
Ghost of Christmas Present
Ghost of Christmas Future
What
Scrooge was
shown
What
Scrooge
learned or
how he was
impacted/
changed.
Literary Terms
1. Determine the climax of the story and explain WHY you think it’s the climax. Then list at least 4 events
that lead to the climax (rising action)
Climax and why: ____________________________________________________________________________________
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Rising Action:
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. List at least 3 conflicts that you saw in the story. Be sure it is clear what the problem is.
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. List at least 3 symbols you saw in this story. Be sure to include what each symbolizes. (Make at least 1
something we haven’t already discussed in class)
Object/Event
Bigger idea it represents
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4. Find two good examples of imagery from the text. For each, pull a quote from the story with page
number. Explain the scene your example comes from.
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2. __________________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. Describe 1 lesson from A Christmas Carol and explain how the story teaches that lesson.
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A Christmas Carol Crossword Puzzle
Complete the crossword below. If all the words are correct, the friendly words Scrooge says to other people near the end of A
Christmas Carol – but certainly not at the beginning – will read from top to bottom.
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1. The first ghost Scrooge sees is that of ___________.
2. Most of the story of A Christmas Carol takes place on Christmas __________ .
3. Unlike Tiny Tim, Scrooge is not a ___________ person.
4. Four ghosts ___________ in the story.
5. Each of the three Christmas ghosts take Scrooge on a different ___________.
6. The ___________ family enjoy their Christmas meal.
7. Marley’s ghost is ___________.
8. At the end of the story Scrooge becomes a much more ___________ person.
9. Belle was once Scrooge’s ___________.
10. When the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to his nephew’s party, the people there cannot ___________ him.
11. Marley was Scrooge’s ___________.
12. Scrooge enjoys ___________ at his nephew’s party when The Ghost of Christmas Present takes him there.
13. Scrooge goes home ___________ on Christmas Eve.
14. The ___________ ghost he sees takes Scrooge to the future.