A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Elements of Drama
1. stage directions – instructions for the director, actors,
and stage crew
2. drama – a story that is intended to be performed before
an audience
3. climax- the moment of highest tension and excitement in
the plot of a drama
4. dialogue – a conversation between characters in a drama
5. script – the form in which a drama is written, including
character’s lines
6. foil – a character who provides a sharp contrast to the
qualities of the main character
7. props – the objects the actors use during the play (cup,
chair, book)
8. scenes & acts – divisions in a drama (similar to chapters
in a novel)
Stage Directions
A Quick Review
 Setting- The time and place of a story
Example: It was December 24th, 1824, on a snowy
Christmas eve in Victorian London.
 Personification- Giving human characteristics
to non-human things
Example: The knife and fork looked on happily as
father began to carve the turkey.
 Foreshadowing- Hinting at things to come
Example: Scrooge wished he could rid himself of the
sick feeling in his gut that told him something
terrible was going to happen.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
 Overview-- Ebenezer
Scrooge, a tight-fisted and
bitter man, is visited by
three spirits to bring about
his redemption before his
death. He learns to love his
fellow man after being
shown the love and
generosity that symbolizes
Christmas.
Introduction by Charles Dickens
foreshadowing…....
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English
Victorian era author wrote numerous
highly acclaimed novels.
•Dickens‘ writing style is flowing and
poetic, with a strong comic touch.
• Many people thought of Dickens as an advocate for the poor, at a
time when there was little sympathy towards those in
poverty.
• Dickens other works include: Great Expectations, David
Copperfield, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak
House, Nicholas Nickleby, The Pickwick Papers
A Christmas Carol
 It’s hard to imagine a
Christmas season without the
story of old Scrooge, Bah
Humbug! and “God bless us,
every one.” At the time this
story was written (1843), the
generous spirit of Christmas
charity didn’t exist in England.
Many people did not believe in
generosity to the poor.
Instead, they believed the poor
somehow brought poverty upon
themselves.
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A Christmas Carol
 In a clever play on
words, Dickens divides
the book into 5 “staves”
instead of chapters.
Staves is a musical term,
in keeping with the title,
A Christmas Carol–
which, of course, is a
song.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The character of the Grinch
is based on the protagonist
of “A Christmas Carol” –
Scrooge. As we read the
drama, note similarities in
the two main characters
and the plot of both the
book and the play.
Protagonist & Antagonist
“A Christmas Carol” is unusual because
Scrooge, the Protagonist (usually the good
guy), is a very BAD guy. The antagonist
(usually the bad guy) is the good guy.
Remember that the antagonist is the person
who causes the conflict
for the protagonist. They
are not always good guys
or bad guys.
Angel in Manhattan
Tell the man who repairs the wings for angels
That one has fallen among the mortals on Bleeker
Street
I lent a hand, she looked up at the steeples
As if to blame them for the pavement beneath her feet
She said, "I never much liked flying, but the job
requires trying
The hard part's avoiding buildings and concrete"
Spread the news, 'cause there's an angel in
Manhattan
Call out the paparazzi and the television crews
Let the people choose
Would a little Faith come to harm them?
Print the headlines up in the New York Daily News
It was just another day
Like any other, other day
A Tuesday afternoon
I hailed a cab, a crowd gathered as it pulled beside us
And somebody tore at her wings, but I helped her
safely inside
"I'm much obliged," she said, but the driver he looked
shaken
He said, "You're fakin', lady, who's taking who for a
ride"
But then we floated up over the traffic, she turned the
radio to static,
And she sang to him in Billy Holiday's sweet voice
Spread the news 'cause there's an angel in Manhattan
by Paul Ellis
Call out the paparazzi and the television crews
Hey if you choose would a little faith come to harm
you
Print the headlines up in the New York Daily News
It was just another day what would the mayor say
“Good afternoon Oh good afternoon"
We flew down the length of Fifth Avenue
She threw out miracles it was a hysterical ride
And if the crowd on the sidewalk looked skeptical
She took the blue right out of their cynical eye
"It's all what you feel inside"
She shook the mayor's hand and he declared that
he'd hold a press conference
The fans and protestors blocked the stairs to city
hall
"I'd like to thank you all" he said and when she
stepped before the cameras
Man it felt like a trial but she smiled as the
questions were called
What do you say to detractors who claim you're
just some actor“
She said "the question here is do I believe in you“
It was just another day like any other other day
Vocabulary
1. solitude – the state of being alone
2. charitable – generous in giving
3. incoherent – Unable to think or express one's
thoughts in a clear or orderly manner
4. finale – at the end, the concluding part
5. odious – causing or deserving strong dislike
6. currency - money
7. welfare – a supplying of needs
8. emerge – to come into sight
9. provision - a supplies of food or other basic needs
10.summon – to call for with authority or urgency
Match the vocabulary words to the pictures
Vocabulary (cont.)
11. mortal – human, of the earth
12. surplus – extra, more than is needed
13. abundance - great amount or supply
14. macabre – suggesting the horror of death and
decay
15. endeavor - to try
16. transform – to change the form or appearance of
17. pledge - word of honor, oath
18. reassurance – a restoring of confidence
19. anonymous – not having one’s name known
20. destitute – lacking the necessities of life
Match the vocabulary words to the pictures
Stave 1 - opening
A Christmas Carol
 Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s
partner has been dead, 7
years to the day that our
story begins.
 The first scene unfolds in
the cold, cheerless office
of Scrooge’s counting
house.
A Christmas Carol
 As his faithful clerk Bob
Cratchit toils, Scrooge is
visited by his nephew and
invited to Christmas dinner the
next day. Scrooge declares
that those who celebrate
Christmas should be boiled in
their own pudding and
dismisses him.
 Two men who come seeking
donations for the poor are
dismissed with Scrooge’s wish
that the poor would die and
“decrease the surplus
population.”
A Christmas Carol
 Jacob Marley’s visit is
dismissed as “more gravy
than grave” by Scrooge, but
it ends up setting the stage
for the three ghosts. Which
ghost’s message most
resembles that of Jacob
Marley’s?
A Christmas Carol
 Pay careful attention to the three
ghosts. Each message has a
specific effect on Scrooge.
 What does the ghost of
Christmas past remind Scrooge
of?
 Whose generous heart touches
Scrooge in the present?
 What does Scrooge’s future hold
if he continues to be greedy and
self-absorbed?
Personification
 Dickens portrays Ignorance and Want
as two frail, ghastly children.
 Do you think the main causes of
poverty are ignorance and want?
Explain why or why not.
A Christmas Carol
 Please summarize the story, in three or
four paragraphs, paying careful
attention to:

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


S—Setting (where and when the story takes place)
P—People (describe the main characters)
A—Action (summarize the plot)
C—Climax (the most dramatic part of the story)
E-- Ending
Movie Posters
Richard Williams Animated Version
of A Christmas Carol
Cartoon Versions
Flintstones, Mickey Mouse,
Ghostbusters, Family Guy,
Bugs Bunny, Jetsons,
Muppets
A Christmas Carol
The Ultra Condensed Version
Ebenezer Scrooge
Bah, humbug. You'll work thirty-eight hours on Christmas Day,
keep the heat at five degrees, and like it.
Ghost of Jacob Marley
Ebenezer Scrooge, three ghosts of Christmas will come and tell you
you're mean.
Three Ghosts of Christmas
You're mean.
Ebenezer Scrooge
At last, I have seen the light. Let's dance in the streets. Have some
money.
THE END