Stave One Questions ~
1. The simile in the second paragraph is Dead as a Doornail.
2. The narrator make a point of Marley’s being dead so that Marley can come
back as a ghost. Scrooge is alone, Marley died 7 years ago
3. The weather doesn’t affect Scrooge because Scrooge is just as cold, low
temperature icing the office, no wind is more bitter than Scrooge.
4. Scrooge’s nephew is different from Scrooge, he is optimistic, giving/
charitable, nice, and enjoys Christmas.
5. The “portly gentlemen” who come in after Scrooge’s nephew leave want
donations for charity.
I’ll retire to ‘Bedlam’—abbreviation for Hospital of St. Mary of
Bethlehem dedicated to the care of lunatics (now a war museum…)
(p. 10)
‘decrease the surplus population’—Fears of overpopulation were
haunting England since an infamous publication by Reverend
Thomas Malthus, who made it clear who he thought the ‘surplus
population” was—the poor who could not support themselves. Dickens
purposely used this term because he knows it will be familiar to the
masses (p. 11)
6. The knocker changes into Marley’s face.
Marley had no bowels—pun referencing The Bible. It was also said
that emotions (mercy and compassion) were stored in the bowels pg
18
7. Scrooge likes the darkness because darkness is cheap.
8. Marley’s ghost has been wondering the earth in chains since Marley’s
death. (cashboxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds)
9. Marley gives Scrooge the warning that he is destined for the same fate if
he doesn’t change / that he will be visited by 3 ghosts. He appears to warn
Scrooge that he is destined for the same sad fate if he doesn't change
10. The phantoms are upset because they sought to interfere for good in
human matters, and had lost the power forever.
Stave Two Questions ~
11. The strangest thing about the way the spirit looked is that from the
crown of its head there sprung a bright, clear jet of light, by which all was
visible.
12. Scrooge’s initial attitude toward the spirit was demanding, apprehensive,
disbelief, and boldness.
Scrooge reverently disclaimed all intention to offend, or any
boon
knowledge of having willfully ‘b
nn
neetteed
d’’ the spirit…--to bonnet
someone is to pull his or her hat over the face, it was a popular
horseplay game to play in the Victorian Era.
13. Scrooge is different when he says “Remember it? I could walk it with a
blindfold in that Scrooge remembers this as a child and starts to become
full of emotion.
14. Scrooge is talking about his former self – as a boy when he says “Poor
boy!”.
Ali Baba—famous woodcutter from the Arabian Nights story.
Valentine and his wild brother Orson—children’s story about 2 royal
brothers who are born in the forest to their banished mother. Orson is
carried off in the woods by a bear and raised as a wild man in the
woods. Valentine was brought up as a knight in the French court.
Damascus, Sultan’s, Genii, Robinson Crusoe—all characters from
fictional stories popular in the Victorian Era. (Dickens is illustrating
just how much Scrooge read and how he took comfort in books—not
people).
15. When Dickens observes “a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usual
character.” it tell us that Scrooge is not his normal self, is not all coldhearted, he is sad and pities himself.
16. Scrooge may have turned out the way he did because he had been
abandoned, left alone by a father who did not want him and his father had
been mean to him . –sister is Fan
17. The Fezziwigs are kind, and generous people, Scrooges former kind, and
generous employer revisiting the memory makes him feel some regret about
the way he treats Bob Cratchet his employee.
18. Belle was a young woman once loved and loved by Scrooge, she important
to Scrooge because she it was his love of money that replaced his love for
her, she left him and his greed to marry / the ghost reminded him of why
she left and how his life began to go all wrong.
19. Scrooge said “Remove me.” because he can’t stand to watch anymore or
experience the pain of his past/ be tortured.
20. Scrooge tried to "extinguish the light "by pressing the hat down upon
his head, he doesn’t succeed, light streams out from under it in an unbroken
flood, this is a symbol of the influence over Scrooge.
---21. Jacob Marley is forced to drag about chains of cashboxes, keys,
padlocks, ledgers, deeds as a result of his sinful life? Marley’s chain
represents the wealth he hoarded during his life. It is punishment for his greed.
---22. A Christmas Carol was written in 1843.
---23. Scrooge is asked for a charitable contribution by the “portly
gentlemen”
---24. Scrooge's typical response to "Merry Christmas" is Ba-Humbug.
Marley is sorry for the priorities he had when he was alive. (Quote: “Mankind was my
business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance,
benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of
water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”) Marley’s spirit is trying to teach
Scrooge to learn love, compassion, patience, kindness, sympathy, and generosity. At
this point Scrooge has not learned this lesson.
Compare Scrooge with his late partner, Jacob Marley. How are they alike?
(Both Scrooge and Marley have wasted their lives pursuing money. The atmosphere
of their work place was tense and cold.)
Contrast Scrooge with his old master, Fezziwig. How are they different?
(Scrooge is cruel, whereas Fezziwig is kind, especially to his employees. The
atmosphere of his work place was friendly and warm. The young Ebenezer Scrooge
apprenticed with Fezziwig and learned his trade but not his generosity).
According to Scrooge, why was Fezziwig a good master?
(Scrooge says to Christmas Past of Fezziwig, “He has the power to render us happy
or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that
his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is
impossible to add and count ’em up: what then? The happiness he gives is quite as
great as if it cost a fortune.”)
What seems to be happening to Scrooge here?
(For a brief moment Scrooge realizes that there is power in kind words and deeds.
Money isn't everything.)
“The Spirit of Christmas Past reveals memories of Scrooge's youth. What do you
think are the most serious mistakes Scrooge has made? Consider his old master
Fezziwig and his sweetheart.” (During his apprenticeship he did not learn from
Fezziwig's example of generosity and kindness. Instead he followed Marley's example
of selfishness. His greed became the love of his life, and as a result he lost his
sweetheart.)
The opening Stave of A Christmas Carol sets the mood, describes the
setting, and introduces many of the principal characters. It also establishes
the novel's allegorical structure. (Allegory, a type of narrative in which
characters and events represent particular ideas or themes, relies heavily on
symbolism. In this case, Scrooge represents greed, apathy, and all that
stands in opposition to the Christmas spirit. Bob personifies those who
suffer under the "Scrooges" of the world--the English poor. Fred serves to
remind readers of the joy and good cheer of the Christmas holiday.) The
opening section also highlights the novel's narrative style--a peculiar and
highly Dickensian blend of wild comedy (note the description of ##Hamlet#
a passage that foreshadows the entrance of the ghosts Hamlet—One of
Shakespeare’s most popular plays about a prince (Hamlet) whose
father is killed before the play. Hamlet’s father appears to Hamlet as
a ghost at the beginning of the play) and atmospheric horror (the throng
of spirits eerily drifting through the fog just outside Scrooge's window).
Stave Three: “The Second of the Three Spirits.” Have students participate by reading
the parts of the Narrator, girl Cratchit, Scrooge's nephew, Scrooge, two young
Cratchits, Scrooge’s niece, Christmas Present, Bob Cratchit, plump sister, Mrs.
Cratchit, and Tiny Tim. Show the video of Stave Four in class (30 minutes). In their
journals, have students contrast the quality of Scrooge's life with Bob Cratchit's life.
(Although it may appear that Scrooge is better off because he has more money, he is
a very lonely man. Cratchit is financially poor, but outwardly a happier person
because he has a loving family and a kind, charitable nature.)
Stave Four: “The Last of the Spirits.” Have students participate by reading the parts
of the Narrator, Mrs. Dilber, Mrs. Cratchit, Scrooge, women (2), Peter, man (1), Joe,
child, man (2). Show a video of Stave Four (16 minutes).
The climax of the story is found - when Scrooge sees his own tombstone and vows
to change his ways.