A Christmas Carol study guide contains a biography of Charles Dickens, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The house fronts looked black enough, and the windows blacker, contrasting with the smooth white sheet of snow upon the roofs, and with the dirtier snow upon the ground; which last deposit had been ploughed up in deep furrows by the heavy wheels of carts and waggons; furrows that crossed and re-crossed each other hundreds of times where the great streets branched off, and made intricate channels, hard to trace, in the thick yellow mud and icy water. The compound in the jug being tasted and considered perfect, apples and oranges were put upon the table, and a shovelful of chestnuts on the fire. I think Scrooge will likely change his ways because he seems so moved and scared about what he has seen. A tremendous family to provide for! muttered Scrooge. Again the Ghost sped on, above the black and heaving seaon, on until, being far away, as he told Scrooge, from any shore, they lighted on a ship. A Christmas Carol ( 1843) by Charles Dickens is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of one evening. Suppose somebody should have got over the wall of the back-yard, and stolen it, while they were merry with the goose -- a supposition at which the two young Cratchits became livid. And now, without a word of warning from the Ghost, they stood upon a bleak and desert moor, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about, as though it were the burial-place of giants; and water spread itself wheresoever it listedor would have done so, but for the frost that held it prisoner; and nothing grew but moss and furze, and coarse rank grass. Sometimes his comments express social criticism, sometimes they are satirical, and sometimes they are just funny. To sea. Bob held his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him. The brisk fire of questioning to which he was exposed elicited from him that he was thinking of an animal, a live animal, rather a disagreeable animal, a savage animal, an animal that growled and grunted sometimes, and talked sometimes, and lived in London, and walked about the streets, and wasn't made a show of, and wasn't led by anybody, and didn't live in a menagerie, and was never killed in a market, and was not a horse, or an ass, or a cow, or a bull, or a tiger, or a dog, or a pig, or a cat, or a bear. The contrast is so silly that it's amusing. If it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, that's something; and I think I shook him, yesterday.. and know me better, man!. At last, however, he began to thinkas you or I would have thought at first; for it is always the person not in the predicament who knows what ought to have been done in it, and would unquestionably have done it tooat last, I say, he began to think that the source and secret of this ghostly light might be in the adjoining room: from whence, on further tracing it, it seemed to shine. Despite being poor and having a crippled son (Tiny Tim), Cratchit and his family rejoice in the holiday spirit. Scrooge even joins in for some of their games, though they are not aware of his ghostly presence. These would often involve penalties called forfeits in which losers of the games would have to do various things that the winners asked. But she joined in the forfeits, and loved her love to admiration with all the letters of the alphabet. The old man, in a voice that seldom rose above the howling of the wind upon the barren waste, was singing them a Christmas song; it had been a very old song when he was a boy; and from time to time they all joined in the chorus. If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blest in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew, all I can say is, I should like to know him too. Scrooge bent before the Ghosts rebuke, and trembling cast his eyes upon the ground. katiebgrace1313. The very gold and silver fish, set forth among these choice fruits in a bowl, though members of a dull and stagnant-blooded race, appeared to know that there was something going on; and, to a fish, went gasping round and round their little world in slow and passionless excitement. He don't lose much of a dinner.. For they said, it was a shame to quarrel upon Christmas Day. Here's Martha, mother! said a girl, appearing as she spoke. - contrast to Stave 3 when he is ashamed and showing repentance 'I wear the chains i forged in life . sprinkled incense on their dinners from his torch. He is prepared for the ghost to take any shape. The spirit stops to bless each person he visits. Which literary element is found in this passage? Fred is more aware of how and to what extent Scrooge suffers from his avarice more than Scrooge himself is. A smell like an eating-house and a pastry-cook's next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to that! 4.7. There never was such a goose. 16 terms. Key Facts about A Christmas Carol. `Are there no workhouses., Scrooge encounters the second of the three Spirits: the enormous, jolly, yet sternly blunt Ghost. ch. Yet every one had had enough, and the youngest Cratchits in particular were steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows! If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.. But they didn't devote the whole evening to music. Here, the flickering of the blaze showed preparations for a cosy dinner, with hot plates baking through and through before the fire, and deep red curtains, ready to be drawn, to shut out cold and darkness. This idea taking full possession of his mind, he got up softly and shuffled in his slippers to the door. How is Scrooge different as he waits for the second Spirit to appear? Slander those who tell it ye! Scrooge metaphorically sings and literally speaks a wicked cant that attempts to decide what men shall live and contrasts with the idea of a carol, which should advocate peace and joy. Description of stave 3 comprehension questions Name: Date: Advanced English Period: Due date: Weds., Dec. 3rd Quiz date: same day! Including Tiny Tim and Martha, how many children do the Cratchits have? Mrs Cratchit made the gravy (ready beforehand in a little saucepan) hissing hot; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard upon their posts, crammed spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped. Then Bob proposed: A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. He always knew where the plump sister was. Himself, always. Topper had clearly got his eye upon one of Scrooge's niece's sisters, for he answered that a bachelor was a wretched outcast, who had no right to express an opinion on the subject. Wayne, Teddy. A Christmas Carol E-Text contains the full text of A Christmas Carol Preface Stave I: Marley's Ghost Stave II: The First Of The Three Spirits Stave III: The Second Of The Three Spirits Stave IV: The Last Of The Spirits Read the E-Text for A Christmas Carol Wikipedia Entries for A Christmas Carol Introduction Plot Background Characters Themes Love trumps poverty in Dickens's sentimental portrait of the Cratchits, but he adds a dark note at the end when he reveals Tiny Tim will die unless the future is changed. It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour. Id give him a piece of my mind to feast upon. What is Scrooge most likely to understand after witnessing the Cratchit family's Christmas? The mention of his name cast a dark shadow on the party, which was not dispelled for full five minutes. But now, the plates being changed by Miss Belinda, Mrs. Cratchit left the room alonetoo nervous to bear witnessesto take the pudding up and bring it in. His active little crutch was heard upon the floor, and back came Tiny Tim before another word was spoken, escorted by his brother and sister to his stool before the fire; and while Bob, turning up his cuffsas if, poor fellow, they were capable of being made more shabbycompounded some hot mixture in a jug with gin and lemons, and stirred it round and round and put it on the hob to simmer; Master Peter and the two ubiquitous young Cratchits went to fetch the goose, with which they soon returned in high procession. Literary Period: Victorian Era. I am afraid I have not. Not to sea? Another foreshadowed element is the "Doom" written across the Ignorant boy's brow. He never finishes what he begins to say! Additional English Flashcards Cards Supporting users have an ad free experience! Are there no workhouses?. christmas carol. To a poor one most., I wonder you, of all the beings in the many worlds about us, should desire to cramp these peoples opportunities of innocent enjoyment.. Annotated A Christmas Carol Stave 3.pdf. Zip. It was strange, too, that while Scrooge remained unaltered in his outward form, the Ghost grew older, clearly older. Playing at forfeits thus means that the group was playing parlor games in which there were penalties for losing. God love it, so it was! A place where Miners live, who labour in the bowels of the earth, returned the Spirit. When the player is called back into the room, the player must guess what the object or thing is by asking questions that start with how, when, or where. Note that there are different variations of the game and that it was played differently depending on things like age, gender, location, etc. Oh, no, kind Spirit! But even here, two men who watched the light had made a fire, that through the loophole in the thick stone wall shed out a ray of brightness on the awful sea. For they said, it was a shame to quarrel upon Christmas Day. Indeed, I think he loses a very good dinner, interrupted Scrooge's niece. File previews. And it comes to the same thing.. That was the pudding! These 20+ slides will help introduce your students to Charles Dickens' novel, A Christmas Carol. He asks the Ghost if Tim will live. A Christmas Carol E-Text contains the full text of A Christmas Carol. But finding that he turned uncomfortably cold when he began to wonder which of his curtains this new spectre would draw back, he put them every one aside with his own hands; and lying down again, established a sharp look-out all round the bed. What Dickens points out here is the hypocrisy of those who preach generosity, kindness, and Christmas spirit, but do not actually practice what they preach. Girded round its middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it, and the ancient sheath was eaten up with rust. Explain Ignorance and Want, who appear in stave 3 of A Christmas Carol. Here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand at the moment; and I say Uncle Scrooge! , A Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is! said Scrooge's nephew. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs. Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast; but when she did, and when the long expected gush of stuffing issued forth, one murmur of delight arose all round the board, and even Tiny Tim, excited by the two young Cratchits, beat on the table with the handle of his knife, and feebly cried Hurrah!. The narrator often interrupts the story to speak directly to the reader, as he does here. Scrooge is a mean man because we can see this through the escalation of the story. Admiration was the universal sentiment, though some objected that the reply to Is it a bear? ought to have been Yes; inasmuch as an answer in the negative was sufficient to have diverted their thoughts from Mr. Scrooge, supposing they had ever had any tendency that way. Scrooge does not need to live an extravagant life in order to enjoy the holidays. Bob Cratchit told them how he had a situation in his eye for Master Peter, which would bring in, if obtained, full five-and-sixpence weekly. More shame for him, Fred! said Scrooge's niece indignantly. Page 3 of 10. crime vocab. Oh, perfectly satisfactory! There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars, and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by, and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe. I am sure he loses pleasanter companions than he can find in his own thoughts, either in his mouldy old office or his dusty chambers. For example, Scrooge is taught the precepts of aiding the sick and poor by giving them greater hope and cheer. Dickens introduces the theme that charity takes many forms; abundance does not necessarily mean monetary abundance, but rather an abundance of care and compassion. Five minutes, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour went by, yet nothing came. Why, where's our Martha? cried Bob Cratchit, looking round. say he will be spared., If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race, returned the Ghost, will find him here. Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. Uncle Scrooge had imperceptibly become so gay and light of heart, that he would have pledged the unconscious company in return, and thanked them in an inaudible speech, if the Ghost had given him time. A catch, also known as a round, is a musical technique in which singers perpetually repeat the same melody but begin at different times. A Christmas Carol, also called Scrooge, British dramatic film, released in 1951, that is widely considered the best adaptation of Charles Dickens 's classic tale of the same name. Before delivering Scrooge to his nephew's house, why would the Spirit take Scrooge to the old miner's home, the lighthouse, and the ship at sea? It is really in this Stave that Dickens brings to life the Christmas that we all know and love today . 50 terms. There was nothing of high mark in this. oh the Grocers. The people carry their dinners off with them and occasionally bump each other accidentally and argue. What would not account for Scrooge's concern for Tiny Tim? And now two smaller Cratchits, boy and girl, came tearing in, screaming that outside the baker's they had smelt the goose, and known it for their own; and basking in luxurious thoughts of sage and onion, these young Cratchits danced about the table, and exalted Master Peter Cratchit to the skies, while he (not proud, although his collars nearly choked him) blew the fire, until the slow potatoes bubbling up, knocked loudly at the saucepan-lid to be let out and peeled.