The Story
A mean-spirited, miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his counting-house on a frigid Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating coals for a fire. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!"
Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking haggard and pallid*, relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy and self-serving life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth weighted down with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. After the ghost disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep.
He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head. The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases from the curmudgeon's** earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge because his lust for money overshadows his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved, sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant dressed in a green fur robe, takes Scrooge through London to unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the large, bustling Cratchit family prepare a miniature feast in its meager home. He discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge's heart. The ghost then zips Scrooge to his nephew's to witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the jovial gathering delightful and pleads with the spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. As the day passes, the spirit ages, becoming noticeably older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two starved children, Ignorance and Want, living under his coat. He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an unnamed man's recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man's riches, some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their unforgiving creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man. After pleading with the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard, the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive, greedy ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. Whoosh! He suddenly finds himself safely tucked in his bed.
Overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to Christmas Day, Scrooge rushes out onto the street hoping to share his newfound Christmas spirit. He sends a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred's party, to the stifled surprise of the other guests. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as if he were his own child, provides lavish*** gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings with kindness, generosity, and warmth.
*: haggard and pallid = vermoeid en bleek
** curmudgeon = zuurpruim
***lavish = overvloedig
©: SparkNotes.com
Main characters
Ebenezer Scrooge - The miserly owner of a London counting-house, a nineteenth century term for an accountant's office. The three spirits of Christmas visit the dusty bean-counter in hopes of reversing Scrooge's greedy, cold-hearted approach to life.
Bob Cratchit - Scrooge's clerk, a kind, mild, and very poor man with a large family. Though treated harshly by his boss, Cratchit remains a humble and dedicated employee.
Tiny Tim - Bob Cratchit's young son, crippled from birth. Tiny Tim is a highly sentimentalized character who Dickens uses to highlight the trouble of England's poor and to elicit sympathy from his middle and upper class readership.
Jacob Marley - In the living world, Ebenezer Scrooge's equally greedy partner. Marley died seven years before the story opens. He appears to Scrooge as a ghost condemned to wander the world bound in heavy chains. Marley hopes to save his old partner from suffering a similar fate.
The Ghost of Christmas Past - The first spirit to visit Scrooge, a curiously childlike apparition with a glowing head. He takes Scrooge on a tour of Christmases in his past. The spirit uses a cap to dampen the light radiating from his head.
The Ghost of Christmas Present - The second spirit to visit Scrooge, a majestic giant dressed in a green robe. His lifespan is restricted to Christmas Day. He escorts Scrooge on a tour of his contemporaries' Holiday celebrations.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come - The third and final spirit to visit Scrooge, a silent phantom dressed in a hooded black robe. He presents Scrooge with an ominous view of his lonely death.
Fred - Scrooge's nephew, a genial man who loves Christmas. He invites Scrooge to his Christmas party each and every year, only to be refused by his grumpy uncle.
Fezziwig - The jovial merchant with whom the young Scrooge apprenticed. Fezziwig was renowned for his wonderful Christmas parties.
Belle - A beautiful woman who Scrooge loved deeply when he was a young man. Belle broke off their engagement after Scrooge became consumed with greed and the lust for wealth. She later married another man.
Peter Cratchit - Bob's oldest son, who inherits his father's stiff-collared shirt for Christmas.
Martha Cratchit - Bob's oldest daughter, who works in a milliner's shop. (A milliner is a person who designs, produces, and sells hats.)
Fan - Scrooge's sister; Fred's mother. In Scrooge's vision of Christmases past, he remembers Fan picking him up from school and walking him home.
The two Gentlemen - Two gentlemen who visit Scrooge at the beginning of the tale seeking charitable contributions. Scrooge promptly throws them out of his office. Upon meeting one of them on the street after his visitations, he promises to make large donations to help the poor.
Mrs. Cratchit - Bob's wife, a kind and loving woman.
Assignments
Choose different assignments from this activity sheet. You may use an activity once. You may not do the same activity twice. Make sure you have at least 50 points in total. Hand in the assignments before Christmas via Google Classroom.
- 10 points each
- Discus show Scrooge is like or unlike a person that you know.
- Describe an experience you’ve had that was like the experience of Scrooge in the story.
- Write an obituary (news article about a person that died recently) for Scrooge.
- Explain how Scrooge changed from the beginning to the end of the movie (book)
- Explain why you would like to have one of the characters as a friend
B 15 points each
- Draw a colour map of London in the 1800s where the story takes place. Label the major landmarks and points of interest.
- Write a review of the movie wherein you try to get someone else to see it.
- Tell what you think happened before the story began
- Write a different (better) ending for the story.
- Write a letter to Dickens telling what you liked or disliked about his story ‘A Christmas Carol’.
- Write an interview with Scrooge as his character was at the beginning of the story.
- Create A Christmas Carol crossword puzzle (20 clues minimum)
C. 20 points each
- Find three Christmas Carols (songs) that relate to the story. Write out the lyrics and explain why they relate to the story.
- Pretend you are living in London during the late 1800s and describe your typical day.
- Make a scrapbook of pictures of the main characters and describe them.
- Write a poem (min. 20 lines) about the book.
