grade 9 model essay a christmas carol

Mr Salles Teaches English

A Christmas Carol: Every Grade 9 Essay in One

There is some context which is relevant to any essay.

And is guaranteed to make parts of any essay worth grade 8 and 9.

As a free subscriber, I am going to give you all of it.

Paid subscribers will get it transformed into a 930 word 30/30 answer. Actually, it is way better than 30/30. If you write only 700 words of this, you’ll still get 30/30.

So, in my commentary, I also share which sentences are essential to getting 100%.

This is an extract from my Ultimate Guide to A Christmas Carol (which also includes 7 grade 9 essays).

I wrote it to help you love the novel, get grade 9 and understand and enjoy literature so that you could choose English literature A level (if you wanted to - some people have to become doctors and chemists, but 100X more will want to read and write for the rest of their lives!)

This topic is going to be 100% relevant to any question you ever get on A Christmas Carol.

How is A Christmas Carol a Criticism of Social Policy in Victorian England?

Dickens shows his opposition to The Poor Laws, which created “workhouses”, by making Scrooge support them: “Are they still in operation?”.

The Victorians Thought the Poor Deserved to Be Poor

Scrooge also supports the criminalisation of the poor, “Are there no prisons?” and believes these are necessary to “decrease the surplus population”, even if this means the poor would “rather die” than attend them. The Ghost of Christmas Present quotes Scrooge’s support back at him ironically when Scrooge is desperate to save Tiny Tim, now that he knows what “the surplus population” looks like.

Thomas Malthus

This language uses the politicians’ interpretation of Thomas Malthus’s economic theory. Because only male property holders could vote, Dickens targets his book at them, pricing it at an expensive five shillings, a third of the “fifteen shillings” a worker like Bob Cratchit earns. Dickens invites the readers into the warmth of the Cratchits’ family Christmas, so that they too can understand the social effects of low wages.

Trading Laws Which Starve the Poor

On the way, Scrooge challenges the ghost for shutting bakers on a Sunday, which was a law upholding the Christian tradition of the Sabbath, forbidding trade, which will “cramp these people’s opportunities of innocent enjoyment...deprive them of their means of dining every seventh day”. Dickens juxtaposes the harshness of society with the “hard and sharp as flint” Scrooge, pointing out that the miser is actually more generous than the reader who votes for such laws.

How the Cratchits Symbolise the Poor Working Class

Inside the Cratchits’ home on Christmas day, we wait for the eldest daughter Martha, a maid of all work, who has still had to “clear away” on Christmas morning for her thoughtless, and entirely normal, employers. The mother and second daughter make their old dresses appear more festive with “ribbons”, Peter wears a ridiculously large present of his father’s old shirt, whose collar is so big it gets “into his mouth”. Only Bob and Tiny Tim have been to church, presumably because the rest of the family lack suitable clothing. Bob himself has no “greatcoat” and his best clothes are “threadbare”. Although this is a comic portrait, it is also a clue that the winter is a threat to health in a poor family.

Next, Dickens italicises the children’s excitement at the feast: “there’s such a goose,” and contrasts this with the goose’s meagre size, so that the family even eat the bones, and there is only an “atom of a bone” left on the table. After witnessing this comic scene, Scrooge brings us back to real life, asking the Ghost “if Tiny Tim will live”. He won’t.

So, Dickens challenges his readers to realise that the going rate of pay creates the working poor, which leads to their malnourishment, poor health, servitude and often death. Scrooge, like the reader, has simply supposed the poor are “idle people'' who choose poverty because of defective character. Dickens wants to disabuse these readers, as he shocks Scrooge into transforming.

Scrooge’s Transformation

It is tempting to see Scrooge’s transformation as needing The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, but actually this question in Stave Three is the pivotal moment. Dickens shows us this structurally, as it occurs in the middle of the novel, and also thematically at the end, when Scrooge becomes a “second father” to Tiny Tim.

If this last ghost is not necessary for Scrooge’s transformation, why is he introduced? Dickens uses him to show the reader how wider society is affected by their poor pay. Bob has a comparatively good job for a working-class man. Those who earn less live in slums, where he now takes us: “the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery”. Like the reader, Scrooge has avoided seeing the “wretched” conditions in which the poor live, and “never penetrated” there.

Don’t Forget the Workers Who are So Poor That They Become Criminals

Here we meet tradespeople Scrooge has employed, a “laundress” and “charwoman”, and an “undertaker’s man” who has prepared Scrooge’s body. They have all stolen from the dead man’s room. They have “all three met here without meaning it!” because they are embarrassed at their crimes. They are surprisingly polite to each other, and with “gallantry” decide that the poorest, the cleaner, should be last to ask old Joe for a price for her stolen goods, and therefore get a better price. Old Joe himself has made a tiny profit from crime. He is still having to do this, even though “nearly seventy years of age”. His poverty is introduced comically as he invites them into “the parlour... the space behind the screen of rags.” This ironic juxtaposition reveals Dickens' social commentary, where not just poverty, but a significant amount of crime is caused by middle class indifference to the consequence of low wages which they pay.

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This Book’s Readers are Employers

This is harder for a modern audience to grasp, but all Dickens’ original readers were exactly this kind of employer. Even Fred, the model of Christmas cheer who puts up with his uncle’s “Bah...Humbug!” has a live-in housekeeper who is still working on Christmas day to welcome Scrooge to Fred’s home!

Dickens expects the reader to identify with the morally good “master” Fred and perhaps now to question their indifference to the lives of their employees.

Revolution and Education

Dickens also warns of greater consequences than crime if society, and the reader, does not change. Because Scrooge begins his transformation, he notices the figures of “Ignorance” and “Want” whom Dickens personifies as a boy and a girl. The Ghost of Christmas Present delivers Dickens’ warning, “but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.”

“Ignorance” symbolises the lack of education denied to the poor, which results in a spiral of unemployability, or a qualification only for low-wage work. This unspecified “doom” suggests violent crime or political protest, or perhaps predicts the kinds of revolution which swept Europe five years later.

This scene is not necessary to the plot of Scrooge’s redemption, so it works like an aside to the reader, calling our attention to the author’s wider purpose, which is not just to entertain, but persuade the reader to build a fairer society.

The Importance of the Ending

Therefore, Dickens ends the novella with Scrooge raising Bob’s “salary” as his final act.

We remember that his lack of charity was a sign of his miserly behaviour. But Bob’s salary was only the going rate in 1843, not a product of Scrooge’s miserliness. So, this action becomes a clear signal to the reader to increase what they pay their employees and domestic staff.

The final line, ending with “God bless us” is partly ironic. God isn’t going to help the poor, so we, like Scrooge, have to.

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Rewritten as an Exam Answer

Although Dickens writes the novel as an entertainment, he wants the story of Scrooge’s moral awakening to “haunt” the reader, and so lead to a change in how his readers think about the poor.

A 3 part thesis statement, which sets out Dickens’ ideas, and acts as a plan for your essay. I always write a 3 part thesis statement. Some grade 9 answers get away with 2 - but that leaves your marks to chance.

Dickens shows his opposition to The Poor Laws, which created “workhouses”, by making Scrooge support them: “Are they still in operation?”. Scrooge also supports the criminalisation of the poor, “Are there no prisons?” and believes these are necessary to “decrease the surplus population”. Then Dickens creates Tiny Tim to show us what “the surplus population” looks like, and he uses Tiny Tim’s impending death to transform Scrooge’s view.

Rather than explode a quote to death, use your quotes to build an argument. The argument has to be about the writer’s ideas. This gets your AO2 marks. The more quotes you use, the higher your AO1 mark. Exploding quotes adds very little to AO1, because you use too few ‘references to the text’. Obvious really!

I hope you can see how to turn the context into an essay. Paid subscribers get the rest, with my comments.

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Category: A Christmas Carol

A model top band essay on ‘acc’ and family.

Throughout Dickens’ allegorical novella, the importance of family is carefully highlighted in each stave as Scrooge starts to realise that profit and gain is not the true way of maintaining happiness.

Primarily in Stave 1, Scrooge’s last-living family member, Fred, invites him round for Christmas dinner, (every year, after continuously getting declined) expressing just how ‘merry’ and morally-inclined Fred is over his Uncle, who is supposedly the influence upon Fred, making it ironic that the younger, less-economically inclined protagonist exhibits a higher moral compass than his own Uncle, this suggests past events that have molded Scrooge into the parsimonious old man he is now. Dickens uses Fred as a mouthpiece to the contemporary audience (as he embodies the Christmas Spirit and the upper-middle class) to communicate money doesn’t buy morals and family and love, so be grateful for what and who you have around you, and help those who need it the most. Scrooge’s lack of love and simple acts of kindness is shown through the way he treats and speaks to his own family, asking them, “what right have you to be merry? You’re poor enough” The dehumanizing interrogative belittles Fred, stripping him of his human “right” to be “merry” which portrays just how stagnant and immoral he is at the beginning of the novella, clearly family means nothing to Scrooge. Here the modern audience finds it comical, how ignorant and narcissistic Scrooge is towards his own family member.

Primarily, within the selected extract, Dickens starts off by using an excessive amount of derogatory language and an abundance of negations to communicate the true, ‘dirty’ ramifications that the lower working class were forced to live in. This is the moment where Scrooge is “appalled” and “starts aback” at the unhealthy living conditions his employee, Bob, lives under and starts to notice just how horrific the living conditions really were, all because he refused to pay Bob anything ‘more nor less than the minimum wage’. This is also where the audience is told that Peter, Bob’s eldest son, also works in order to gain some more income for the family’s welfare. Peter’s loss of youth clearly reminds Scrooge of his lonely childhood as we (as readers) can see a glimmer of hope within Scrooge’s future transformation. Here, Scrooge can see that no matter how poor this family is, nothing will ever change the love they possess for one another as they are described as “happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time…” This communicates and foreshadows Scrooge’s possible want for change in the lower working class’ treatment and wages etc, as in Victorian England, anyone born into the lower working class was instantly assumed to be lazy as according to the upper and middle class, it was their fault for being in that situation and it was “punishment” for not working hard enough – although they probably worked just as much as the other working classes, if not more. Dickens went into such detail with The Cratchits living conditions as he wanted to raise awareness to the contemporary audience that societal norms needed to change in order to progress as a country.

Moreover, the importance of family is also shown through Belle’s happiness with her new family and husband. This is where we see slight guilt in Scrooge’s past actions as he “yells, ‘get me out of this place’”. The use of verb “yells” explains how there could be a glimmer of jealousy within Belle’s find for a new love for others and the loss of love she once maintained with Scrooge. In the Victorian Era, it was almost a necessity and classed as a life’s purpose to have a family to carry on future working development and to pass on the family name and so Scrooge has failed at learning to love and care about other people since he “replaced” everyone with a “golden” material. Dickens clearly wanted to make the society of the Victorian Era understand the sheer importance of having a family and not remaining lonely like Scrooge as happiness is spawned within family and laughter. The reader would realise just how much their family should mean to them as the average age of the Victorian Era was 29 years old which- to this day- is very young and they should appreciate who they have around them.

Finally, within the selected extract, The Cratchits are presented as economically disinclined but “happy, grateful, pleased…” and that is all they need to survive. Scrooge decides to have “his eye upon… Tiny Tim until the last” and this could be he doesn’t want to accept the fact that he declined Bob with a higher wage to help his ‘youngest son’ (Tiny Tim) gain the medication he needs in order to cure his illness. The use of lexical choice ‘upon’ shows how Scrooge is aware that this family needs and wants help economically but refuses to realise that its HIS fault for keeping him paid on the lowest wage. This could mirror a possible future where Tiny Tim was the ‘last’ one born, but the first to die, as in the Victorian Era, contraception didn’t exist and so families (usually of the lower class) had up to 7 kids, also because 1/6 of the born children would die before the age of 1 and 1/5 would die before the age of 5 due to the lack of health care and unsanitary living conditions. Scrooge clearly realised that he would have to live with the fact that he was the reason why Tiny Tim dies (when The Ghost of Yet to Come) takes him to the scene of his death. Here the reader can see that The Cratchits truly love and appreciate each other, and they possess something Scrooge becomes envious of- which is love and Dickens did this in the hope of more appreciation and acceptance of everyone, no matter what social class etc and that if things didn’t change in their societal norms, then regression would certainly take place.

Ultimately, through the ideals of family, Dickens seeks to illuminate its great value, encouraging greater benevolence and sense of community for readers of all contexts.

Model Grade 9 ‘ACC’ essay: Christmas as a Joyful Time

Starting with this extract, explore how far Dickens presents Christmas as a joyful time. (30 marks)

Throughout Dickens’ allegorical novella, his aim is to passionately highlight how such a joyful season can create positive role models for Scrooge. The constant succession of images relating to joy around Christmas may well have been utilised to demonstrate how readers too can learn and improve from the inspirational characters during the novella.

Primarily, within stave 1 of the novella, Dickens utilises the characterisation of Fred as the embodiment of the Christmas spirit with all the positive virtues associated with Christmas. This is evidenced when Fred is described as coming in ‘all in a glow’ with ‘his face ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled.’ Here the use of the noun ‘glow’ connotes light and warmth which is strongly linked to hope and purity. This highlights the contrast between Fred and his uncle Scrooge, who was described as ‘hard and sharp as flint.’ Structurally, introducing Fred immediately after Scrooge focuses the reader’s attention on the clear variation between the two and all of the positive qualities that Scrooge lacks. Furthermore, Fred highlights the belief that Christmas is a time for unity within the social hierarchy although it ‘never puts a scrap of gold or silver’ in his pocket and he frowns upon his uncle, completely consumed in the greed for money. Dickens may have done this to foreshadow Scrooge’s transformation into a better man as a result of the inspirational role models around him during the novella. Alternatively, Dickens may have used Fred and Scrooge together to challenge the situation in Victorian Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Scrooge highlights all of the negative traits of upper class men during this time and Fred is a caring and benevolent character, who cares for people lower down on the social hierarchy.

Secondly, within the extract, Dickens utilises the characterisation of Fezziwig to suggest a clear contrast in the two employers. This is evidenced when Fezziwig ‘laughed all over himself, from his shoes to his organ of benevolence.’ The use of the abstract noun ‘benevolence’ suggests the joy and love Fezziwig has for Christmas time. Fezziwig’s kind, caring personality is another role model and catalyst for Scrooge’s transformation. Furthermore, Dickens presents Christmas as a joyful time through Fezziwig’s Christmas party. ‘Fuel was heaped upon the fire’ and the warehouse was transformed into a ‘snug, and warm’ ballroom filled with light. The use of the adjective ‘warm’ connotes kindness and comfort. The detail here in Fezziwig’s scene overwhelms the senses; his generosity is physical, emotional and palpable. As an employer he is the foil of Scrooge and presents all of the positive virtues that Scrooge lacks. Dickens may have done this to highlight a different side to capitalism. Alternatively, presenting Fezziwig as the embodiment of Christmas suggests the importance of Christmas and all of its positive qualities on everyone in society.

Thirdly, within the novella, Dickens utilises the Ghost of Christmas Present to personify Christmas itself. When the ghost appears it has set up an impressive feast of lights and food. This is evidenced when Scrooge’s room is filled with ‘the crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there, and such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney.’ The scene is hyperbolic and creates a clear contrast with the frugal state of Scrooge’s past Christmases. The use of the light imagery here provides a clear and undeniable tableau of the joyful Christmases Scrooge can afford but chooses to shun. Dickens may have done this to portray Christmas as a bright and familiar celebration which everyone should celebrate in harmony. A modern reader may feel hope that Scrooge will use his wealth to celebrate Christmas with all of the festivities that Christmas should include and celebrate it with the people that care for him, like his nephew Fred.

Finally, in ‘A Christmas Carol’ Dickens reinforces the theme of Christmas spirit through the Cratchit family. Dickens utilises Bob Cratchit to symbolise the true spirit of Christmas and the importance of family. This is evidenced at the Cratchit’s dinner where nobody remarked that it was ‘a small pudding for a large family’. The adjective ‘small’ emphasises the Cratchit’s lack of luxury and yet their enthusiasm in the scene is palpable. This highlights that this ‘small’ pudding was seen as an indulgence to them which is something Scrooge takes for granted. Furthermore, the Cratchit’s ‘four roomed house’ is filled with an overwhelming sense of energy and excitement, which exists as an antithesis of Scrooge’s ‘old…dreary’ abode. This is evidenced as the youngest Cratchit children ‘danced about the table’ this suggests the sense of energy despite their lowly status in society on this festive day. Dickens may have done this to suggest the importance of Christmas to all members of society. Although the Cratchit family are less fortunate than Scrooge or Fred their Christmas is filled with the love they have for each other. A reader may feel delighted to see this family enjoying Christmas day, contented with what they own and hope that Scrooge will see this family as a role model for his transformation.

‘Big Ideas’ in your Literature texts

Having pre-planned ‘big ideas’ that can function as top band essay introductions is a productive use of your time ahead of the Literature exams over the next two weeks. I sat down and had a go for ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’. One of my year 11 students also came up with three superbly perceptive ‘big ideas’ for ‘Macbeth’, also displayed below. No matter the focus, knowing your concept, your way in before you enter the exam hall is excellent preparation and a HUGE time saver.

Many of Shakespeare’s critics, Bloom among them, have argued that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth may be Shakespeare’s most authentic couple out of all of his plays, this is due to the deep devotion and passion they demonstrate to each other. However, if we observe their marriage at a microscopic level throughout the play, we can see how it fluctuates and slowly decays at the hands of their unchecked ambition and hubris.

In Shakespeare’s eponymous play, ‘Macbeth’, our tragic hero and his wife are both riddled with unchecked ambition and often take radical measures to accomplish their ultimate goal: kingship. While this ruthless thirst for power is seemingly prosperous at first, it hastily crumbles to nothing as guilt plagues their minds full of “scorpions”. Macbeth transforms from a “brave” and noble warrior to a guilt-ridden and despised “butcher”, while Lady Macbeth’s stoic and transgressive persona deteriorates into a pitiful and anxious version of her former self.

‘A Christmas Carol’ Grade 9 Response on Fred’s Characterisation

Hi all – another AMAZING essay penned by my year 11 student Ashley. Use as a model for how to structure a top band response:

Within his festive, allegorical novella, Dickens crafts Scrooge’s only nephew Fred to function as a model for embracing Christmas. Most importantly, he demonstrates the virtues associated with this time of year, namely goodwill, benevolence, family and community.

Primarily, the first time the reader meets Fred he is depicted as an embodiment of the Christmas spirit. Fred is ‘all in a glow’ when he comes to meet his uncle. The lexical choice ‘glow’ connotes light which is often linked with purity and hope, emphasising that Fred acts as a role model for Scrooge to learn from. Fred spreads his Christmas cheer and is happy despite not being wealthy. Additionally, Fred is said to have walked through the ‘fog and frost’; the fog could symbolise the lingering presence of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s and all the negativity it brought such as apathy and ignorance. The ‘fog’ blinkered many capitalists from the fact that the people of London were suffering greatly due to the functions of power failing to protect them and for choosing capitalism over socialism. Fred being ‘all in a glow’, stands out from this metaphorical atmosphere of capitalism and material gain; whilst doing so, he clears a path for goodness and cheerfulness to seep into Scrooge’s melancholy life. He therefore paints himself as selfless and caring – qualities that were quite rare in the 1800s.

Secondly, Dickens cleverly utilises structure to illustrate the weak relationship between Fred and Scrooge. Throughout the extract the terms ‘nephew’ and ‘uncle’ are repeated several times. Dickens intention for this technique may have been to remind the reader that Scrooge and Fred are blood relatives; therefore they should have a familial connection. This is extremely ironic considering the way Scrooge communicates with his ‘nephew’ by calling him ‘poor enough’. This remark can be perceived as very rude, dismissive, ignorant and derogatory to a reader; one may even say their conversation resembles two strangers conversing. Dickens does this to highlight the distance between the two, one whose ‘eyes sparkled’ and one who is ‘hard and sharp as flint’. However, despite this obstacle, Fred continually tried to bridge the gap between them by inviting Scrooge to his annual Christmas dinner every year. From this we can infer that Fred is persistent in ensuring that his uncle stops marginalising himself and is included in familial engagements. This is because Fred understands the importance of community and how one can benefit spiritually from it, something Dickens strongly believed people needed to have.

In stave 3, the ghost of Christmas present takes Scrooge to a ‘bright, dry and gleaming room’, which we soon learn to be part of Fred’s home. The description of this setting is essential in understanding the character is Fred. The adjective ‘gleaming’ implies that Christmas spirit is almost leaking out of Fred’s house as it is so full of joy and benevolence. This proves that Fred’s house stands out, drastically, from the cold darkness that many people, like Scrooge, fall into on special occasions like Christmas. Here Dickens shows the vast division between those who are wealthy in the Christmas spirit and those who are wealthy but lack the spiritual benefits of Christmas through imagery. Therefore urging readers to understand that importance of family and relationships in order to avoid isolation.

In essence, Dickens utilises Fred to jolt Scrooge and his targeted capitalist readers out of this apathetic ways via his thoughtfulness, cheerfulness and ‘extraordinary kindness’.

The significance of the supernatural in A Christmas Carol

The supernatural isn’t merely utilised by Dickens because he was intrigued in the power he felt it wielded in reality or because society was fixated on witches like in Shakespeare’s era. Instead the supernatural is used as a catalyst for Scrooge’s change. It’s present as a plot device to move the action along and to encourage Scrooge’s redemption. In their own unique way each spirit has a lasting impact of our protagonist.

I’ve found a really great student response you might look at before tomorrow:

https://youtu.be/ZlB0dd7hqr4

It takes you through the significance of each of the spirits and the lessons they encourage in Scrooge.

Watch and take note!

“If a question on Fred in ‘A Christmas Carol’ cropped up what would I talk about?!”

Despite the fear that potentially surrounds this character appearing in Literature Paper 1, there is a logical means of approaching this. Think of his key moments and what Scrooge and the reader learn from them:

Fred’s key moments:

1) Visits Scrooge in his office to wish him a merry Christmas – contrast in characterisation established (Fred as a foil to Scrooge: ‘There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited’) 

2) Fred holds a jolly family orientated Christmas party where he refuses to be derogatory about his uncle although he does laugh at his miserly ways (“He said that Christmas was a humbug, as I live!” cried Scrooge’s nephew. “He believed it too.”). Fred abandons himself to childish pleasures and games, displaying his absolute acceptance of the Christmas spirit. This intimate moment displays Fred’s deep and unwavering concern for family and the spiritual wealth it brings. 

3) Fred is authentically benevolent towards Bob, expressing his genuine sorrow for the death of Tiny Tim (as portrayed by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come). Bob recounts the ‘extraordinary kindness’ he displays. It appears Fred is unaffected by social prejudice and sees all humans as ‘fellow passengers’ throughout live. His is non-discriminating, a pure model of good will.  

4) Finally, he welcomes Scrooge into the family Christmas without question, never berating him for his past erro r s (“It’s I. Your uncle Scrooge. I have come to dinner. Will you let me in, Fred?” / Let him in! It is a mercy he didn’t shake his arm off.’). He stands for forward progression and celebrates Scrooge’s redemption. 

So why is he so important?

• Allegorically, Dickens utilises Fred as a model for embracing Christmas and its associated virtues e.g. goodwill, family, love, community
• Fred’s concern is revealed by his persistence and pity – his manner is what Dickens sought to inspire in others.
• Both Bob Cratchit and Fred are important characters in bringing about the transformation of Scrooge’s character.
• Fred is a foil to Scrooge in the opening of the novella, so helps to heighten Scrooge’s absolute misery nature and need for change.

More on Fred:

The Theme of Regret in ‘A Christmas Carol’

Hi all, a pupil asked me to go over what the key moments for the theme of regret might be if you were faced with such a focus in the exam next week. I sent the following advice which may be of use to you also:

1) Marley’s unsettling and potentially prophetic display of regret . The ‘chain’ he ‘forged in life’ is composed of the consequences of his fixation on the accumulation of capital at the expensive of spiritual wealth. Now in a state of purgatory he is doomed to walk the earth baring witness passively, unable to help, those most in need. Marley’s regret foregrounds Scrooge’s later acknowledgement of all the ills his own fixation has wrought him.

2) Scrooge himself has many regrets while he visits the past. His biggest regret is likely his relationship with Belle (he allowed ‘another idol’ to displace his love, a ‘golden one) as he drove way a young woman who would have been his lifelong companion and enriched his life with love: a far greater wealth than money.

3) We also see him lament brushing of the little caroler without giving him money (he later displays clear regret for this dismissive action when he redeems himself by speaking enthusiastically the the boy from his window: ‘An intelligent boy!” said Scrooge.  “A remarkable boy! The series of exclamatives and short complimentary sentences displaying his regret for not engaging in community.

4) His treatment of Cratchit, his loyal employee is regretted in stave two fairly early on upon baring witness to his foil Fezziwig (‘I should like to say a word or two…that’s all’). Scrooge seeks to remedy this regret in stave five when he gifts them a large turkey. Scrooge was better than his word.  ‘He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. Through the Cratchits he embraces family again, tackling the regret for marginalising family from young adulthood.

4) There’s the son of his beloved sister. He hasn’t been good to Fred over the years, but this is the one relationship from the past he can do something about. When he ventures to Fred’s Christmas morning he requests: ‘It’s I.  Your uncle Scrooge.  I have come to dinner.  Will you let me in, Fred?”. This is a huge marker of his indication. Wishing to be ‘let..in’ can be taken to symbolise his regret of existing far too long in his ‘solitary’ state. His regret is for not forging a family, for not honouring his sister’s memory through her son, a true extension of her.

5) The ghost of Christmas present reveals ignorance and want and scrooge exclaims: ‘Have they no refuge or resource.’ cried Scrooge – vocalising an interpretative in absolute juxtaposition to his previous dismissive and intolerant nature in stave one. The ghost reminds him how he should regret such ignorance of the poor’s plight by echoing his previous words:’Are there no prisons.’ said the Spirit, turning on him.

6) In stave 5 it is palpable that scrooge regrets his ill treatment of the charity workers in stave one. Upon meeting them a second time he seems to remedy his brusque nature by offering a hearty donation: ‘a great many back-payments are included in it, I assure you.’ His regret is that he failed to acknowledge the great power of charity as a remedy to want and to actively target the persistent cycle of poverty dickens abhorred.

Key Structural Features in ‘A Christmas Carol’ – boost your author’s methods!

The novella has a simple structure:, a christmas carol is divided into five chapters, and dickens called each chapter a ‘stave’. staves are the five lines on which musical notes are written, which may explain why there are five chapters. the word ‘stave’ is also another word for a verse of a song..

• The use of staves and the title, ‘A Christmas Carol’, suggest that this novella, like a carol, was meant to be listened to and enjoyed by groups of people. Reading aloud to friends and family was more common in Victorian times than it is today. Could it be that the novella, like a carol shared among singers, was meant to be shared in a community, passed on and recalled?
• The middle three chapters each relate to Scrooge’s past, present and future, and they contain various lessons for Scrooge to learn from the three ghosts. The appearance of each ghost is signaled by the ominous tolling of a bell.
• The final chapter reintroduces things from the first chapter, such as the charity collectors. This gives the story a circular structure that clearly shows how Scrooge has changed — Scrooge shows that he’s learnt from his experience, saying that he promise s to “live in the Past, the Present and the Future”.
• Scrooge’s transformation is foreshadowed by the change in Scrooge’s father. The fact that Scrooge was more kind-hearted in his youth also acts as a hint that he will be able to change back.
• In the first few pages of the novella, Dickens uses the phrase “Once upon a time”, which links the story to a fairy tale and suggests that it will have a happy ending.

The story has an unusual time scheme:

• The story doesn’t follow a chronological structure. It’s mainly set in Scrooge’s present, but it includes three separate episodes that have visions set in different time periods — Scrooge’s past, present and future.
• Each individual episode with the ghosts doesn’t follow a regular time scheme — each one contains several jumps in time.
• The linking sections between each ghostly visit are set in Scrooge’s present, but they also don’t follow the normal rules of time. Scrooge falls asleep after 2 am, but he’s visited by the first ghost at 1 am that same night. The tolling of the bell shows that hours are passing, but the three visits only take one night.

Supernatural visits drive the action:

• The reader is repeatedly made aware that the ghosts have a short amount of time convey their messages to Scrooge. This drives the plot forward with a sense of urgency and dramatic tension that builds with each ghostly visit.
• The Ghost of Christmas Past instructs Scrooge to “Rise! and walk with me!”, and its manner gets more urgent from then on. It tells Scrooge “Let us go on”, “Let us see another Christmas!” and, “My time grows short… Quick!”
• The Ghost of Christmas Present’s visit is a blur of activity. Scrooge and the spirit speed through several Christmas visions, but there’s a sense that there’s barely enough time for Scrooge to learn all that he needs to learn before the spirit leaves — the spirit warns Scrooge “My life upon this globe, is very brief”.
• The Ghost of Christrnas Yet to come is in such a hurry it appears in the chapter of the previous ghost. It rushes Scrooge towards what seems to be his final lesson — the vision of Scrooge’s own corpse. Scrooge slows down the pace by refusing to look at the corpse, which increases the tension as the reader worries that Scrooge may run out of time to fully learn his lesson. However, later on, the pace builds as the spirit relentlessly points Scrooge towards his final lesson in the graveyard.

The omniscient narrator influences the reader’s view of Scrooge:

• The narrator puts the reader at ease immediately with his casual tone and humorous ramblings about the phrase “dead as a doornail”. The narrator comes across as a talkative, witty storyteller — Dickens presents the narrator in this way so that the reader likes and trusts him.
• Once the narrator has the reader’s trust, he gives lots of negative opinions about Scrooge, e.g. describing him as a “covetous old sinner” with “ferret eyes”. By doing this, Dickens uses the narrator to encourage the reader to despise Scrooge at first.
• As the novella goes on and Scrooge begins to change, the narrator reveals the feelings and emotions Scrooge is experiencing, causing the reader to sympathise with Scrooge. This allows the narrator to drastically change. the reader’s opinion of Scrooge over the course of the text, making his eventual transformation even more powerful

Key Adjectives For Characters in ‘A Christmas Carol’

Use the following vocabulary when discussing any of the following characters:.

• Prejudiced • Ignorant • Cold-hearted • Miserly • Cruel • Isolated

By Stave 5: • Altruistic • Penitent • Redeemed • Charitable •Emblematic

Show the contrast through key quotes:

“If they would rather die, . . . they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population” “Squeezing” “Wrenching” “Gasping” “Clutching” “Odious” “Stingy” “Secret, self contained”  “Solitary as an oyster” By Stave 5: “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel” “I will honour Christmas in my heart”  “I’ll raise your salary” “Overcome with penitence and grief” “Delighted smile” “Wonderful party”

The Cratchits:

• Vulnerable • Hardworking • Moral/ Christian • Cheerful • Grateful

Key quotes:

“Brave in ribbons” “I’ll give you Mr. Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!“ “Bob was very cheerful” Food is “eked out” The children “work” and “help” out

• Benevolent • Family orientated • Altruistic • Charming

Key Quotes:

Christmas is “as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time” “Don’t be angry Uncle. Merry Christmas!” “If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blessed in a laugh than Scrooge’s nephew, all I can say is I should like to know him too.” “Scrooge’s offences carry their own punishment. Who suffers? Himself!”

Jacob Marley:

• Direct • Prophetic • Reformed • Emblematic • Terrifying

“I wear the chains I forged in life” “Mankind was my business” “I am here tonight to warn you” “Death cold eyes”

Ghost of Christmas Past:

• Young and old • Commanding • Light

“Bright clear jet of light” “relentless ghost”

“Would you (Scrooge) so soon put out..the light I give?”

“A small matter to make these folks so full of gratitude”

Ghost of Christmas Present:

• Jolly • Welcoming • Prophetic • Honest

“Jolly Giant, glorious to see” Has “sympathy with all poor men” “Sorrowful” for Ignorance and Want “Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die? It may be in the sight of heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man’s child”

Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come:

• Silent • Dark • Ominous

“Scrooge feared the silent shape” “It seemed to scatter gloom and misery” “it’s kind hand trembled”  “It was shrouded in a deep black garment which concealed its head, its face, its form and left nothing visible except one outstretched hand” “Ghost of the Future. I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, I am prepared to bear you company with a thankful heart.”

Each Key Event in ‘A Christmas Carol’ listed and ordered

The narrator tells us marley is dead. scrooge is in his counting house – it’s christmas eve and he and his clerk bob cratchit are still working, fred, scrooge’s nephew arrives to wish him merry christmas and to invite him to spend christmas with him but scrooge refuses rudely. two charity men also visit and scrooge refuses to give them any money “are there no prisons, scrooge arrives home and sees the face of jacob marley in the door knocker., later that evening the ghost of jacob marley appears – he is wrapped in heavy chains and is doomed to wandering the earth. marley says scrooge will end up the same as him if he doesn’t change and that scrooge will be visited by three spirits who are the only chance scrooge has of saving himself. stave two:, the ghost of christmas past appears to scrooge. he is both young and old looking and has a beam of light coming out of his head., the ghost shows scrooge his childhood – spending christmas alone at school with only books for company., in his next memories the ghost shows scrooge some happier times. a christmas spent with his sister fan collecting him from school and fezziwig’s party., next scrooge is shown belle breaking off her engagement to scrooge because scrooge is obsessed with money. he then sees belle grown up with a family of her own., scrooge struggles with the ghost to make the visions stop and puts the hat on its head extinguishing the light., stave three:, the ghost of christmas present arrives – he is jolly and friendly., scrooge and the ghost visit bob cratchit’s family on christmas day – they are enjoying christmas and are very grateful for their tiny feast. scrooge learns tiny tim will die if nothing changes for the cratchits., scrooge and the ghost travel the world visiting other people who no matter their circumstance or environment, are all enjoying christmas., they then visit fred’s house where everyone is having fun but are making fun of scrooge., the ghost reveals ignorance and want hidden in its robes – the ghost tells scrooge to beware of them., stave four:, the ghost of christmas yet to come arrives., the ghost silently shows scrooge the reaction of some people to the death of an unknown man. nobody seems to care that the man is dead., an undertaker, a cleaner and a laundress try to sell the dead man’s belongings which they’ve stolen. they’ve even taken the shirt from his body and laugh that none will notice or care., scrooge and the ghost visit bob cratchit and his family and learn that tiny tim has died, everyone is very upset., the ghost shows scrooge a grave with scrooge’s name on it scrooge promises the ghost he will change., stave five:, scrooge finds himself back in his own bed and discovers that it is christmas day., scrooge has completely changed – he laughs and wishes everyone a merry christmas. he buys the cratchit family a huge turkey and joins fred and the family for christmas dinner. the next day he gives bob cratchit a pay rise., we’re told tiny tim will survive and scrooge celebrates christmas for the rest of his life., it is imperative that you know the rest of the novella – this means as a starting point you must learn the sequence of events and where key events occur (as above). create a timeline of the above events and add helpful images/sketches/quotes to aid your revision. .

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How Scrooge Changes

How is scrooge presented as being selfish, the point behind the paragraph ao1 - big picture (plot) ao2 - zooming in (language) ao3 - context, during the opening of the novel, scrooge is presented as a selfish, closed character who only thinks of himself. the first section of the novel takes the form of a long piece of description where dickens highlights just how selfish scrooge is. he’s described as being “squeezing,” “wrenching,” and “grasping.” all these active verbs suggest different ways that he takes things. squeezing suggests that he holds things close to himself and won’t let them go. “wrenching” means to take things; to snatch them. this might refer to how he runs his business, snatching back what’s his own, as though he’s a selfish spoilt child who won’t share. “grasping” means to reach desperately for something, which isn’t something we’d associate with someone as wealthy as scrooge. equally, he’s described as being “solitary as an oyster.” this wonderful simile perfectly illustrates just how closed off scrooge is: he has a hard shell to keep himself away from the rest of the world. throughout the rest of stave 1 we see more examples of his selfishness: he refuses to go to fred’s house, arguing that christmas is a “humbug;” he refuses to give to the portly gentleman’s charity, saying that the poor should go to workhouses, prisons or simply die if they can’t afford to live and he resents giving bob cratchit the day off for christmas, thinking himself “ill-used.” scrooge clearly thinks only of himself. he doesn’t “make merry” at christmas, and he “can’t afford” to make anyone else merry either. here, dickens uses scrooge to shine a light on the selfishness of the victorian upper classes, who would happily sit by their firesides eating rich food while their poorer brothers froze in the dirt outside. it is also worth remembering, however, that the issue of poverty is not one that is consigned to victorian england; it’s very much alive today, and we would all do well to look outside of our bubbles to see those who suffer in the world around us ., the text above would represent one paragraph from an essay about scrooge being presented as selfish. the second paragraph would look at how scrooge learnt to be less selfish, while the last would focus on how scrooge was presented by the end. each paragraph would have a point, some language analysis (ao2), some key moments of plot (ao1) and a reference to context (ao3)., the extract, during the opening of the novel, and in the extract, scrooge is presented as a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone.” this is to say that he doesn’t like sharing – he is tight fisted – while the “grindstone” image represents him at work. this image suggests that he drives people hard at work but doesn’t pay them much for it. and this is certainly true of scrooge. dickens also uses a string of verbs to describe his miserly hero: “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, clutching;” all of them imply that he is taking things and holding on to them. he’s described as “hard and sharp as flint” – which implies that he is difficult and even dangerous – “from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire” which implies that one thing flint does well is something scrooge is incapable of, because fire is warm and looks after others. most interestingly, however, scrooge is described as “edging his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance.” this is an interesting image as it implies a certain strange compassion from scrooge. in fact, he isn’t just rude or obnoxious, it’s as though he recognised that he is socially and emotionally dysfunctional and now “warns” other humans to keep away., by the end of the book, however, he has changed and he does this by realising a few very important things., firstly, he understands that people and emotions are more important than money. at the beginning of the book scrooge things money equates to happiness – he says that “i can’t afford to make idle people merry,” suggesting that happiness can only be provided through financial means. during his visits with the ghost of christmas past, however, he sees his old manager fezziwig throwing a party and comments that “the happiness he gives is quite as great as if it had cost a fortune.” here, he shows the beginnings of an understanding that happiness isn’t just financial. throughout stave 3, also, scrooge sees people enjoying christmas without any money. he is taken across the country from the poor tin-mines in cornwall to the most distant lighthouses and even across the sea to where he sees people singing and laughing and making merry despite being on meagre means. he also sees the cratchitts enjoying christmas with next to nothing – with their chipped glasses and broken custard cups holding the drinks as well as “golden goblets.” dickens repeatedly uses references to gold in the book, and at one point bob mentions that tiny tim is “as good as gold and better.” here, bob is clearly celebrating the key theme of the book: that people and human relationships are more important than money. by the end of the book, with the third spirit, scrooge seems changed. he says “lead on, time is precious to me.” here he recognises that time – which is irreplaceable – is actually the most valuable commodity on earth and he seems changed., also, scrooge is changed by the compassion he sees other’s treating him with. when belle speaks to him, she does so with “tenderness” – suggesting that even at this moment of deepest sadness, she feels sorry for him, and not resentful. also, bob toasts him over their dinner, raising a glass to celebrate him. through this scrooge is forced to reflect on the fact that he is supported and loved despite his behaviour. his nephew, fred, also insists on defending him – albeit that he playfully teases him in the group’s game – when he says that he insists inviting scrooge to dinner every year – “for i pity him.” again, the compassion and sympathy felt by others would have affected scrooge and softened him, melting his cold and bitter heart, rather than making him angry and isolated. finally, scrooge allows himself to become absorbed in society when he becomes tiny tim’s “second father.” this final statement shows clearly that scrooge is now a fully-fledged member of society, and even though he had no relationship with his own family, he has an adopted, extended family that he can be a part of., it’s also worth noting, that the first person scrooge feels compassion for is himself. in the school room, when he “wept” to see his “poor forgotten self” scrooge shows sympathy for his own plight. it could well be that his father – the father that fanny didn’t have to feel “afraid” of anymore – was the source of scrooge’s anger and resentment. in this respect, you could easily argue that scrooge was deserted by those who were closest to him and, in turn, deserted those around him; however, by the end, an extended family of society have proven that they care for scrooge and can forgive him, and in this way he learns to feel compassion again., a christmas carol and death, a churchyard. here, then; the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay underneath the ground. it was a worthy place. walled in by houses; overrun by grass and weeds, the growth of vegetation’s death, not life; choked up with too much burying; fat with repleted appetite. a worthy place, the spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to one. he advanced towards it trembling. the phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape., “before i draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said scrooge, “answer me one question. are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they shadows of things that may be, only”, still the ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood., “men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said scrooge. “but if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. say it is thus with what you show me”, the spirit was immovable as ever., scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and following the finger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name, ebenezer scrooge., the extract is from the end of stave 4 and explores scrooge’s final realisation of his fate as the ghost of christmas yet to come points to his grave. overall, death is a prevalent theme in the novella, one which haunts scrooge at every turn, enough to finally transform him for the better., at the beginning of the novel, scrooge’s encounter with the terrifying spectre of death, his old business partner jacob marley sows the early seeds of receptiveness to a new way of life. at first, scrooge refuses to believe that anything dead could return, joking ‘there’s more gravy than the grave about you’ however, the chilling horror of marley’s appearance ‘i wear the chains i forged in life’ –which are constructed of financial elements: purses, and sales ledgers, suggest an unhealthy obsession with money and the way one’s profession will manifest itself and weigh you down after death. also, the clear warning to scrooge ‘mankind was my business’ and the image he shows outside scrooge’s window of dead people desperately trying in vain to change their ways and reconcile themselves with their families, is a message that once one is dead, there is no opportunity for redemption and change. in this section, dickens draws on his knowledge of the gothic genre –churches, door knockers that turn into the face of marley, and marley’s stories from beyond the grave that to chill the victorian reader to the core. of course, they would also be only too aware of the potential of hell, something that dickens was sceptical of, but a huge proportion of his readership would have believed in., another aspect of death that strikes a chord with scrooge early in the novella is when the ghost of xmas past reveals the scene when his sister, fan came to take him home from the boarding school for christmas. this is clearly a treasured memory for scrooge and the reader learns of what a strong bond the two had. ‘fan, fan, dear fan’ and she reminds him ‘father has changed’. the ghost reminds scrooge of the fact she has died and has only one surviving relative, her son, fred. scrooge instantly feels guilty about how he treated fred at the beginning when he received his usual invite to xmas dinner. dickens conveys here how a memory of a death has a significant impact on scrooge’s gradual transformation into a more caring person., in the extract, the reader is presented with the final scene from the ghost of xmas future and scrooge’s terror reaches a dramatic peak. the setting is described as ‘a worthy place’ with this adjective from dickens’ narrator serving to identify the bleak spot as one which scrooge heartily deserves. pathetic fallacy is used to convey the place with lines like ‘overrun by grass and weeds –the growth of vegetation’s death’ indicating how the unwanted weeds, a clear metaphor for death, have destroyed any flowers, and made the location one that resembles the fate that potentially awaited scrooge: one where no-one would tend his grave. it is even ‘walled in by houses’ and at the start the reader learns ‘the furniture was not the same’ in his office. this suggests that in death, everything continues on as normal –someone will take scrooge’s place as a loan shark, and no-one will notice or visit his grave as it is hidden from view., the mood of this piece builds in dramatic tension as scrooge desperately implores the ghost to speak and to reassure him that ‘if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. say it is thus’ but the short sentence ‘the spirit was as immovable as ever’ conveys how dickens allies death with silence and that perhaps it is not god or anyone else who will change our life’s path, only by reaching within one’s self that a genuine transformation can occur., further evidence of scrooge’s doom laden panic as he faces up to the reality of his own death is found in the verb ‘trembling’ as he approaches his own grave, the question ‘am i the man who lay upon the bed’ and the repeated exclamations ‘no, spirit oh, no’ overall, it is an extract that encapsulates the horror of facing up to one’s death, and the added fear for scrooge that no-one will remember him. it is the final catalyst in making him change his ways., the cratchits, cratchits extract, intro / “happy, grateful pleased” vs scrooge at school “not afraid” // “shut out the darkness” vs fred welcoming scrooge // “in a glow” vs belle’s family // grave / as good as gold, charles dickens wrote a christmas carol during the victorian times, when the gap between rich and poor was very big. in the novel dickens shows that money is not as important as family when it comes to happiness. he was inspired partly because his father had been taken into debtors’ prison when he was younger, something that would have left dickens understanding just how much more important family was than money., the first paragraph of this extract deals with the cratchits, who are not wealthy – as shown by their “scanty” clothes – but are happy. dickens uses four key adjectives to describe them: “happy, grateful, pleased” and “contented.” these adjectives show that despite the fact that they didn’t have any of the things that victorian society would have valued, they are still capable of being happy in a range of different ways. this contrasts directly with scrooge’s younger years, where he was “forgotten” by his family and left in school. scrooge is rescued by his younger sister, fanny, who comes to tell him that he is welcomed back because their father doesn’t make her feel “afraid” anymore. this adjective gives us a suggestion that their father may have been abusive to them, and would go some way towards understanding why scrooge rejects family so firmly later in his life., despite fanny’s death – another desertion that would have affected scrooge – her spirit lives on through her son, scrooge’s nephew fred, who repeatedly invites scrooge to his house for christmas dinner. scrooge repeatedly refuses with his famous “bah humbug” line, but fred insists that he will keep inviting him for “i pity” him. the fact that fred pities scrooge for being rude, shows just how far family will go to remain loyal to each other. this idea is also shown in the extract, where the families prepare to close their curtains so they can “shut out the darkness.” in many ways, these curtains could be seen as metaphoric blinds that help keep families together; they keep out the outside and sometimes even blind each other to our failings in order that the family unit is kept happy., the second paragraph also describes some “handsome girls, all hooded and fur-booted” who enter a house “in a glow.” here, dickens makes the point that family is not just for poor people, but is something that unites us all (like the “trip to the grave” that fred mentions in a speech earlier in the book.) the fact that they are “in a glow” suggests that they aren’t just happy, but are actually glowing – a symbol of light that is used repeatedly through christmas carol. also, the preposition “in” suggests that they are within this glow, protected by it, in the same way that families protect us all. in one of the most heart-breaking scenes in the book, scrooge is taken to see his former girlfriend with her new family, a family that could have been his own, had scrooge not chosen worship his “golden idol” above her., in the end though, it is the lack of respect given to his death that really changes scrooge for the better. once he’s seen his own “neglected” grave, he understands the true cost of being alone and understands the reasons why tiny tim’s father calls him, proudly, “as good as gold – and better”.

In this extract, we see how the Cratchit family are happy despite their poverty. The novella was published in 1893 which was in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, so many people were moving into cities, leading them to become overcrowded and therefore poverty-stricken. This poverty is evident here in the quote ‘ the family display of glass’ which we then learn consists of ‘two tumblers’ and a ‘custard cup without a handle’. The word ‘display’ shows just how little they own, as they seem proud to showcase these small dilapidated objects off, as this is all they have. However, they seem content as such trivial matters don’t change how they feel towards each other. Dickens compares the cups to ‘golden goblets’ which to me suggests that the Cratchits feel enriched simply by each other’s company, which is worth more to them than anything materialistic.

Earlier in the same scene, we learn first how vibrant the scene is among this family when Dickens personifies even the potatoes, saying they were ‘knocking’ to get out of their pan, as if the joyous atmosphere was so desirable to be amongst that even inanimate objects wanted to be part of the festivities. In the extract, we are told that the chestnuts cracked ‘noisily’ which conveys the same ideas, building a feeling of community despite the poverty in the scene.

The Ghost of Christmas present first takes Scrooge to see the Cratchits Chirstmas, which makes him realise the importance of family at this time, then continues this theme of company by showing him other scenes brought to life by Christmas spirit. For example, when the ghost takes him to a lighthouse, the poor workers there are described as having ‘horny hands’. This suggests that they have struggled through great hardships and have suffered more in their life than Scrooge ever would, and yet their show of unison when they all sing together at Christmas let them disregard their struggles for a time. By comparing the Cratchits and these workers, Dickens shows how the poor could overcome their lack of materialistic value and settle for things of emotional value.

One member of the Cratchit family who strongly highlights the struggles of the poor is Tiny Tim. In this extract his hand is described as a ‘withered little hand’ suggesting it has prematurely withered like a flower with no light. As the word ‘withered’ has connotations of a flower, to me, this could perhaps be seen as a metaphor for how something beautiful has been hindered and killed by the tight fistedness of the rich in society which is something that Dickens was strongly trying to convey in this novella. Light is often a symbol of hope so this flower could be shrivelled due to a lack of light, which is the lack of generosity from the upper classes. Dickens may have untended ‘withered little’ as a juxtaposition, as we would normally associate ‘withered’ with age and ‘little’ with childhood. This contrast highlights how wrong it is that an innocent child should be so shunned by society due to his wealth and status, and this demonstrates Dickens’ frustration over the inequality.

Dickens uses a similar adjective to describe the hands of the children Ignorance and Want. The word ‘shrivelled’ is used here, which compares these children, who are also victims of the struggles of poverty [sic] to Tiny Tim. It creates a similar image of premature decay to highlight the neglect of lower classes in society. The boy in this scene represents Ignorance and the ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge to ‘most of all beware the boy’. This strongly conveys Dickens’ message about poverty and the poor, as he is trying to tell society that ignoring the struggles and problems of the poor will be their downfall .

This is demonstrated in Stave 4 when Tiny Tim dies, and the Cratchits say that when Bob had Tiny Tim on his shoulders he walked ‘very fast indeed’. When we have a weight on our shoulders, the phrases normally implies a burden and a worry. However here I think that Tiny Tim represents the burden that the rich think the poor put upon society. Here, Dickens could be saying that if we only realised the potential of the poor they may actually prove helpful and contribute to society, however they are seen only dead weight on the shoulders of society due to the ignorance of the rich.

A Christmas Carol and Family

Question: How does Dickens present family as important to society in A Christmas Carol?

Dicken’s presents family as incredibly important in his allegorical novella ‘A Christmas Carol’ as Dicken’s own father was put in prison when he was young, having a profound effect on him. Scrooge juxtaposes other characters as he rejects the possibility of his own family, we see joy in the Cratchitt’s (despite their poverty) and finally Fred’s kindness is also shown towards his family.

In Stave 2 Scrooge rejects his fiancée by not protesting that he will love her and care for her. Belle uses the metaphor “a golden idol has replaced me” when she “releases” Scrooge from his engagement to her. This suggests that money and wealth are infinitely more important to him than his own family. The Ghost of the Past is instrumental in showing Scrooge what could have been when Belle is described as a “comely Matro” by the omniscient narrator to suggest that she has aged well, is happy and content due to her family. Furthermore, she is “surrounded by children” which shows her large family and how this could have been Scrooge’s fate if he had not loved wealth as much. Family was comforting in the Victorian society as the Welfare State was not in existence meaning families has to look after their elderly relations or they would end up in workhouses (which was the worst fate for the poor). In Stave one Fred is also introduced to us as Scrooge’s nephew and also rejected by him with the repetition of “Good Afternoon” showing how dismissive Scrooge can be when there is no financial gain. Fred shows kindness and caring towards him, but he rejects his offer of “Christmas Dinner” and to “dine with us” suggesting Scrooge likes his isolation and lonely, money-filled life.

Throughout the extract the family is seen as paramount to the happiness of the Cratchitt family. Bob is crushed with disappointment when he thinks Martha is not coming for Christmas dinner suggesting love, tenderness and a family bond towards his child. The adjective in “sudden declension in his high spirits” shows how disappointed he is. Tiny Trim and his siblings are extremely caring towards each other when the younger one “spirit him off” so he can “hear the pudding sing” which seems a simple pleasure, but shows that the little things in life matter and that siblings kindness is important, especially as Tiny Tim is the “cripple” and represents Christian goodwill and charity. Perhaps, Dickens was showing the effects of poverty through the presentation of the symbolic Tiny Tim who encourages the people in church to see him as Christmas is about Jesus and he “made beggars walk and blind men see” showing that although Tiny Tim is crippled he is the heart of the family and represents the way people should be towards each other. Christianity is a recurring theme in the novella and Dicken’s may have been highlighting the juxtaposition in the teachings of the bible and the actions of the wealthy in Victorian London and how Christian values were often bent to suit the opinions and thoughts of the wealthy. Dicken’s appears to be criticising through the charitable and kind and loving Cratchitt’ s the way family is rejected by Scrooge, due to his avarice, while those with the least are celebrated and celebrating Christianity and Christian values. It is ironic that Scrooge covets money and wealth more than he covets family and humanity. Further focus on the love and happiness reflected in the Cratchitt household is the way they all join together and share in the chores “in high procession” is used by Dickens to reflect the joyful atmosphere that is created in the small household when the “goose” is brought in for carving. The enthusiasm with which the goose is met is contagious and all the Cratchitt household join in the celebration of the goose “one murmur of delight” describes vividly the whole family gasping in joy at the sight of the food they have for Christmas dinner, despite the clear evidence of poverty that abounds in the household. Mrs Cratchitt is “brave in ribbons” which metaphorically describes the way she has made do and mended her dress to make it appear more festive as a piece of ribbon would have been a relatively cheap way of dressing up, while a new dress would have been an unquestionable expense and out of reach for the family. Although, poor she shows pride in her appearance and wants to look her best for the festivities and not disappoint Bob, her loving husband. Family here is shown as important as they all collectively share in the hardship and even though they are poor they don’t complain or grumble, they just focus on making the best of their situation. Symbolically, the Cratchitt family are the antithesis of Scrooge and his cruel hearted rejection of his own family.

Earlier in the novella, when the Ghost of the Past took him to the boarding school, we see a glimpse of humanity and caring towards family when “Little Fan” arrives to “take him home”. He exclaims that she is “quite a woman” showing his admiration, love and affection for her and his sadness at the reminder that she “died a young woman” which implies that perhaps, like many women at the time, childbirth was too much for her and she died. Dickens doesn’t explicitly state that childbirth was the cause of her death but there is the implication that Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, is a painful reminder of his loving sister to Scrooge and this could be why Scrooge continues to harden his heart against Fred. Alternatively, his hardened nature and his inability to love could be a mechanism that he has used over the years as he became more and more isolated and less interested in sharing experiences with other people. Scrooge’s behaviour, therefore could indicate fear and an unwillingness to open himself up to loss again, as in Stave 2 it is incredibly evident that Scrooge does have a heart and is capable of love and Fan, his sister, has experienced this love and attention from Scrooge. Scrooge’s nephew Fred is also an excellent example of how family should stick together through all the pain and heartache life can throw at people. Fred arrives at the “counting-house” on a bleak, dark and foggy Christmas Eve in stave one with the pathetic fallacy reflecting the inner sadness and miserly nature of Scrooge. Fred is cheerful and welcoming towards his grumpy uncle, who rejects the offer of Christmas dinner and in Stave 3 we see Scrooge become the butt of the joke during a game of “Guess Who”. Scrooge watches amused and seems to ironically miss the fact that he is being compared to an animal of some sort “Uncle Sccccrooooogggeee” is used in the game, too much hilarity as an example that no-one can guess initially. Scrooge watches on with the Ghost of the Present wistfully and plays along with the games, even though he can’t be seen or heard by Fred and the other guests. Although, they are being slightly unkind and poking fun at Scrooge there is some clear evidence of affection for him, due to the fact that he is family. In this scene family is again seen to be normal, caring and loving and everyone is together, looking out for each other and enjoying each other’s company. Dickens presents Fred’s Christmas as a larger and more opulent affair than the Cratchitt’ s but the day seems to represent a wider sort of family gathering with friends and nieces invited to the festivities as well, suggesting that we are all part of the same human race and that there are more similarities between us than differences.

Towards the end of the novella Dickens introduces us to the idea that Scrooge has changed and has reflected on how family is important and why he should join in and become a part of the family, both the Cratchitt family and his own nephew Scrooge. At the end of the novella Tiny Tim utters the phrase that is synonymous with his good nature “God bless us everyone!” which summarises the change that overcame Scrooge. Tim lived because Scrooge changed and became a better man. Scrooge vowed after seeing the Ghost of the Future, the death of Tiny Tim and the death of himself that he would “live in the past, the present and the future” showing that he understood the importance of being a better person. His first act of kindness after this proclamation is to send a “Turkey to the Cratchitt family” which was a huge gesture and showed that he valued their family and really did not want to see Tiny Tim die, he asks the Ghost of the Future “Will Tiny Tim live?” and this rhetorical question reveals that he already knows the answer to this. Without Scrooge’s epiphany and change Tim will die, so Scrooge shows that he recognises how pivotal to happiness Tiny Tim is by sending the food to them. Due to the way family is presented throughout the novella it is obvious that Scrooge begins to understand that family keeps people together and makes them more humane. In the end Scrooge goes to Fred’s house and is invited in. He also becomes “like a second father” to Tiny Tim and shows that he understands the importance of being a better person and the role that having a family plays in this.

Evidently, Dickens felt that family was centrally important to the novella as he places the Cratchitt family in the heart of it. They are show to us in Stave 3 during the Ghost of the Present’s revelations to Scrooge and arguably the scene with the Cratchitt family helps to change Scrooge from being a unkind, miserly and covetous man to a more charitable, kind and loving man. The presentation of family was extremely important in showing Scrooge that he could be a much better man.

ANOTHER ONE

They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude. "Spirit, are they yours?" Scrooge could say no more.

"They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!" cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye. Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end." "Have they no refuge or resource?" cried Scrooge. "Are there no prisons?" said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. "Are there no workhouses?"

In A Christmas Carol, Dickens continually returns the readers’ focus on the children in Victorian society. The recurring character and the famous child in the novella is “Tiny” Tim Cratchit who becomes a metonym for thousands of faceless proletariat children neglected by a ruthless self-serving capitalist society. However, the shocking introduction of the minor characters of Ignorance and Want allows Dickens to create a political diatribe against the greed, selfishness and neglect of working-class children. These children contrasted against the earlier childhood version of Scrooge, serve to expose the dichotomy between the poor and rich in a deeply unequal and uneven society.

In this passage, Ignorance and Want become a metaphorical paradigm of society’s abandonment of the poor and the consequence of their inability to take social responsibility for poverty. The children have a primarily allegorical purpose evidenced in the focus of their physical features. The boy and girl are old before their time as Dickens says their faces are absent of “graceful youth” and the neglect of their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing is emphasised in the image of their “pinched” and “twisted” features. These adjectives heighten the idea of their youth being robbed and their childhood destroyed by physical hardships particularly given “twisted” is synonymous with something that is misshapen and grotesque. Their faces are described as being the antithesis of childhood innocence as Dickens uses hyperbolic language and describes how “devils lurked” in their faces and “glared out menacingly”. The use of hellish imagery accentuates the impression that their existence has been made unbearable by poverty and in turn has tainted and corrupted their view of the world as well as wrecked their own goodness and innocence. The children’s hostility, distrust and hatred of the Christian society meant to protect them is manifested in the verb “glared”, which is emblematic of their disillusionment and discontent. Dickens uses animal imagery to describe the children as “wolfish” which bolsters the impression of working-class children’s metamorphosis from innocent creatures to starving and exploited children hardened by their suffering. The colour “yellow” is symptomatic of sickness and ill health and furthers the idea of their physical and mental decay within a laissez faire society (where no welfare state or support to lift working class children out of absolute poverty exists). The philosopher John Locke theorised man is born a blank slate and our nature is changed by nurture; this idea is evidenced in the way in which societal neglect changes the nature of the children. It is clear that Dickens subverts the image of childhood innocence and sharply juxtaposes Ignorance and Want’s damaged childhood to the wealthy Scrooge’s happier memories of his powerful education (in which his imagination came alive by his schooling), in order to create pathos for working class children and force his contemporary Victorian readers to examine their conscience, particularly their lack of support for the “ragged” poor and homeless children in society.

Dickens believed how a society treated its children, revealed their social mores. He makes it evident that society is to blame for the suffering and dehumanisation of working-class children especially as the spirits uses the short declarative “They are man’s” to indicate societal responsibility and its moral failing. The hypocrisy of a Christian society is exemplified in the way in which the ghost mocks Scrooge and repeats his infamous questions back to him: “Are there no prisons?” and “Are there no workhouses?” The callousness of society and its evasion of social responsibility to take care of the most vulnerable is emphasised in the repetition of the nouns “prison” and “workhouses” which reminds contemporary readers that they marginalised and disenfranchisedinnocent working-class children by socially excluding them and denying them a good quality of life.

Dickens more importantly uses the recurring character construct of Tiny Tim to dispel the damaging societal stereotype that the working class are deserving of their poverty. In Stave 3, Tiny Tim is romanticised by Dickens to symbolise the beauty and goodness of working-class children who deserve society’s love and charity. He is poor but shows immense courage and huge generosity of spirit. When Tiny Tim uses the biblical story of how Jesus helped the blind and poor, and hopes the bourgeoise remember the poor during Christmas, he becomes a symbol of Jesus and once again exposes the hypocrisy of a Christian society that claims to help the poor but instead neglects them. Though Tiny Tim is dying, he shows courage and endless love and devotion to his family, best demonstrated when he says “God bless us everyone” as he sits next to his dad. Tiny Tim does not ask for anything for himself, but he is the antithesis to Scrooge because he is altruistic and puts others before him. In an increasingly amoral Victorian society, Tiny Tim provides comforting moral guidance on how to live a good life. However, Tiny Tim becomes a symbol of the abandonment of working-class children as he is powerless to improve his situation and is shown to die, leaving his family “still” and destroyed by their grief. His death symbolises how the bourgeoise have the power to change his fate and that of thousands of other vulnerable children but fail to do so, leaving innocent families broken by the death of their babies. The focus on the grief of the family after Tiny Tim dies creates intense pathos and is deliberate as Dickens reminds his readers of their shocking contextual reality - that one in five children in Victorian society did not live to see their fifth birthday.

The fairy-tale reversal in Tiny Tim’s death in Stave 5 is a piercing reminder that a progressive and utopic society is possible, but only if the bourgeoisie (represented by Scrooge) learn to love its children and take social responsibility by improving their poverty-stricken situations and therefore preventing their needless deaths. In this stave, Scrooge becomes a “second father” to Tiny Tim. This lexical phrase is highly symbolic because while it literally shows Scrooge has become more responsible and compassionate, it is an important metaphorical reminder that working-class parents desperately need the support of society to help raise their children and provide a good quality of life for them. The lexical choice “Second” is synonymous here with something that is additional and surplus and so consequently is a strong reminder of the importance of a more responsible and engaged society that is not ignorant or myopic of working-class suffering and exploitation. To reinforce this idea, In Stave 3, Dickens briefly uses the childhood character of Martha Cratchit to remind his readers of the exploitation and premature growing up of Victorian children. In this stave the children are working in the kitchen and Martha arrives home late as she has been working. She is responsible for bringing the goose. She is embraced by her mother. The image of Mrs Cratchit embracing her working child reminds readers how adult breadwinners simply could not support their family and relied upon them sacrificing their childhood. There is no doubt that these moments have great verisimilitude for modern readers, particularly given how two thirds of children living in poverty in the UK have working parents, painfully reminding new readers how the exploitation of the poor is as real as ever.

Finally, the gaiety of Fred's family dinner, contrasted against the hardship of the merry but compromised Cratchit family, is a strong reminder of the terrible and tragic disparity between the lives of the working class and wealthy in society, a context greatly affecting the Cratchit children. To conclude Dickens uses the recurring characters of children to explore society’s lack of responsibility towards its children but also its power to change the fate of these children simply by showing greater compassion and ensuring social justice happens.

https://money.com/ebenezer-scrooge-defense-charles-dickens-christmas-carol/

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How to get a GCSE grade 9 using just three quotations from A Christmas Carol

Ebeneezer Scrooge is a character who is famous for his miserly ways and hatred of Christmas. Yet he is also famous for the changes that he undergoes; across the novella, we witness his complete transformation, becoming a man who is generous in action and in spirit and who wholeheartedly embraces Christmas. He is in practically every page of the book but you don’t have to learn hundreds of quotations. Three should do it nicely! Below are three short quotations that are easy to remember and can be used to analyse characters and themes, explore language and add in context.

‘Very small fire’ ‘one coal’

Scrooge barely heats his counting-house with a ‘very small fire’ and allows his clerk, Bob Cratchit, just ‘one coal’ for his fire.

Dickens uses fire and warmth as a symbol throughout the novella to reflect characters and explore the theme of generosity. Here, Scrooge’s ‘small fire’ reflects his miserly character, with the intensifier ‘very’ emphasising just how meagre the literal fire is and so how limited the generosity is in Scrooge’s personality. Scrooge’s meanness extends to his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who is allowed only ‘one coal’ for a fire.

One of Dickens’ purposes in writing the novella was to raise awareness in his  readership of the dreadful working conditions in which the poor suffered. Through the cold, miserable environment of the counting-house, Dickens reminds us how it is important for employers to be responsible for their employees.

Scrooge changes as the Christmas ghosts take him on a journey of self-discovery.

‘No, no… oh no… say he will be spared’

Scrooge’s agony over the predicted death of Tiny Tim illustrates how much he is changing.  The repetition of ‘no’ reflects Scrooge’s horror as he tries to deny the future that the ghost shows him.

There is a sharp contrast with his deep concern over a poor boy and his dismissive attitude to the surplus population at the start of the novella. Scrooge is learning compassion; he is connecting with humanity again.

The Industrial Revolution had forced many people into London looking for work, but wages were low and conditions were terrible. Through no fault of his own, Tiny Tim is victim to these circumstances, and Dickens uses the small boy to show Scrooge and the readership that the poor are part of humankind and should be protected, not ignored or despised.

‘I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy’

At the end, Scrooge’s transformation is complete as he states how differently he feels.

The repetitive sentence structure of similes highlights his newfound positivity. There is a sense of Christian goodness with the comparison to an angel and genuine joy in the comparison to a school-boy. The simile ’light as a feather’ captures how he is now free from the great burden of greed.

With this new attitude, Scrooge proceeds to correct the mistakes he made in Stave One by giving money to charity and improving Bob’s Christmas; Dickens uses a mirrored structure to highlight the huge change in Scrooge.

  Dickens’ aim in writing the novella was to show how the Christmas Spirit can change an individual, and also society, for the better. Scrooge’s transformation shows the reader how it is easy to change and just how much happiness that can bring.

Maximise your grade  

These three quotations can take you down the path to a grade 9. Another way to help you secure a top level mark is to look at alternative view of a character or theme. With Scrooge, you could ask:

Is Scrooge a more memorable and engaging character at the start of the novella?

Scrooge’s trademark ‘Bah! Humbug!’ at the start establishes him as a character who we pity but who is also greatly entertaining. The whole idea that anyone who says ‘Merry Christmas’ should be ‘boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart’ is amusing and many readers will fondly remember the cantankerous old man rather than the jolly chirpy fellow at the end. And before we condemn his early self too harshly, we should remember that he does contribute to his society, paying his taxes to support the institutions that help the poor. 

The whole purpose of the novella is to illustrate how the Christmas spirit can transform us into generous, happy people. There is nothing but pure joy for the reader in witnessing Scrooge’s mischievous side as he plays a trick on Bob and in witnessing him becoming part of a family as again as he takes on the role of a kindly ‘second father’ to Tiny Tim.

How to Write a Perfect A Christmas Carol Essay ( OCR GCSE English Literature )

Revision note.

How to Write A Christmas Carol Essay

Paper 1 of your OCR GCSE will contain questions on a modern prose or drama text and a 19th-century prose work. Section B offers you a choice of two questions about a 19th-century prose text you have studied. You will have 50 minutes to write an essay on one of the following options:

Question 1 is based on an extract from the novel or novella you have studied

Question 2 is a “discursive” essay question and doesn’t contain an extract

Your OCR GCSE exam is “closed text”, which means you won’t have your copy of A Christmas Carol with you. Therefore, it is important you know the novella really well, so make sure you are confident about the plot, characters and themes, and that you have revised a range of quotes and references to use in your essay.  The OCR examiners want to see a range of evidence from right across A Christmas Carol, even for the extract-based question: for a Grade 9 essay, your analysis should link the evidence from the extract with other parts of the novella. For some great suggestions of quotations to learn, check out our A Christmas Carol Quotations and Analysis page .

How Do I Start My A Christmas Carol Essay?

Writing a whole essay in 50 minutes is a considerable challenge, so this advice may sound strange, but instead of putting pen to paper, don’t start your essay yet . Spend at least 10 minutes making an essay plan.

The number one most effective way to get the highest marks is to plan your essay first. It is like making a map, so you know where you are going. Then, you can start writing with confidence about your overall argument and the evidence you are going to use to support it. For the highest marks in both the discursive and extract-based essays, OCR examiners look for writing that “focuses on the question”, contains a “coherent line of argument” and maintains a good “critical style”. Here is a breakdown of what those requirements mean and how you can achieve them:

Creating a plan before you start writing means that you can be certain that your essay covers all these requirements. 

Here is an idea of what your plan could look like:

How Do I Structure My A Christmas Carol Essay?

The highest marks go to students who produce a “coherent line of argument” in their essays. Making a plan is the best way to ensure your argument is logical and consistent, so use your plan to structure your essay and enable you to move from one point to the next smoothly and clearly. To get a Grade 9 in your OCR exam, you need to include an introduction , clearly focused paragraphs and a conclusion . Look again at the example plan above. It includes a “ thesis statement ” and “ topic sentences ” at the beginning of each paragraph. Here is how to include these in your essay:

Top tips for structuring your A Christmas Carol essay

Always set out a clear thesis statement in your introduction:

Your thesis statement should only be one or two sentences long

Begin every paragraph with a topic sentence:

This sentence should indicate the focus of the paragraph clearly

Your topic sentences should always link directly with your thesis statement

All the evidence (quotations or textual references) in the paragraph should focus on supporting the statement you make in your topic sentence

Finish your essay with a short conclusion:

Do not include any new evidence; just sum up how you have proved your thesis statement

How Much Should I Write?

Aim to develop your argument in two or three paragraphs of evidence and analysis. Any more than that can make your essay lose focus and wander away from the question. Remember: less is more — concise writing produces a clearer, more coherent essay.

You may have been taught a method for writing essay paragraphs. Perhaps you have been told to structure your paragraphs like this: Point, Evidence, Explanation (or something similar). 

These days, OCR examiners advise against such strict structures, because they make it harder for students to be flexible and explore different interpretations and contexts or present their own opinions. 

For an example of how to include elements like contextual analysis, differing interpretations and personal opinion in your essay, take a look at our model answers for the OCR A Christmas Carol discursive essay question and the A Christmas Carol extract essay question .

Exam Tips For A Grade 9 A Christmas Carol Essay

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Author: Jen Davis

Jen studied a BA(Hons) in English Literature at the University of Chester, followed by an MA in 19th Century Literature and Culture. She taught English Literature at university for nine years as a visiting lecturer and doctoral researcher, and gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2014. She now works as a freelance writer, editor and tutor. While teaching English Literature at university, Jen also specialised in study skills development, with a focus on essay and examination writing.

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GCSE Grade9 full essay on the theme of ‘Poverty’ in ‘A Christmas Carol’

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

21 April 2023

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Was awarded full marks and was written in timed conditions - this is therefore the perfect balance of quote analysis, play coverage, complex and unconventional points (YOU WILL STAND OUT!!), context and bringing the paragraphs back to the main question/theme.

11 solid paragraphs, 1146 words, 2 pages and a bit font size 12 Some of the points covered: Solid introduction Dickens’ political diatribe Scrooge’s character and his treatment of others and Christmas The Ghost of Christmas Past forcing Scrooge to reflect on his past actions The Cratchit family in Stave 3 Tiny Tim Scrooge’s transformation Solid Conclusion

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