Name: __________________________________
#:___
Date: __________________________________
Advanced English Period: ____
Section: UNITS
A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Table of contents:
Page(s)
Description
2-5
The Life and Times of Charles Dickens
6
Literary Elements and Devices for This Unit
7
Setting
8
Characterization of Scrooge: Stave I
9
Characterization of Scrooge: Stave II
10
Characterization of Scrooge: Stave III
11
Characterization of Scrooge: Staves IV and V
12-13
Symbolism in the Novel
14
Theme
14
Figurative Language in the Novel
15
Scrooge as a Dynamic Character
16
Plot
1
The Life and Times of Charles Dickens
Life in ___________ - mid 1800’s to the turn of the century.
Class Structure in ________________ England:
1. Upper Class/Wealthy
2. _________________________________________
3. Working Class (_________________ and Unskilled)
4. Under Class
Upper class/wealthy
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The top class was known as the Upper Class or ___________________.
It included the _____________ and nobility, which had great power and wealth.
This class consisted of about _________ percent of the population, but owned the
majority of the land.
It included: the royal family, lords, the clergy, great officers of state, and those above
the degree of baronet.
These people were ________ into nobility, privileged, and avoided taxes.
Middle class/Bourgeoisie
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The middle class consisted of the bourgeoisie – also referring to the
_______________________ class.
It was made up of factory owners, bankers, shopkeepers, merchants, lawyers,
engineers, businessmen, traders, and other professionals.
These people could sometimes be extremely rich, but in normal circumstances
they were not___________________ , and they especially resented this.
There was a very large ________ between the middle class and the lower class.
Working class/Skilled and un-skilled
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“The working class” or skilled laborers were above the unskilled class- but not by much.
This class is also referred to as the ___________________ class.
The lower class contained men, women, and ___________________ performing many
types of labor, including factory workers, seamstresses, sweepers, miners, and others.
Like the middle class, the lower class also had to endure a large burden of _______.
This third class consisted of about _____ percent of the population but only owned
_________ than _____ percent of the land.
The working class unskilled laborers contained many men, women, and children with no
particular _________.
These people typically did _____________ that did not last long.
Many unskilled laborers were a step away from being ________________ and occasionally spent time
on the streets.
2
Under class
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The Under Class is also “________________” (those who were not working,
and were receiving public charity).
This was considered a submerged "under class" sometimes referred to as the
"sunken people"-- which lived in ______________.
The under class were more susceptible to exploitation and were therefore
taken advantage of.
These people often starved to _____________ on the streets or died from
malnutrition or disease.
The Industrial Revolution
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During the 1800s the _______________ spread throughout Britain.
The use of steam-powered machines, led to a massive increase in the
number of ____________ (particularly in textile factories or mills).
From Country to City
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As the number of factories grew, people from the countryside began to move
into the towns looking for better paid _________________.
Cities were filled to overflowing, and __________ was particularly bad.
People crowded into already crowded houses. Rooms were _________________
to whole families or perhaps several families. If there were no rooms to rent,
people stayed in lodging houses.
Child Labor
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Children worked in _________________carrying large buckets of coal around on their
backs, or they worked sitting down in the mine alone to open the door for a coal cart
passing through.
Many factory workers were children. They worked _______ hours and were often
treated ___________ by the supervisors or overseers.
In match factories, children were employed to dip matches into a chemical called
phosphorous. This phosphorous could cause their teeth to rot and some died from the
effect of breathing it into their lungs.
The mill owners often took in orphans to their workhouses, they __________ at the mill and were
worked as hard as possible.
They spent most of their working hours at the machines with little time for _________________ or
exercise. Even part of Sunday was spent cleaning machines.
There were some serious ___________________; some children were scalped when their hair was
caught in the machine, hands were crushed and some children were killed when they went to sleep
and fell into the machine.
When young boys first started working as chimney sweeps between _________ and ________ years
old, they suffered many cuts, grazes and bruises on their knees, elbows, and thighs however after
months of suffering their skin became hardened.
3
Street Kids
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Hordes of dirty, ragged children roamed the streets with no regular money
and no home to go to. The children of the streets were often ______________
with no-one to care for them.
They stole or picked pockets to buy food and slept in _____________ or
doorways. Some street children did jobs to earn money.
They could work as crossing-sweepers, sweeping a way through the mud and
horse dung of the main paths to make way for ladies and gentlemen. Others
sold lace, flowers, matches or muffins out in the ____________.
The Life of Charles Dickens
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Charles Dickens was born on ____________________________.
His father, John Dickens, was a clerk at the Navy Pay Office.
His father continuously lived beyond his means and was ________________
for debt in 1824.
When Charles was _____, he was pulled out of school to work in a boot-blacking
factory to support the family. He glued the labels onto the bottles of boot black
for six shillings a day. Wow! Today, One Shilling would = ______ pennies! So in
ONE MONTH of factory work Charles made an estimated 144 Pence which
would = ________ today!
Dickens Begins to Write
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Dickens has said that his time ______________ and living alone in a boarding house traumatized him
for the rest of his life.
Dickens eventually returned to school at Wellington House Academy in __________.
Dickens began submitting material to the British Press where he was paid a __________ a line. He
was not unlike a reporter for a newspaper today.
Dickens's career as a writer of fiction started in _____ when his short stories and essays appeared in
periodicals.
Dickens proved to be a prolific writer writing _____novels, plays, short stories, and essays.
Some of his more famous works include:
Oliver Twist 1837
Nicholas Nickelby 1838
A Christmas Carol _______
David Copperfield 1849
A Tale of Two Cities 1859
Great Expectations 1860
4
Personal Life
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Dickens married Catherine Hogart in _______.
Catherine’s ____________, Mary, moved into their house, and it was suspected that Dickens was in
love with her.
Mary died in 1837, and a heartbroken Dickens requested to ________________ next to her.
Mary has appeared in his books, but usually as a good-hearted character.
Dickens had ______ children with Catherine, but they separated in 1858.
In the 1850s, Dickens spent much time traveling and campaigning against
many of the ____________ of his time. In addition he gave talks and readings,
wrote pamphlets, plays, and letters.
From 1860 until the time of his death, Dickens lived at Gadshill Place, near
Rochester, Kent.
He died at Gadshill on _____________________________.
Dickens died before he finished his last work called The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
The novel was left ___________, and the ending remains ______________.
Characters
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_______________________: He is a cold, miserly creditor who lives only for himself.
_______________________: He is Scrooge's overworked employee; a timid man afraid to stand up
to his boss's demanding ways. He has a poor but loving family.
_________________________________: The first ghost to visit Scrooge; the small, elderly figure
represents _______________.
_________________________________: A giant clad in robes, this ghost has ______ brothers and a
life span of one day. He represents _______________ and ________________.
_________________________________: This solemn, silent phantom represents ___________, but
also the presents the possibility that the future is not determined, but open to the free will of
humans.
_________: Scrooge's nephew; he embodies the joy and sharing of Christmas. He refuses to let
Scrooge's "Bah! Humbug!" attitude bring him down, and is overjoyed when his uncle converts and
attends his party.
______________: Cratchit's crippled son, he represents the ________________________ goodness
of the Christmas spirit.
_______________: Scrooge's old partner; he appears to Scrooge as a ghost and warns him about the
dangers of being obsessed with money.
________________: The young Scrooge's jolly, selfless boss.
_____________: Scrooge's former girlfriend/fiancé; she breaks
up with him because of his greed.
_____________: Scrooge's younger sister.
5
Literary Elements and Devices for This Unit
Characterization
The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.
Characterization is revealed through direct characterization and indirect
characterization.
Direct Characterization tells the audience what the personality of the character is.
Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well-mannered and did not disobey their mother.”
Explanation: The author is directly telling the audience the personality of these two children. The boy is “patient”
and the girl is “quiet.”
Indirect Characterization shows things that reveal the personality of a character. There are five different methods
of indirect characterization: STEAL, speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, looks
The general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which the action of a
Setting
fictional or dramatic work occurs; the setting of an episode or scene within a work is
the particular physical location in which it takes place.
Theme
The message about life that comes out of a story. Theme can either be stated or
unstated in a story.
Symbolism
Something concrete that stands for something abstract. A symbol may be a person,
place, thing, or action. It may stand for an idea, belief, feeling, or attitude. A symbol
keeps its own meaning while also standing for something else.
Foreshadowing
The use of clues early in a story to give hints about events that will happen later.
Dynamic Character
Character changes, grows, or learns something by the end of the story.
Static Character
Character experiences no major change in story.
Situational irony
An outcome contrary to what was or might have been expected.
Flashback
Insertion of an earlier event into the normal chronological sequences of a narrative.
Plot
The order structure, or sequences, of causal events in a story ( exposition, inciting
incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, denouement)
6
Setting of A Christmas Carol
Setting
Describe when and where the story takes place.
Time Period
Place/Surroundings
Historical Context
(What do you know about
the country at this time?)
Time of Year
Why is the setting important in the novel?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
7
Characterization of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
Stave I
Directions: Find a piece of text (quote) from the novel of each of the following methods of characterization for Scrooge
in Stave I. Write the quote, character and page number in the space. (See the typed example in the chart.)
Quote
Character
Page #
“If I could work my will, said Scrooge, indignantly, “every idiot who
goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his
own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through is heart. He
should!’”
Scrooge
3-4
Direct
Characterization
(Directly Stated by
the narrator)
Indirect
(Speech)
Indirect
(Thoughts of the
Character)
Indirect
(Effects on Others;
other characters
opinions)
Indirect
(Actions *Most
important)
Indirect
(Looks *Least
Important)
8
Characterization of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
Stave II
Directions: Find a piece of text (quote) from the novel of each of the following methods of characterization for Scrooge
in Stave II. Write the quote, character and page number in the space.
Quote
Character
Page #
Direct
Characterization
(Directly Stated by
the narrator)
Indirect
(Speech)
Indirect
(Thoughts of the
Character)
Indirect
(Effects on Others;
other characters
opinions)
Indirect
(Actions *Most
important)
Indirect
(Looks *Least
Important)
NOT APPLICABLE
9
Characterization of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
Stave III
Directions: Find a piece of text (quote) from the novel of each of the following methods of characterization for Scrooge
in Stave III. Write the quote, character and page number in the space.
Quote
Character
Page #
Direct
Characterization
(Directly Stated by
the narrator)
Indirect
(Speech)
Indirect
(Thoughts of the
Character)
Indirect
(Effects on Others;
other characters
opinions)
Indirect
(Actions *Most
important)
Indirect
(Looks *Least
Important)
NOT APPLICABLE
10
Characterization of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
Staves IV and V
Directions: Find a piece of text (quote) from the novel of each of the following methods of characterization for Scrooge
in Staves IV and V. Write the quote, character and page number in the space.
Quote
Character
Page #
Direct
Characterization
(Directly Stated by
the narrator)
Indirect
(Speech)
Indirect
(Thoughts of the
Character)
Indirect
(Effects on Others;
other characters
opinions)
Indirect
(Actions *Most
important)
Indirect
(Looks *Least
Important)
NOT APPLICABLE
11
Symbolism throughout the Novel
Symbol
Meaning (in your own words!)
Scrooge
Bob Cratchit
Fire (Bob warms himself,
fireplace when Marley’s
ghost comes, fire from
Christmas Present)
Marley’s Chains
Ghost of Christmas Past
1. Light upon his
head
1.
2. Cap he holds
2.
3. Body
3.
12
Ghost of Christmas
Present
(throne)
Ghost of Christmas
Yet-to-Come (Future)
Girl Want
What do you know about
Victorian England?
Boy Ignorance
What do you know about
Victorian England?
13
THEME
Theme
Evidence from the text to support your theme; include the
Stave and page number from the text!
1.
2.
3.
Figurative Language
Type of Figurative
Language
Example from the text
Why is it this type
of figurative
language?
Stave and
Page #
14
Scrooge as a Dynamic Character
Describe Scrooge in this Stave
Cite a piece of evidence from the
text to support your description
Pg.
#
How has he changed
since the beginning of
the novel?
Stave I
Stave II
Stave III
Stave IV
Stave V
15
Plot of A Christmas Carol
16