A Christmas Carol Study Guide
Name: _________________________
Period: _____ Date: _____________
A Christmas Carol Stave 3 – “The Second of the Three Spirits”
1. At the beginning of the third stave, how does Scrooge know he should open the door and enter the other room?
2. How are all of the objects Scrooge sees in the room (holly, ivy, mistletoe, roaring fire, turkeys, meats, wreaths,
desserts, and bowls of punch) related?
3. Why does the Ghost of Christmas Present have over eighteen hundred brothers?
4. What effect did the Ghost of Christmas Present’s torch have on those he sprinkled its droppings on?
5. What are two of the ways we know that the Cratchit family is poor?
6. How many children are there in the Cratchit family?
7. What do the youngest Cratchit children want Martha to do just after she arrives?
8. How does Tiny Tim think people will feel when they see him in church?
9. Why do the youngest Cratchit children cram spoons into their mouths after they finish setting the table?
10. Why does the Ghost of Christmas present say, when speaking of Tiny Tim, “If he be like to die, then he had
better do it, and decrease the population”?
11. What does Bob want to do that makes Mrs. Cratchit angry?
12. Why does the Ghost of Christmas Present bring Scrooge out to a “bleak and dessert moor”?
Use the following quotation to answer the following questions:
“I was only going to say that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us, and not making merry with
us, is, as I think, that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm. I am sure he loses
pleasanter companions that he can find in his own though, either in his moldy old office or his dusty
chambers. I mean to give him the same chance every year, whether he likes it or not, for I pity him. He
may rail at Christmas till he dies, but he can’t help thinking better of it – I defy him – if he finds me going
there, in good temper, year after year, and saying, “Uncle Scrooge, how are you?” If it only puts him in the
vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, that’s something, and I think I shook him, yesterday.”
13. Who spoke these words?
14. Why does this character pity Scrooge?
15. What does this speaker hope to accomplish by “going there, in good temper, year after year”?
16. In your own words, what is “the consequence of [Scrooge’s] taking a dislike to us, and not making merry with
us”?
17. Referring to the above question, who is “us”?
18. Why does the Ghost of Christmas Present grow “older, clearly older” before Scrooge’s eyes?
19. Explain the symbolic meaning of the two children hidden under the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present.
How do the children relate to Dickens’ Unitarian beliefs?
20. Choose one situation from the book you where a character acts in a way you do not understand. Give a brief
but specific description of the context of the situation, including page numbers. Explain how you would have
reacted in that situation.
21. Why does the Ghost of Christmas Present take Scrooge to so many places? Why does he take Scrooge so far
from London during these visits?
22. Give at least two examples of symbolism directly related to the Ghost of Christmas Present. Explain the
symbolism.