Complete Study Guide

Within this guide:

A range of key extracts from each and every stave of the novel 16 exam-style questions to help you master the text and prepare you

for the final exam Visual aids to remind you of the key events from each stave and to

help visualise selected extracts from the text Ideal revision/exam practice to get you feeling confident and secure Guidance notes on tackling the exam and how to impress the

examiners Disclaimer: Pictures and the source text are property of copyright

holders. All other content in this guide is intellectual property of the author. Sharing or resale of this resource online is prohibited.

Stave

1:

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge is being introduced to the reader for the first time

Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but heanswered to both names. It was all the same to him.

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! asqueezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, oldsinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struckout generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose,shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lipsblue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime wason his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried hisown low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in thedog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.

External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. Nowarmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blewwas bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon itspurpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’tknow where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, andsleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. Theyoften “came down” handsomely, and Scrooge never did.

Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsomelooks, “My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to seeme?” No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children askedhim what it was o’clock, no man or woman ever once in all his lifeinquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blindmen’s dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him comingon, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and thenwould wag their tails as though they said, “No eye at all is better thanan evil eye, dark master!”

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present Scrooge as an outsider to society?

Write about:

• How Dickens presents Scrooge in this extract

• How Dickens presents Scrooge as an outsider to society in the novel as a whole.

[30 marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge is talking with the charity workers who seek help for the poor

“At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,” said thegentleman, taking up a pen, “it is more than usually desirable that weshould make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, whosuffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want ofcommon necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of commoncomforts, sir.”“Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.“Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the penagain.“And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are theystill in operation?”“They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could saythey were not.”“The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” saidScrooge.“Both very busy, sir.” “Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something hadoccurred to stop them in their useful course,” said Scrooge. “I’m veryglad to hear it.”“Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheerof mind or body to the multitude,” returned the gentleman, “a few ofus are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and

drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is atime, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices.What shall I put you down for?”“Nothing!” Scrooge replied.“You wish to be anonymous?”“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what Iwish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself atChristmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help tosupport the establishments I have mentioned—they cost enough; andthose who are badly off must go there.”“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it,and decrease the surplus population. Besides—excuse me—I don’tknow that.”“But you might know it,” observed the gentleman.“It’s not my business,” Scrooge returned. “It’s enough for a manto understand his own business, and not to interfere with otherpeople’s. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!”

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present ideas about social responsibility?Write about:

How Dickens presents ideas about social responsibility in this extract How Dickens presents ideas about social responsibility in the novel as a whole

[30 marks]Read the following extract then answer the question that follows.

Here, Marley’s Ghost appears

The same face: the very same. Marley in his pigtail, usualwaistcoat, tights and boots; the tassels on the latter bristling, like hispigtail, and his coat-skirts, and the hair upon his head. The chain hedrew was clasped about his middle. It was long, and wound about himlike a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cashboxes,keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.His body was transparent; so that Scrooge, observing him, and lookingthrough his waistcoat, could see the two buttons on his coat behind.Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, buthe had never believed it until now.No, nor did he believe it even now. Though he looked thephantom through and through, and saw it standing before him; thoughhe felt the chilling influence of its death-cold eyes; and marked thevery texture of the folded kerchief bound about its head and chin,which wrapper he had not observed before; he was still incredulous,and fought against his senses.“How now!” said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present ghosts?Write about:

How Dickens presents Marley’s ghost in this extract How Dickens presents ghosts in the rest of the novel

[30 marks]

Read the following extract then answer the question that follows.

Here, Marley speaks with Scrooge

“It is required of every man,” the Ghost returned, “that the spiritwithin him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel farand wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to doso after death. It is doomed to wander through the world—oh, woe isme!—and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared onearth, and turned to happiness!”

Again the spectre raised a cry, and shook its chain and wrung itsshadowy hands.“You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?”“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made itlink by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, andof my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?”Scrooge trembled more and more.

“Or would you know,” pursued the Ghost, “the weight andlength of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and aslong as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it,since. It is a ponderous chain!”Scrooge glanced about him on the floor, in the expectation offinding himself surrounded by some fifty or sixty fathoms of ironcable: but he could see nothing.

“Jacob,” he said, imploringly. “Old Jacob Marley, tell me more.Speak comfort to me, Jacob!”

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present the theme of guilt?Write about:

How Dickens presents the guilt of Marley in this extract How Dickens presents guilt in the novel as a whole

[30 marks]

Read the following extract then answer the question that follows Here, Marley returns to the mist.

The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither inrestless haste, and moaning as they went. Every one of them worechains like Marley’s Ghost; some few (they might be guiltygovernments) were linked together; none were free. Many had beenpersonally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiarwith one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safeattached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist awretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a doorstep.

The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere,for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.Whether these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshroudedthem, he could not tell. But they and their spirit voices faded together;and the night became as it had been when he walked home.Scrooge closed the window, and examined the door by

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present ideas about actions and consequences?Write about:

How Dickens presents actions and consequences in this extract How Dickens presents actions and consequences in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Stave 2:

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge has been visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past

It was a strange figure—like a child: yet not so like a child aslike an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, whichgave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and beingdiminished to a child’s proportions. Its hair, which hung about itsneck and down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face hadnot a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. The armswere very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were

of uncommon strength. Its legs and feet, most delicately formed,were, like those upper members, bare. It wore a tunic of the purestwhite; and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt, the sheen ofwhich was beautiful. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand;and, in singular contradiction of that wintry emblem, had its dresstrimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was,that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light,by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion ofits using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, whichit now held under its arm.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present the appearance of ghosts?Write about:

How Dickens presents the appearance of the ghost in this extract How Dickens presents the appearance of ghosts in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge his younger self as a schoolboy

Then, with a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usualcharacter, he said, in pity for his former self, “Poor boy!” and criedagain.“I wish,” Scrooge muttered, putting his hand in his pocket, andlooking about him, after drying his eyes with his cuff: “but it’s toolate now.”

“What is the matter?” asked the Spirit.“Nothing,” said Scrooge. “Nothing. There was a boy singing aChristmas Carol at my door last night. I should like to have given himsomething: that’s all.”The Ghost smiled thoughtfully, and waved its hand: saying as itdid so, “Let us see another Christmas!”

Scrooge’s former self grew larger at the words, and the roombecame a little darker and more dirty. The panels shrunk, the windowscracked; fragments of plaster fell out of the ceiling, and the nakedlaths were shown instead; but how all this was brought about, Scroogeknew no more than you do. He only knew that it was quite correct;that everything had happened so; that there he was, alone again, whenall the other boys had gone home for the jolly holidays.

He was not reading now, but walking up and down despairingly.Scrooge looked at the Ghost, and with a mournful shaking of hishead, glanced anxiously towards the door.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present the theme of loneliness and isolation?Write about:

How Dickens presents loneliness and isolation in this extract How Dickens presents loneliness and isolation in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, the Ghost of Chrismtas Past has taken Scrooge to Fezziwig’s ball.

In came a fiddler with a music-book, and went up to the loftydesk, and made an orchestra of it, and tuned like fifty stomach-aches.In came Mrs. Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile. In came the threeMiss Fezziwigs, beaming and lovable. In came the six youngfollowers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men andwomen employed in the business. In came the housemaid, with her

cousin, the baker. In came the cook, with her brother’s particularfriend, the milkman. In came the boy from over the way, who wassuspected of not having board enough from his master; trying to hidehimself behind the girl from next door but one, who was proved tohave had her ears pulled by her mistress. In they all came, one afteranother; some shyly, some boldly, some gracefully, some awkwardly,some pushing, some pulling; in they all came, anyhow and everyhow.

Away they all went, twenty couple at once; hands half round and backagain the other way; down the middle and up again; round and roundin various stages of affectionate grouping; old top couple alwaysturning up in the wrong place; new top couple starting off again, assoon as they got there; all top couples at last, and not a bottom one tohelp them! When this result was brought about, old Fezziwig,clapping his hands to stop the dance, cried out, “Well done!” and thefiddler plunged his hot face into a pot of porter, especially providedfor that purpose. But scorning rest, upon his reappearance, heinstantly began again, though there were no dancers yet, as if theother fiddler had been carried home, exhausted, on a shutter, and hewere a bran-new man resolved to beat him out of sight, or perish.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present happiness and joy in the novel?Write about:

How Dickens presents happiness and joy in this extract How Dickens presents happiness and joy in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge gets rid of the ghost of Christmas past

“Leave me! Take me back. Haunt me no longer!”In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghostwith no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by anyeffort of its adversary, Scrooge observed that its light was burninghigh and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over

him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed itdown upon its head.The Spirit dropped beneath it, so that the extinguisher covered itswhole form; but though Scrooge pressed it down with all his force, hecould not hide the light, which streamed from under it, in an unbrokenflood upon the ground.He was conscious of being exhausted, and overcome by anirresistible drowsiness; and, further, of being in his own bed-room. Hegave the cap a parting squeeze, in which his hand relaxed; and hadbarely time to reel to bed, before he sank into a heavy sleep.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present Scrooge’s attitude to change?Write about:

How Dickens presents Scrooge’s attitude to change in this extract How Dickens presents Scrooge’s attitude to change in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Stave

3:

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present

Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys,geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, longwreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters,red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, lusciouspears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, thatmade the chamber dim with their delicious steam. In easy state uponthis couch, there sat a jolly Giant, glorious to see; who bore a glowingtorch, in shape not unlike Plenty’s horn, and held it up, high up, toshed its light on Scrooge, as he came peeping round the door.“Come in!” exclaimed the Ghost. “Come in! and know mebetter, man!”Scrooge entered timidly, and hung his head before this Spirit. Hewas not the dogged Scrooge he had been; and though the Spirit’s eyeswere clear and kind, he did not like to meet them.“I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said the Spirit. “Look

upon me!”Scrooge reverently did so. It was clothed in one simple greenrobe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. This garment hung soloosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as ifdisdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice. Its feet,observable beneath the ample folds of the garment, were also bare;and on its head it wore no other covering than a holly wreath, set hereand there with shining icicles. Its dark brown curls were long andfree; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheeryvoice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air. Girded roundits middle was an antique scabbard; but no sword was in it, and theancient sheath was eaten up with rust.“You have never seen the like of me before

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present social responsibility?Write about:

How Dickens presents the theme of generosity in this extract How Dickens presents the theme of generosity in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to see the Cratchitt’s dinner

He sat very close to his father’s side upon his little stool. Bobheld his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, andwished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be takenfrom him.“Spirit,” said Scrooge, with an interest he had never felt before,“tell me if Tiny Tim will live.”“I see a vacant seat,” replied the Ghost, “in the poor chimney corner,and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If theseshadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.”“No, no,” said Scrooge. “Oh, no, kind Spirit! say he will bespared.”“If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other ofmy race,” returned the Ghost, “will find him here. What then? If he belike to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by theSpirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present the transformation of Scrooge?Write about:

How Dickens presents the transformation of Scrooge in this extract How Dickens presents the transformation of Scrooge in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, the Ghost of Christmas Present reveals Ignorance and Want to Scrooge

From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched,abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, andclung upon the outside of its garment.“Oh, Man! look here. Look, look, down here!” exclaimed theGhost.They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling,wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youthshould have filled their features out, and touched them with itsfreshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, hadpinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angelsmight have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. Nochange, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade,through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half sohorrible and dread.Scrooge started back, appalled.

……………………………………………………………

“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 isIgnorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of theirdegree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see thatwritten which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!” criedthe Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. “Slander those whotell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. Andabide the end!”“Have they no refuge or resource?” cried Scrooge.“Are there no prisons?” said the Spirit, turning on him for thelast time with his own words. “Are there no workhouses?”The bell struck twelve.Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost, and saw it not

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present ideas about guilt and blame?Write about:

How Dickens presents ideas about guilt and blame in this extract How Dickens presents ideas about guilt and blame in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Stave 4:

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

THE Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it camenear him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very airthrough which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom andmystery.It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed itshead, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save oneoutstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detachits figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which itwas surrounded.He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, andthat its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knewno more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.“I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?”said Scrooge.The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.“You are about to show me shadows of the things that have

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present a sense of mystery and fear?Write about:

How Dickens presents a sense of mystery and fear in this extract How Dickens presents a sense of mystery and fear in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge witnesses Bob dealing with Tiny Tim’s Death

I promised him that I would walk there on a Sunday. Mylittle, little child!” cried Bob. “My little child!”He broke down all at once. He couldn’t help it. If he could havehelped it, he and his child would have been farther apart perhaps thanthey were.He left the room, and went up-stairs into the room above, whichwas lighted cheerfully, and hung with Christmas. There was a chairset close beside the child, and there were signs of some one havingbeen there, lately. Poor Bob sat down in it, and when he had thought alittle and composed himself, he kissed the little face. He wasreconciled to what had happened, and went down again quite happy

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present the theme of loss?Write about:

How Dickens presents the theme of loss in this extract How Dickens presents the theme of loss in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge visits his own grave

The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to One. Headvanced towards it trembling. The Phantom was exactly as it hadbeen, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape.“Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” saidScrooge, “answer me one question. Are these the shadows of thethings 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, ifpersevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses bedeparted from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what youshow me!”The Spirit was immovable as ever.Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and following thefinger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name,EBENEZER SCROOGE.

Assure methat I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by analtered life!”

The kind hand trembled.“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all theyear. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits ofall Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons thatthey teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”In his agony, he caught the spectral hand. It sought to free itself,but he was strong in his entreaty, and detained it. The Spirit, strongeryet, repulsed him.Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, hesaw an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress. It shrunk,collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost.

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present Scrooge’s regret?Write about:

How Dickens presents Scrooge’s regret in this extract How Dickens presents Scrooge’s regret in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Stave 5:

Read the extract below then answer the question that follows.

Here, Scrooge wakes up to realise he has been given another chance

“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!” Scroogerepeated, as he scrambled out of bed. “The Spirits of all Three shall

strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Timebe praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!”He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions, thathis broken voice would scarcely answer to his call. He had beensobbing violently in his conflict with the Spirit, and his face was wetwith tears.“They are not torn down,” cried Scrooge, folding one of his bedcurtainsin his arms, “they are not torn down, rings and all. They arehere—I am here—the shadows of the things that would have been,may be dispelled. They will be. I know they will!”His hands were busy with his garments all this time; turningthem inside out, putting them on upside down, tearing them,mislaying them, making them parties to every kind of extravagance.“I don’t know what to do!” cried Scrooge, laughing and crying inthe same breath; and making a perfect Laocoön of himself with hisstockings. “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I amas merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merryChristmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world. Hallohere! Whoop! Hallo!”

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present Scrooge as a changed man?Write about:

How Dickens presents Scrooge as a changed man in this extract How Dickens presents Scrooge before this change

[30 Marks]

A Christmas Carol – Tackling the Exam

The examination is 1 hour 45 minutes overall (you will be answering a question on the Shakespeare text you’ve been studying in Section A). You are therefore advised to spend around 50-55 minutes on this question.

It’s always a good idea to spend 5 minutes at the start of the question doing the following:

Annotating your extract (highlighting key quotes you would like to use and making basic notes in the margin)

Recalling links/key quotes from the rest of the text that you would like to include in your response.

Here is a typical exam question:

Starting with this extract, how does Dickens present the theme of loss?Write about:

How Dickens presents the theme of loss in this extract How Dickens presents the theme of loss in the novel as a whole

[30 Marks]

Here’s a breakdown of the Mark Scheme and the skills you have to show the examiner in this part of the exam

Exam Focus What does this mean?AO1 Read, understand and respond to texts.Students should be able to:• maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response• use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.

Analyse and explore the text; avoid simply retelling the story (use Point/Evidence/Explain/Zoom/Link). Present a point of view on the message(s) the writer was getting across

Your points are supported by references to the text – you will have therefore learned a wide range of key quotes in preparation for the exam

AO2 Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.

You look at key words and phrases from the quotes that you select. You explore the EFFECT of those word choices in detail

You are capable of identifying and exploring the effect of TECHNIQUES used by the writer

AO3 Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.

You are capable of making LINKS between the text, and some of the issues faced by society in Victorian England at that time.

Here, the examiner is looking for close and in-depth word/sentence

language analysis of the extract you’ve been given

Here, you need to show a detailed overall understanding of the text, analysing 2 or 3 different parts of the novel, looking at how the theme or idea develops & changes