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Tasks: A Christmas Carol

Work together:

Discuss the following questions about the excerpt. Write down answers in a shared document.

  1. The novella is called A Christmas Carol. What does that mean and why do you think Dickens chose this title?

  2. The chapter is called 'Marley's Ghost', and the excerpt states several times that Marley is dead. What do you expect will happen later in the story? What is being foreshadowed here?

  3. Dickens uses a lot of figurative language when he describes Scrooge. Find examples and explain what kind of figurative language is used in your examples; is it simile, metaphor, symbol, descriptive language, or other?

  4. Dickens also allows us to draw our own conclusions about Scrooge from what he does and says. Find examples of this and explain what impression you get of Scrooge from the examples.

  5. How would you describe the relationship between Scrooge and his nephew?

  6. How does Scrooge treat his employee, the clerk?

  7. How does Scrooge react when he is asked for money by the two men collecting for the poor?

  8. In the box below you can read the titles of the chapters that A Christmas Carol is divided into. What do the titles reveal about the story? Why do you think he chose to use the term stave instead of chapter?

Chapters

Stave One: Marley's Ghost.

Stave Two: The First of the Three Spirits.

Stave Three: The Second of the Three Spirits.

Stave Four: The Last of the Spirits.

Stave Five: The End of It.

Research:

Choose one of the tasks. Find out more about the topic, and make a fact sheet about the topic that you can share with your classmates. If you prefer, you can also make an oral presentation.

  1. Scrooge mentions union workhouses, the treadmill, and the poor laws. What was it like to be poor in England in the 19th century?

  2. Charles Dickens often wrote stories where he shed light on what it was like to be poor. Find out more about at least two of these works. Consider whether they are likely to have been inspired by attitudes and ideas that existed in society at the time, or whether they were an attempt to change the way people viewed and treated the poor.

  3. In Victorian England, child labour was common. Find out more about what life was like for children who worked.

  4. Watch two films that are either inspired by or faithful adaptations of the novella. Compare what the films focus on: Do they explore the same themes? Do they have the same message?

Write:

Choose one of the tasks to answer and write a longer text.

  1. Write a short story inspired by A Christmas Carol, set in our time.

  2. Is A Christmas Carol relevant for readers today? Write a text where you discuss this question.

  3. Write a short story about Christmas that includes a moral lesson for the readers.

Study questions for the novella:

To answer these questions you have to read the novella in full, or watch a film adaptation that is faithful to Dickens' text.

  1. How is Ebeneezer Scrooge characterised, and how does the character change throughout the story?

  2. What does the Ghost of Christmas Past symbolise?

  3. What does the Ghost of Christmas Present symbolise?

  4. What does the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come symbolise?

  5. What role does the Cratchit family play in the story?

  6. What role does Scrooge's nephew, Fred, play in the novella?

  7. What themes are there in the novella?

  8. What is the message of the novella?

  9. Why do you think this story has been popular for so long?

Create:

Work in groups. Each group dramatizes one part of A Christmas Carol. You may dramatize the story any way you like: make a traditional Victorian version, a musical version, a version set in a galaxy far, far away, etc. Only your imagination sets limits.

Write a script, assign the parts, rehearse, work on set design and costumes.

You may also want to make posters advertising your performance, and a programme to give the audience.

Invite an audience. Perform.

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