Knowledge Organiser: A Christmas Carol (GCSE)

Characters: Themes: Key Literary Vocabulary:

Ebenezer Scrooge: Poverty, Fate, Charity, Transformation, Greed, Satire- use of humour or ridicule to
• Represents the greed and selfish nature of the wealthy
• Resents Christmas, does the minimum for Bob Cratchit, refuses
Money, Redemption, Family, Friendship, criticise
charity workers.
Religion, Morality, Isolation/Loneliness, Asyndeton- list without
• We find out that his fiancé left him due to his greed and he was a Choices, Memory and the past, Compassion,
conjunctions
neglected child by family and friends. Forgiveness, Guilt and blame,
• He eventually turned his back on all of society, largely due to fear of Symbols: Polysyndeton- list with
poverty and death. Fire, Time, Bells, Chains, Weather conjunctions (and)
• In Stave 5 he becomes a second father to Tiny Tim and is generous,
charitable and a ‘good man’.
Simile- comparing using ‘like’ or ‘as’
Jacob Marley: Context: Metaphor- saying one thing is
• Represents greed and penance for your sins. 1832 – The Great Reform Bill gave many middle class property owners the right to vote another
• He symbolises what Scrooge will become, chained into paying for his for the first time. Large sections of the middle classes, the working classes and women
sins. Personification- make object
still didn’t have the right to vote.
• The first Ghost.
1834 – Poor Law Amendment Act – Led to a cut in aid given to paupers to help them stay human
Ghost of Christmas Past:
• Represents the importance of childhood into adulthood.
in their own homes. Workhouses were created which poor people would have to live and Pathetic fallacy- weather to create
• Has a light over it’s head : joy, Christmas spirit etc. work in, if they were unable to pay for their own housing. mood
September 1843 – Dickens visits a “Ragged School.”
• Shows scrooge examples of compassion in his life. He begins to show
December 1843 Dickens writes A Christmas Carol focusing on how many of society’s ills Pathos- language to evoke pity
a want to be kind to people (e.g. his clerk, Bob)
Ghost of Christmas Present can be blamed on greed for money and status. Allusion- reference to another
• Portly, jovial man who lives only 24 hours, introduced at a feast. Thomas Malthus – believed overpopulation was the greatest threat to humanity and literary work
• Represents charity and generosity, represents the precious nature of eventually it would be too difficult to sustain life. Therefore, he believed it would be
time. better without the surplus population. Hyperbole- exaggerated statement
• Reveal Ignorance and Want – children who symbolise the effect of The idle poor – many people believed the poor were naturally lazy (idle) and society Connotation- associated meaning
societies treatment of the poor. Wild and dangerous children who treated them with disgust and contempt (hatred). of word
will grow into wild and dangerous adults. Need to change. Charity – before the poor law, charity was the only way the poor received help.
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come Characterisation- built up
• Represents the fear of death. description of character in text
• Takes the form of the Grim Reaper, symbol of death. Charles Dickens:
• Does not speak, after death you have no voice, no power to change • 1824 – Dickens’ father is sent to jail for debt and Dickens has to give up his Semantic field- words related in
anything. education until his father inherits some money and he goes to a private meaning
• Shows Scrooge his lonely end. school Imagery- visually descriptive
• Scrooge is adamant he will change his ways, to change these
• Dickens was put to work in a warehouse, pasting labels on bottles. He had language
shadows.
Cratchits: experience of poverty.
Example of deserving poor. Charitable, positive and generous despite • Dickens became a writer of fiction and journalism, reporting on court
impoverished circumstances. cases and working for radical newspapers on his disillusionment with
politics and the class system.
 Redemption is the idea of being saved from sin or evil. In Scrooge, we see a man who is transformed from a greedy, selfish miser into a generous and good-natured character by the end.
THEMES: o Dickens uses the Ghost of Christmas Present to show Scrooge how unpleasant his behaviour has been. Scrooge is clearly ashamed when the Ghost uses his own words against him, he
hangs his head and is overcome with ‘penitence and grief’. This self-reflection builds the foundations of his redemption.
Redemption When the last Ghost leaves and Scrooge finally awakes on Christmas day, we are shown a new man. Scrooge becomes generous and full of life, he is emotionally overwhelmed with his
o
new chance at life. The reader, just like the characters in the novella, are delighted by his transformation.
o Scrooge declares that he will live in ‘the past, present and future’ confirming that he has grown from his experience and learned from the errors of his ways. He is able to avoid the same
fate as Marley.

Responsibility Dickens felt that every individual had a responsibility for those around him or her.
o Fred describes Christmas as a time when men and women ‘think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on
other journeys’.
o Marley’s Ghost succinctly conveys the message of the novella when he cries, ‘Mankind was my business’. This change of focus jolts us, as well as Scrooge, because we learn that the
proper ‘business’ of life is not about seeking financial reward but having concern for others.
o Scrooge learns to take responsibility for the poor, and in doing so redeems himself ‘as good a man, as the good old city knew’.
o Scrooge shows us the difference a wealthy individual can make, but Dickens also shows us that Fezziwig’s small contribution, ‘The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a
fortune’, can make a significance difference to an individual’s life.

Poverty The Cratchits are regarded as Dickens’ face of the poor in this novella:
o They are living on the edge as Bob Cratchit can only just afford to keep his family fed and sheltered. Tiny Tim’s poor health emphasises the harsh realities and consequences of living in
such poverty.
o Mrs Cratchit’s ribbons may be a luxury but they are also a symbol of her desperation to make her dress look new and respectable. She is ‘brave in ribbons’.
o The Cratchits are grateful for their Christmas meal, although we have to wonder if this is because they don’t have enough throughout the rest of the year ‘nobody said or thought it was
at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so. Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing’.
Dickens also shows us glimpses of poverty even deeper than that of the Cratchits:
o The charity collectors emphasise the desperation of the poor, they reveal that ‘Many thousands are in want of common necessaries’. Many of the poor ‘would rather die’ than go to the
Union Workhouses or the Treadmill.
o Dickens places Old Joe’ shop in a part of the city which ‘reeked with crime, with filth, and misery’. With this scene, he shows the corrupting nature of poverty as these thieves enjoy
showing what they have stolen to sell.
o Scrooge is appalled by the appearance of the children, Ignorance and Want. The children personify the dangerous consequences of allowing poverty to continue.
Scrooge’s refusal to give to charity highlights the selfishness of the higher classes and the injustice of wealth distribution in Victorian society.

Education Dickens emphasises the value of education through his presentation of the two children, Ignorance and Want:
o They are horrific in their appearance ‘Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish’.
o They serve to illustrate Dickens’ belief in the power of and need for education. We are told to ‘beware’ ignorance for he is ‘Doom’. This not only refers to the uncivilised and inadequate
lives the children will have as adults, but it also warns readers about the blind ignorance of the rich who do not take any responsibility for the children. The negligence of the higher
classes only contributed to the suffering of the poor.
o Dickens does not shy away from presenting the most graphic effects of ignorance and deprivation – he makes us think about the role of education in the fight against poverty. His chilling,
emotive language shows us how seriously he takes this issue.
The Supernatural A Christmas Carol is set in an ordinary location with ordinary characters. Having a convincing setting means that readers are more likely to accept an event as supernatural.
It also makes the supernatural seem even stranger by contrasting it with normal events.
o The narrator works hard to convince us that Scrooge’s partner, Marley, is dead. There can be no other explanation for his reappearance than that it is his ghost haunting
Scrooge.
o This theme does not just refer to Ghosts – Dickens also makes use of the supernatural to manipulate time and allow Scrooge to travel to his past, present and future and
back again.
o The use of supernatural characters and events creates a unique and interesting story. Being the first writer to associate Christmas with ghost stories enabled Dickens to
give his readers a new experience. The gothic characteristics also help to structure the story: each ghost teaches Scrooge an important and valuable lesson.

Family Dickens balances Scrooge’s isolation with vibrant vignettes that show us the positive benefits of a close and loving family life:
o The lonely young Scrooge is rescued by his sister and returns home.
o As an apprentice, Scrooge is part of Fezziwig’s Christmas party, along with countless locals. Through the description of the party, Dickens emphasises the impact small
actions can have.
o The Christmas celebrations of the Cratchits and Fred’s family show the benefits of sharing laughter and optimism. Despite their poverty, the Cratchit family are shown as
the model happy family.
o Bob’s ‘sudden declension in… high spirits’ when he thinks Martha can’t come home for Christmas shows us the need for families to be together at key times.
o The closeness the Cratchit family have supports them in dealing with the foreshadowed death of Tiny Tim in stave four.
o The transformed Scrooge revels in being part of his own and the Cratchit family.

Isolation Dickens demonstrates the need for companionship and company:

o Left to himself as a boy, Scrooge finds companionship in stories. As an adult, Scrooge focuses on making money at the expense of personal relationships.
o The difference between Scrooge at the beginning of the novella and the redeemed Scrooge is considerable, and we see that it is not just due to his helping poor; it is a
result of his rejoining society, ‘as good a man, as the good old city knew’.
o Becoming a second father to Tiny Tim means Scrooge gets some of the love and support he has been missing or refusing.

Christmas The story of Scrooge takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and uses the ideas of generosity and compassion that we associate with Christmas to highlight the
transformation of the main character. We see Scrooge change from a miserly man, contrasting with the spirit of Christmas, to someone who is full of joy.
o The theme of the novella is clear from the title - A Christmas Carol - which refers to the traditional carols that are sung at Christmas time. The novella has an unusual
layout, using five staves rather than chapters. Each stave has a specific purpose, this enables Dickens to guide his readers through Scrooge’s transformation. We can clearly
understand how each Ghost affects Scrooge and how each lesson contributes to his final, joyful redemption. By reflecting the shape of a typical carol, Dickens can present
his moral tale of transformation whilst also emphasisng the delight and generosity of the season.
o As it does during the festive season, music has a significant presence in the novella. Music is central to a lot of the celebrations (from Fezziwig’s party to the men in the
solitary lighthouse) in the story and often provokes a powerful emotional response. Music symbolises the joy and unity of the season – something Scrooge eventually
learns to accept and appreciate. In addition, the “merry” sound of the bells in Stave 5 reflects Scrooge’s change and reinforces Christian values as Scrooge goes to church.
Scrooge’s nephew, Fed, embodies the spirit of Christmas; he celebrates the season wholeheartedly and appreciates how it brings the classes together. Fred reminds the reader
of the importance of compassion and forgiveness, he refuses to give up on his uncle and welcomes him with open arms at the end of the novella.