Death and loss

• What are the recurring ideas within A Christmas Carol?

  Death and loss
• How does Dickens use the ideas of death and loss in A Christmas Carol?


  To underscore the permanency of death and signal that it is never too late to change
• What is the opening line of A Christmas Carol?

  “Marley was dead, to begin with”
• How does Dickens invert the typical significance of death in A Christmas Carol?


  He begins with a death and ends with the rebirth of Scrooge
• What role does Marley’s death play in Scrooge’s transformation?


  It makes Scrooge’s transformation possible
• How is Marley’s death described in the novella?


  In a clinical and detached manner
• What does the clinical description of Marley’s death suggest about Scrooge’s character?


  It alludes to Scrooge’s cold character
• What warning does Marley’s ghost provide to Scrooge and the reader?


  That everyone is responsible for their actions and will be held accountable
• How does Dickens describe Scrooge using images associated with death?


  He describes Scrooge as having “the cold within him froze his old features…his thin lips blue”
• What does the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come symbolize in the novella?


  A foreboding symbol of death, bringing punishment or reward
• How does the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come differ from the previous two spirits?


  This spirit is linked to darkness, death, and concealment
• What do the images of death signify in relation to the capitalist system in A Christmas Carol?


  They signify the consequences of the unfair capitalist system
• How is Tiny Tim’s burial ground described in contrast to Scrooge’s grave?


  The green of Tiny Tim’s burial ground is contrasted with the darkness of Scrooge’s grave
• What does Dickens use Tiny Tim to highlight in Victorian England?


  The high levels of child mortality, especially for the poor
• What contrasting images of death does Dickens present in A Christmas Carol?


  Scrooge’s death and Tiny Tim’s death
• How does Tiny Tim’s death reflect the living conditions of poor children?


  It highlights the poor living conditions and malnourishment experienced by many
• What does Scrooge’s behavior towards Fred signify?


  His bitterness towards the loss of his former fiancée
• What motivates Scrooge’s annoyance at Fred’s merriment?


  His resentment towards Fred’s happy marriage