Language

• How does the narrator's language affect the tone of the story?

  The narrator's language controls the tone
• What tone does the narrator create with chatty language?

  A lively and engaging tone
• How does the narrator describe Scrooge's house?

  As looking out of place
• What metaphor does the narrator use for Scrooge's house?

  It got lost while "playing at hide-and-seek"
• How does the narrator's sarcasm manifest regarding Scrooge?

  He calls Scrooge an "excellent man of business"
• What does the narrator say about Marley's funeral?

  It was arranged for an "undoubted bargain"
• How does the tone change as the story progresses?

  It becomes more melancholy
• How is Scrooge's school yard described?

  As silent with no sighs among boughs
• What imagery is used to describe the poplar tree?

  It is described as "one despondent poplar"
• How does the narrator's sarcasm change by Chapter Four?

  It becomes darker in tone
• What is the description of the graveyard where Scrooge is buried?

  Described as "A worthy place!"
• What is the tone in the final chapter of the story?

  Lighthearted and joyful
• What exclamations are used in the final chapter?

  "Dear heat alive" and "Oh, glorious, glorious!"
• What are the shifts in the narrator's tone throughout the story?

  • Starts lively and engaging
  • Becomes sarcastic and melancholy
  • Darker sarcasm in Chapter Four
  • Ends lighthearted and joyful
• Personification adds to the text's mood

  1. Dickens uses personification to bring the novella's settings to life - a "gruff old bell" is described as "peeping slily" down at Scrooge. Later, the onions in the grocers' shops appear "ruddy, brown-faced, borard-girthed" as they sit "winking from their shelves". These playful examples of personification make the city seem exciting and alive, and reflect the energy surrounding Christmas

  2. At other times, personification is used to reinforce what's being described - in the second chapter, the joyful atmosphere is highlighted by the way the "crisp air laughed" as the boys shout to each other

  3. Personification isn't just used to describe objects - it can be used to give human form to abstract concepts. The personification of "Ignorance" and "Want" as ragged, desperate children is a good example of this
• The mood becomes darker to emphasise Dickens's message

  The overriding mood of A Christmas Carol is jolly and festive. However, Dickens creates a much darker mood when he wants to highlight the message of social responsibility that he's putting across in the novella

  . Marley's appearance is disturbing to focus the reader on the message that he's giving to Scrooge

  . Dickens depicts Ignorance and Want as frightening, miserable children to draw attention to the major problems that he saw in society

  . Dickens powerfully describes the area around Joe's shop to present the reader with a realistic, harsh vision of poverty in London - "the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery"
• What techniques does Dickens use in his descriptions?

  Repeated phrases, lists, and sensory details
• How do repeated phrases and lists affect the mood in Dickens' descriptions?

  They exaggerate the sense of celebration
• What phrase is used to introduce each guest at Fezziwig's party?

  "In came"
• What does the list of attitudes of guests at Fezziwig's party convey?

  It shows a bustling room full of movement
• How do long sentences contribute to the atmosphere in Dickens' writing?

  They quicken the pace and create excitement
• What sensory details does Dickens use to describe the Ghost of Christmas Present?

  Bright berries, delicious steam, roaring blaze
• What is the effect of the vivid negative descriptions in the novella?

  They create a stark contrast to positive scenes
• How is Scrooge's future burial described?

  "Fat with repleted appetite"
• What does the description of Scrooge's old schoolroom convey?

  It is empty and silent
• What sounds are mentioned in relation to the ghosts in Chapter One?

  "Incoherent sounds of lamentation"
• Why does Dickens sometimes avoid describing certain things?

  To let the reader use their imagination
• How does Dickens' lack of description affect the haunting quality of the passage?

  It makes the noise seem indescribably awful
• What are the key elements of Dickens' descriptive techniques?

  • Use of repeated phrases
  • Lists to emphasize mood
  • Long sentences for pacing
  • Sensory details for vividness
  • Contrast between positive and negative descriptions
  • Deliberate omissions to engage imagination
• Figurative language creates powerful descriptions

  1. Dickens uses similes to create a comic and lighthearted mood. Even sinister image like Marley's chain is softened by a humorous simile - it "wound about him like a tail"

  2. However, there are other more sombre examples of figurative language in the text, such as the metaphor used in the description of the fog as being so dense that "the houses opposite were mere phantoms"

  3. Dickens often uses hyperbole (exaggeration) to make his descriptions more entertaining. The Cratchits react as if their goose is "the rarest of all birds; a feathered phenomenon, to which a black swan was a matter of course", demonstrating how much they appreciate their meagre Christmas dinner
• What literary technique does Dickens use to create different moods in A Christmas Carol?

  Dialogue
• How does Dickens use dialogue to reveal characters' thoughts and feelings?

  By describing speakers' manner and body language
• What does Belle's dialogue reveal about Scrooge's past?

  He was once loved
• What does Belle mean when she says she is leaving Scrooge "with a full heart"?

  She still cares for him despite leaving
• How does Belle's language affect the reader's feelings towards Scrooge?

  It makes the reader feel sorry for him
• How does Dickens contrast the charity collectors' dialogue with Scrooge's response?

  The collectors are kind-hearted, Scrooge is uncaring
• What do the charity collectors find "more than usually desirable"?

  To provide slight provision for the poor
• What does Scrooge say about the poor's desire to die?

  They had better do it
• How does the tone of the Cratchits' dialogue change after Tiny Tim's death?

  From enthusiastic to sombre and hesitant
• What kind of exclamations did the Cratchits use before Tiny Tim's death?

  Enthusiastic exclamations like "Hurrah!"