English Christmas carol

• it's officially 30 days until the start of the first gcsc exam and if you're in 11 time is something that's quite precious to you at the moment
• this video what I wanted to do was to offer literally everything you need to know when it comes to context theme and key Cod for the main characters within this noela by Charles Dickens
• Mind map


  A way to outline the main context points, themes, and key quotations for the main characters
• I actually created this and put this into like a little PDF file so guys if you want to download this and have this a copy of this just literally follow the link below and you can download it for free
• What I'm going to do

  1. Go over the definitive context you need to know for Christmas Carol

  2. Go over the themes

  3. Go over the main quotations for the key characters

  4. Go through a model answer for the 2020 paper
• Main context points for Christmas Carol

  • Dickens' father went to a debtors' prison when Dickens was 12, so he had to work at a young age
  • The 1834 New Poor Law, which punished the poor for their position
  • Thomas Malthus' theory that overpopulation is a cause of poverty, which Dickens was critical of
  • The Industrial Revolution and the social divide it created
• Main themes for Christmas Carol

  • Christmas and the importance of charity and family
  • Redemption and the possibility of change
  • Charity and the importance of giving to the poor
  • Social injustice and the government's approach to the poor
  • Family and the importance of companionship and support
• Key quotations for the main characters

  • Scrooge: "solitary as an oyster"
  • Scrooge: "Bah! Humbug!"
  • Scrooge: "Are there no prisons? And the Union workhouses?"
• Dickens was writing for a very religious audience and wanted to use A Christmas Carol to remind them of the importance of Christmas and the possibility of redemption
• Dickens was critical of the 1834 New Poor Law and the government's approach to protecting the rich rather than helping the poor
• Scrooge's isolation and lack of family is contrasted with the importance of family and companionship shown through other characters like Fred and Bob Cratchit
• Scrooge


  The first main character, described as 'solitary as an oyster' which encapsulates his essence at the beginning of the novel - he is quite solitary, totally cut off, and his greed only makes him more miserable. When he became more charitable, he was less solitary and people loved him.
• Scrooge: '"Bah! Humbug!"'
• Scrooge: '"Are there no prisons... and the Union workhouses?"'
• Scrooge's change


  He gradually realizes the positive impact that Fezziwig had on his life as an apprentice, and this makes him see that employers/businessmen have the power to change the lives of their workers for better or worse.
• Scrooge: '"I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future."'
• Bob Cratchit


  A symbol of the poor, described as having a 'smaller' fire in Scrooge's office, illustrating Scrooge's miserly nature and how the working class poor were mistreated by employers.
• Narrator: '"It was a small pudding for a large family."'
• Bob Cratchit: '"My little, little child!"'
• Ghost of Christmas Past

  Appears as both a child and an old man, symbolizing Scrooge's innocence in the past and his current bitter state.
• Ghost of Christmas Past: '"A small matter... to make these silly folks so full of gratitude."'
• Ghost of Christmas Past: '"Its light was burning bright."'
• Ghost of Christmas Present

  Described as a 'jolly giant', contrasting the usual scary depiction of ghosts, and presents the two children - Ignorance and Want - to Scrooge, symbolizing the impact of poverty on children.
• Ghost of Christmas Present: '"This boy's Ignorance. This girl's Want."'
• Ghost of Christmas Future

  Dressed in a 'deep black garment', foreshadowing Scrooge's eventual death, but the 'kind hand trembled' showing the ghost believes Scrooge can be redeemed.
• Ghost of Christmas Future: '"The Phantom pointed."'