A Christmas Carol Key Terms

• Allegory

  A simple story that represents a larger point about humans or society
• Avaricious

  having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions  
• Philanthropic

  a love of mankind
• Misanthropic

  a hatred of mankind
• Exploit

  to use someone or something unfairly for your own advantage
• Injustice

  unfair treatment, violation of the rights of others
• Poverty

  the state or condition in which people or communities lack the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. As such, their basic human needs cannot be met.
• Remorseful

  when you feel sorry, regretful, guilty.
• Sabbatarianism

  Many Victorian people believed that being a good Christian meant following a strict moral code. People spent Sunday going to church and resting. Everything was closed.
• Miserly

  unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others
• Redemption

  apologising for a fault or mistake
• Ignorance

  a lack of knowledge, education or awareness.
• Malthusian

  economic theory advanced by the English economist and demographer Thomas Malthus (1766–1834), according to which population growth will always tend to outpace the supply of food