ACC - Stave 1 + 2

• How did Scrooge feel about Marley’s death?

  He wasn't particularly affected by it - The narrator tells us that "Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event"
• What two words (with a hyphen) complete the quotation?"Old Marley was as dead as a __________-__________."

  Door-nail
• What word completes the quotation?"__________ was dead: to begin with"

  Marley - The clause "to begin with" suggests that Marley will appear in the novel, despite being dead
• What word completes the quotation?"'I wear the __________ I forged in life,' replied the Ghost. 'I made it link by link, and yard by yard"

  Chain - Marley's chain symbolises how he is now trapped in the afterlife: he is unable to go to heaven because of his sins on earth
• Two gentlemen try to persuade Scrooge to give money to the poor, as many people would "rather die" than go to the Workhouse. What two words fit in the blanks to complete Scrooge's response?"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the __________ __________."

  Surplus population - Scrooge suggests that as there are too many people in London anyway, it is no problem to him if some poor people die rather than going to the Workhouse. It shows his callous attitude to others and his lack of compassion
• What comes "pouring in at every chink and keyhole" of Scrooge’s counting-house?

  The fog - Dickens uses pathetic fallacy to create a mysterious atmosphere and suggest that something eerie is going to happen
• Dickens uses a simile to show that Marley is definitely dead. What word fits in the blank to complete this quotation?"Marley was as dead as a _____________"

  Door-nail - Dickens repeats this description and makes a joke about it, saying that "coffin-nail" would be a more suitable simile, but he didn’t make up the phrase so can’t change it
• What character says this quotation?"I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot linger anywhere."

  Marely - Marley describes how he can't go to heaven because of his sins when he was alive
• What character is being described in this quotation?"solitary as an oyster"

  Scrooge - The simile comparing Scrooge to an oyster suggests that he puts up barriers, like an oyster's hard shell. However, oysters can also have pearls inside them, which hints at the fact there may be some good in Scrooge underneath
• What word completes the quotation?"__________ as an oyster"

  Solitary - The word "solitary" shows that Scrooge is always alone, and suggests that he prefers it that way
• What two words complete the quotation?"__________ __________ a time - of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve - old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house."

  Once upon - The novel doesn't begin with this line, but it introduces the description of Scrooge. It suggests that Scrooge's story will be like a fairy tale or a fable: it will have fantasy elements and a moral at the end
• What word completes the quotation?"cold, bleak, biting __________"

  Weather - Dickens uses pathetic fallacy to suggest that Scrooge himself is also "cold" and "bleak"
• What word completes the quotation?"'Bah!' said Scrooge, '__________!'"

  Humbug - Scrooge repeats "bah!" and "humbug!" to show his displeasure and that he thinks people are talking nonsense (saying "humbug" is like saying "rubbish!" or "nonsense!" after somebody speaks)
• What word completes the quotation?"Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own __________"

  Room - Scrooge's selfishness is symbolised by the fact that he keeps the coal to himself and makes his clerk sit in the cold
• True or false? Jacob Marley was Scrooge's business partner

  True - Jacob had died 7 years prior to when the story begins
• How many ghosts does Jacob Marley warn Scrooge that he will be visited by?

  3 - Scrooge is visited by four ghosts in total: Marley’s ghost; the Ghost of Christmas Past; the Ghost of Christmas Present; and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
• True or false? Scrooge is eager to paint over Marley's name on their business sign immediately after he dies

  False - The narrator tells us that "there it stood, years afterwards…he answered to both names: it was all the same to him"
• True or false? Scrooge allows Bob to have Christmas Day off because he has a change of heart and wants him to spend time with his family

  False - Scrooge thinks that Christmas Day is an inconvenience and begrudges having to pay Bob a day's wages for nothing.
• What is the significance of Scrooge being unable to say the whole of the word "humbug" at the end of Stave One, after Jacob's spirit has left?

  It shows that Scrooge is slowly changing already after Marley's visit - "He tried to say 'Humbug!' but stopped at the first syllable." "Humbug" is generally an expression of displeasure or bitterness, so if Scrooge can't easily say it at this point, it may indicate that he is already softening
• True or false? Stave One begins with an omniscient narrator.

  True - Omniscient narrators do not take part in the plot, but know everything that is happening
• What tone does the narrator use at the very start of Stave One to discuss Marley's death?

  A light-hearted and humorous tone - This has the effect of creating a huge contrast when we are introduced to Scrooge's true character
• Why does the narrator make a reference to the significance of Hamlet's father's death in Stave One? Choose the best answer.

  1. This reference suggests that Scrooge is a well-read and intelligent man who loves literature.
  2. Hamlet's father was similar in character to Jacob Marley.
  3. After Hamlet sees his father's ghost, his life changes significantly.

  3 - This is an inciting incident in the plot of Hamlet, so its mention foreshadows how the course of Scrooge's life is about change
• Dickens uses a metaphor to describe what the houses opposite Scrooge’s counting-house look like when obscured by the fog. What word fits in the blank to complete this quotation?"Although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere __________."

  Phantoms - This metaphor adds to the eerie atmosphere that Dickens creates at the start of the story: the houses are compared to ghosts, which foreshadows the appearance of Marley’s ghost later on
• What word completes the simile in this quotation?Illustrating how alone Scrooge is, Dickens describes his life as "solitary as an __________".

  Oyster - Oysters live alone in their own hard shells and this is how Scrooge would prefer to be. He would like to not have to interact with other people
• What effect is created when the narrator uses the phrase "Once upon a time" as the main story begins? Choose the best answer.

  1. It suggests that this will be a fanciful story, just like a fairy tale.
  2. It lets the reader know that this is where the main story begins.
  3. It makes the story more appealing to children.


  1 - It may also suggest that the story will end "happily ever after".
• Which term fits the best in the blank?Dickens describes the weather negatively in Stave One to link with Scrooge's character, but also to suggest that something unsettling is about to happen. This technique is called __________.

  Pathetic Fallacy - The weather is described as "cold, bleak, biting weather" and we are told that nature was "brewing on a large scale".
• Why does Scrooge keep the company coal box in his own room?

  Because he is too mean to allow Bob to be in charge of it and use the coal
• Fred (nephew) visits him at the counting-house. He's described as having "heated himself with rapid walking and frost…that he was all in a glow". What's the significance of this?

  Fred enjoys Christmas and is kind and warm to everyone. His character serves as a contrast to Scrooge, to emphasise how cold and unpleasant Scrooge is. (Opposites)
• Which words fit the best in the blanks?When Scrooge arrives home, his door knocker suddenly __________. The image of Marley's face is the first indication of __________ plot points in the novel. This foreshadows visits from the other ghosts. He later hears his servant's __________ and the sound of Marley's chains in the cellar, even though he is alone in the house"

  Transforms, Supernatural; Bells
• What items does Marleys ghost carry?

  Cashboxes, padlocks; keys
• What is Marley suggesting when he says that Scrooge's chain is as heavy as Marley's was "seven Christmas Eves ago"?

  That Scrooge's chains may be even heavier now, and that Scrooge's final fate could be worse than Marley's - If Scrooge does not change his ways, then his chain will continue to grow even heavier still
• What word completes the quotation?"He was conscious of a thousand __________ floating in the air"

  Odours - "Odours" are smells. This sensory description emphasises the idea that Scrooge has cut himself off from his emotions and memories, and now feels overwhelmed by them
• What word completes the quotation?"'The school is not quite deserted,' said the Ghost. 'A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.' Scrooge said he knew it. And he __________."

  Sobbed - Scrooge's crying suggests that it was partly his neglect as a child that made him cold and hard as an adult
• What word completes the quotation?"'The school is not quite deserted,' said the Ghost. 'A __________ child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.' Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed."

  Solitary - The word "solitary" is also used to describe Scrooge in Stave One ("solitary as an oyster"). Here the reader gets a sense that Scrooge did not always want to be alone.
• What three words complete the quotation?"For again Scrooge saw himself. He was older now; a man in the prime of life. His face had not the harsh and rigid lines of later years; but it had begun to wear the signs of __________ __________ __________. "

  Care and avarice - Meaning "worry and greed". Scrooge's negative and greedy attitude to life has begun to show in his physical appearance.
• What character is being described here?"There was an eager, greedy, restless motion in the eye, which showed the passion that had taken root, and where the shadow of the growing tree would fall."


  Scrooge - The metaphor of Scrooge's greed growing like a "tree" shows that this was not instant: it is something that he has kept alive and made bigger over time
• What character's name completes the quotation?"'Yo ho, my boys!' said __________. 'No more work to-night. Christmas Eve, Dick. Christmas, Ebenezer! Let's have the shutters up'"

  Fezziwig - Fezziwig's enjoyment of Christmas and his generosity are sharply contrasted with Scrooge's misery in Stave One
• What character is being described in this quotation?"It isn't that, Spirit. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count 'em up: what then? The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune."


  Fezziwig - As he remembers Fezziwig, Scrooge begins to realise his power as an employer, to make his employees happy or miserable.
• What character is being described here?"I passed his office window; and as it was not shut up, and he had a candle inside, I could scarcely help seeing him. His partner lies upon the point of death, I hear; and there he sat alone. Quite alone in the world, I do believe."

  Scrooge
• While watching the vision of Belle's family life, how does Scrooge feel about seeing Belle's daughter and family?

  He regrets not having a family of his own - Scrooge begins to notice some of the ways that family life might enrich a person's existence, and wishes he had this influence in his life