Sample Answers - A Christmas Carol (Grades 9–1) (2024)

FAQs

How is poverty presented in A Christmas Carol Grade 9 answer? ›

Dickens also presents poverty through the existence of the charity men coming to collect money for the poor. This shows the reader that there were a lot of poor people in this era who needed help.

Scrooge is the main character of Dickens's novella and is first presented as a miserly , unpleasant man. He rejects all offerings of Christmas cheer and celebration as 'Humbug! '. On Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns that he will be visited by three ghosts.

At the end of the novella, Scrooge has completely transformed into a philanthropic and altruistic individual rather than a misanthropist. This notion is made clear when it says, “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I'm quite a baby”. Scrooge has changed his outlook and his behaviour.

Scrooge brings a little of the Christmas spirit into every day, respecting the lessons of Christmas more than any man alive. The narrator concludes the story by saying that Scrooge's words and thoughts should be shared by of all of us ... "and so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, Every one!"

Redemption is the action of saving, or being saved from, sin, error or evil, and this is arguably the biggest theme throughout the novel. Dickens brings this to light through Scrooge's character, showing his journey between Stave 1 to 5. In the beginning, Scrooge is known as a horrible old man.

Scrooge is apathetic about the plight of the poor. He believes that his taxes pay for the prisons and workhouses, so he doesn't feel the needs to donate anything to charity. He suggests that if they would rather die, "they had better do it", and "decrease the surplus population".

Women, infants and elderly are considered as the poorest of the poor. This is because, in a poor household, these people suffer the most and are deprived of the maximum necessities in life.

In the novella, Scrooge represents all the values that are opposed to the idea of Christmas--greed, selfishness, and a lack of goodwill toward one's fellow man.

Dickens refers to them as 'monsters' and the Ghost names the boy 'Ignorance' and the girl 'Want'. Dickens presents them in this impersonal way to show that they are symbolic of the problems in society. They remain in ignorance because they have no right to education, and want because nobody is looking after them.

What are three 3 key lessons that can be learned from reading A Christmas Carol? ›

Marley's Ghost can be seen as a physical representation of the Christian belief system of heaven and hell and the importance of repentance and redemption.

The remorseful and regretful tone that Fred uses symbolizes the loving and caring nature of a family which Scrooge will lose the opportunity to experience if he doesn't commence to prioritize family over his wealth.

With the publication of his A Christmas Carol in 1843, the most popular phrase including the word humbug became the exclamation Bah! Humbug!, the catchphrase of the miserly main character Ebenezer Scrooge.

“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry.” “A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin.

“God bless us every one!” “Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering.” “Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

The Cratchit Family:

TINY TIM: Male. Tiny Tim is Cratchit's son who, despite his physical challenges, still believes in everything around him. MARTHA CRATCHIT: Female, late teens or older. Bob Cratchit's oldest child who has moved out but who makes it home for Christmas, knowing how important it is to the family.

Belle broke off their engagement after Scrooge became consumed with greed and the lust for wealth. She later married another man.

The Christmas story is about inclusion and a reminder that family is important to us and to God. He doesn't want us to be alone or try to do our spiritual walk by ourselves. Family is critical and essential for our own wellbeing.

What is the first sentence of A Christmas Carol? ›

“Marley was dead” – the first line of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – is probably the most famous opening of a classic Christmas story (if you don't count “'Twas the night before Christmas” and “Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot” – the first lines of poems).

The words used to portray Scrooge might apply to many with Parkinson's disease: expressionless, rigid, nearly immobile. Dickens writes, “The cold within him froze his old features ... and stiffened his gait.” He also has a tremor, a symptom common in Parkinson's as well as in this strange dementia.

Afterwards, he is a changed person. Commentators pondering Ebenezer Scrooge's experience in Dickens's A Christmas Carol generally ascribe it to a nightmare. Some suggest that Dickens was accurately depicting psychiatric disorder in Scrooge: a brief psychotic episode³ or Lewy body dementia.

Although undiagnosed, Mr. Scrooge appears to have suffered from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder in the past, as evidenced by his hoarding money and extreme work history.

A poor person is an individual who does not have the provisions or financial capabilities to fulfill the minimum essential necessities of life. Street cobblers, push-cart vendors, rag pickers, flower sellers, beggars, and vendors are some kinds of poor and weak groups in urban neighbourhoods.

St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) is also called 'Father of the poor'. He laboured so that the Church be present among the poorest of the poor.

There are two types of poverty in India: absolute poverty and relative poverty. Both of these kinds of poverty are concerned with money and consumption. However, poverty is sometimes linked to more than just economics; it is also linked to society and politics.

They are the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge on a journey through Christmases from his past, taking Scrooge to see himself as an unhappy child and a young man more in love with money than his fiancée.

Ebenezer Scrooge, fictional character, the miserly protagonist of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843).

What does Fezziwig represent? ›

Dickens used Fezziwig to represent a set of communal values and a way of life which was quickly being swept away in the economic turmoil of the early nineteenth century.

Ignorance can appear in three different types: factual ignorance (absence of knowledge of some fact), object ignorance (unacquaintance with some object), and technical ignorance (absence of knowledge of how to do something).

The children 'Ignorance' and 'Want' are used to represent all the poor children in society: 'They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish'. The children under the Ghost of Christmas Present's cloak are a metaphor showing the effects of greed and miserliness.

Dickens was especially aware of the plight of poor children in the 19th century, and children appear in the story as symbols of the ruined youth of Industrial Capitalism. The youths of Ignorance and Want are especially clear representations of these problems.

“From Scrooge we learn about spiritual transformation and life-changing experiences; from Fred and Cratchit, we learn about forgiveness to those who wrong us; from Tiny Tim, we learn to remain positive and hopeful even when life's circ*mstances look bleak; from the ghosts, we learn about reflecting on our past, present ...

Sometimes the best lessons learned come from our mistakes and failures. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge saw the mistakes he had made and the opportunities that had passed him by. While unable to change the past, he still had the opportunity to learn from his mistakes and ensure they were not repeated in the future.

A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

It is possible that Marley died because of some injury or illness related to his head. It is likely that some sickness or infection could not be treated and worsened, ultimately, causing his death.

Peter and Martha Cratchit represent a generation of lost youth. They have had to sacrifice their childhoods to go to work in order to help their families survive. Dickens uses the motif of light to comment on Scrooge's hope and redemption.

That night, Marley's ghost appears to Scrooge. As punishment for his greedy ways, Marley is forced to wander Purgatory while wearing heavy chains bound to money boxes and ledgers. He tells Scrooge he has a chance to avoid his fate, and three ghosts will visit him.

Why is Fred an important character? ›

Fred is Scrooge's nephew, the only son of Scrooge's much loved sister, Fan. He is the antithesis of Scrooge, demonstrating how we should behave towards one another. In the story he: visits Scrooge in his office to wish him a merry Christmas.

Fred's visit embodies the Christmas spirit: generosity, togetherness, and forgiveness. “Always a delicate creature, whom a breath might have withered,” said the Ghost.

What is FRED? Short for Federal Reserve Economic Data, FRED is an online database consisting of hundreds of thousands of economic data time series from scores of national, international, public, and private sources.

As we get well and truly into the festive season, there's no better time to consider teaching our recent addition to our GCSE English Literature 19th century novels: A Christmas Carol. A Christmas Carol tells the tale of Scrooge, whose miserly ways are transformed after ghostly visits on Christmas Eve.

The method I'm advocating, on the other hand, involves picking out three to four themes that will allow you to holistically answer the question: these three to four themes will become the three to four content paragraphs of your essay, cushioned between a brief introduction and conclusion.

About the Exam

As part of the GCSE English Literature exams, you'll answer one question about A Christmas Carol. You won't be allowed to have a copy of the book with you in the exam, so it's really important that you revise thoroughly.

Reading a classic novella like 'A Christmas Carol' is tricky for our teenage students. Yes, they have likely heard of Scrooge and seen a film adaptation or three, but when faced with the actual text and the world of the story, with its antiquated social context and complex vocabulary, it proves a difficult challenge.

What are the 5 parts of a paragraph essay? ›

Here are the basic type: Descriptive paragraphs. Narrative paragraphs. Expository paragraphs.

If a paper is allocated 120 uniform marks, the range of marks allocated to grade B is 84 to 95 (70% to 79% of 120); for grade C, 72 to 83 (60% to 69% of 120).

9 to 1 grading

The way GCSEs are graded changed in 2017. They're graded using 9 to 1, rather than A* to G. Grade 9 is the highest grade.

The 9-1 grading scheme was brought in alongside a new GCSE curriculum in England. The highest grade is now 9, while 1 is the lowest. The U grade, meaning "ungraded", remains the same. The number scale is not directly equivalent to the old letter one.