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TRANSCRIPT
Stave FourName:
Learning episode 30
Learning goalsTo be able to analyse Dickens use of methods in presenting the Phantom
To be able to analyse how language is used to present the merchants and their reactions to the death of the man
I think I can To be extending, we need to be able to My teacher thinks I can
Identify words that create a sense of fear and tension in describing the appearance of the phantom.Explore how a range of methods have been used by Dickens to create a sense of fear and tension in the phantom’s appearanceCompare and contrast the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come with the previous SpiritsAnalyse Scrooge’s reaction exploring how his reactions to spirits have remained similar but also how they have changed.
Do it now taskRecap questions:
1. Who appears from behind the Ghost of Christmas Present?
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2. Why are they described as ‘children’?
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3. What do these two ‘characters’ symbolise?
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4. When Scrooge asks ‘Have they no refuge or resource?’, what is Scrooge reminded of?
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Challenge
In the space on the next page, explode the quotation you have been given. This means we want you to write down everything you can about this quotation. Think about
Which words are key Which techniques have been used The inferences you can make The possible effect that this quotation might have on a reader.
EXPLODE A QUOTATION
New KnowledgeAt the start of Stave Four, Scrooge is confronted by the most fearful of the three Spirits: the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
1 The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came2 near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air3 through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and 4 mystery.
5 It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its 6 head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible, save one 7 outstretched hand. But for this, it would have been difficult to 8 detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the 9 darkness by which it was surrounded.
10 He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and 11 that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He
“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?”
12 knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.
13 “I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?”14 said Scrooge.
15 The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.
16 “You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not17 happened, but will happen in the time before us,” Scrooge 18 pursued. “Is that so, Spirit?”
19 The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant20 in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the21 only answer he received.
22 Although well used to ghostly company by this time, Scrooge23 feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath24 him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared25 to follow it. The Spirit paused a moment, as observing his 26 condition, and giving him time to recover.
27 But Scrooge was all the worse for this. It thrilled him with a 28 vague, uncertain horror to know that, behind the dusky shroud,29 there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, 30 though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing31 but a spectral hand and one great heap of black.
32 “Ghost of the Future!” he exclaimed, “I fear you more than any33 spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me 34 good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was,35 I am prepared to bear your company, and do it with a thankful36 heart. Will you not speak to me?”
37 It gave him no reply. The hand was pointed straight before them.
38 “Lead on!” said Scrooge. “Lead on! The night is waning fast, and 39 it is precious time to me, I know. Lead on, Spirit!”
Pen to paper: how does Dickens create fear and tension for the reader in the passage as a whole?
Re-read the passage below and as you do so underline any words that you think connote fear.
1 The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came2 near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air3 through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and
4 mystery.
5 It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its 6 head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible, save one 7 outstretched hand. But for this, it would have been difficult to 8 detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the 9 darkness by which it was surrounded.
10 He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and 11 that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He 12 knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.
13 “I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?”14 said Scrooge.
15 The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.
16 “You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not17 happened, but will happen in the time before us,” Scrooge 18 pursued. “Is that so, Spirit?”
19 The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant20 in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the21 only answer he received.
Using what you have highlighted, consider how Dickens has used structural devices to build up a sense of fear and tension.
A list of threeExample:
A short sentenceExample:
Effect – how does this contribute to a sense of fear and tension?
Effect – how does this contribute to a sense of fear and tension?
A tricolonExample:
A compound sentenceExample:
Effect – how does this contribute to a sense of fear and tension?
Effect – how does this contribute to a sense of fear and tension?
A dependent clauseExample:
Effect – how does this contribute to a sense of fear and tension?
Challenge question: how is the third Ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come more conventional in its appearance in comparison to the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present.
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Pen to paper: how does Scrooge react to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?
Using the extract above, identify how Scrooge reacts to this Spirit by noting down key words and key phrases below.
Summarise below Scrooge’s reaction to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
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Learning episode 30
Learning goalsTo explore how people, both rich and poor, react to news of the dead man
I think I can To be extending, we need to be able to My teacher thinks I can
Identify language techniques used to describe the merchants.Identify how the merchants react to news of the death of the man.Comment upon the effect of these language devices in conveying the importance of the merchants.Consider why the Phantom shows Scrooge this sceneExplore how Dickens uses dramatic irony
Do it now taskRecap questions:
1. Identify three details about the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’s appearance?
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2. What is a tricolon?___________________________________________________________________
3. How does the appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come compare and contrast with the appearance of the other Ghosts?
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4. How does Scrooge react to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?___________________________________________________________________
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ChallengeIn the space on the next page, explode the quotation you have been given. This means we want you to write down everything you can about this quotation. Think about
Which words are key Which techniques have been used The inferences you can make
The possible effect that this quotation might have on a reader.
EXPLODE A QUOTATION
New knowledge:When writing about the City, Dickens is referring to London’s business and financial centre, a place frequented by merchants and businessmen. At its heart lies the London Stock Exchange. In 1802, the Stock Exchange moved into a new building in Capel Court possibly the same court that Scrooge refers to when speaking of his place of occupation. As a man of business, Scrooge would have known that area well. In A Christmas Carol, the Exchange is referred to as ‘Change, which is a common abbreviation used at that time. It is to the city that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come first takes Scrooge.
40 The Phantom moved away as it had come towards him. Scrooge41 followed in the shadow of its dress, which bore him up, he 42 thought, and carried him along.
43 They scarcely seemed to enter the City; for the City rather44 seemed to spring up about them, and encompass them of its45 own act. But there they were in the heart of it; on “Change, 46 amongst the merchants, who hurried up and down, and chinked 47 the money in their pockets, and conversed in groups, and looked48 at their watches, and trifled thoughtfully with their great gold49 seals, and so forth, as Scrooge had seen them often.
50 The Spirit stopped beside one little knot of business men. 51 observing that the hand was pointed to them, Scrooge
It was a strange figure – like a child; yet not so like a child as like an old man. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand; and, in singular contradiction of that wintry emblem.
52 advanced to listen to their talk.
53 “No,” said a great fat man with a monstrous chin, “I don’t know54 much about it either way. I only know he’s dead.”
55 “When did he die?” enquired another.
56 “Last night, I believe.”
57 “Why, what was the matter with him?” asked a third, taking a 58 vast quantity of snuff out of a very large snuffbox. “I thought59 he’d never die.”
60 “God knows,” said the first, with a yawn.
61 “What has he done with his money?” asked a red-faced 62 gentleman with a pendulous excrescence on the end of his 63 nose, that shook like the gills of a turkey-cock.
64 “I haven’t heard,” said the man with the large chin, yawning 65 again. “Left it to his company, perhaps. He hasn’t left it to me.66 that’s all I know.”
67 This pleasantry was received with a general laugh.
68 “It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral,” said the same speaker;69 “for, upon my life, I don’t know of anybody to go to it. Suppose70 we make up a party, and volunteer?”
71 “I don’t mind going if a lunch is provided,” observed the 72 gentleman with the excrescence on his nose. “But I must be 73 fed if I make one.”
74 Another laugh.
75 “Well, I am the most disinterested among you, after all,” said the 76 first speaker, “for I never wear black gloves and I never eat 77 lunch. But I’ll offer to go if anybody else will. When I come to 78 think of it, I’m not at all sure that I wasn’t his most particular 79 friend; for we used to stop and speak whenever we met. Bye, 80 bye!”
81 Speakers and listeners strolled away, and mixed with other 82 groups. Scrooge knew the men, and looked towards the Spirit 83 for an explanation.
84 The phantom glided on into a street. Its finger pointed to two
85 persons meeting. Scrooge listened again, thinking that the 86 explanation might lie here.
87 He knew that these men, also, perfectly. They were men of 88 business: very wealthy, and of great importance. He had made 89 a point always of standing well in their esteem in a business 90 point of view, that is; strictly in a business point of view.
91 “How are you?” said one.
92 “How are you?” returned the other.
93 “Well!” said the first, “old Scratch has got his own at last, hey?”
94 “So I am told,” returned the second. “Cold, isn’t it?”
95 “Seasonable for Christmastime. You are not a skater, I 96 suppose?”
97 “No, no. Something else to think of. Good-morning!”
98 Not another word. That was their meeting, their conversation,99 and their parting.
100 Scrooge was at first inclined to be surprised that the Spirit should101 attach importance to conversations apparently so trivial; but 102 feeling assured that they must have some hidden purpose, he 103 set himself to consider what it was likely to be. They could 104 scarcely be supposed to have any bearing on the death of 105 Jacob, his old partner, for that was Past, and this Ghost’s106 province was the Future. Nor could he think of anyone 107 immediately connected with himself to whom he could apply 108 them. But nothing doubting that, to whomsoever they applied,109 they had some latent moral for his own improvement, he 110 resolved to treasure up every word he heard, and everything111 he saw; and especially to observe the shadow of himself when112 it appeared. For he had an expectation that the conduct of his 113 future self would give him the clue he missed, and would render114 the solution of these riddles easy.
115 He looked about in that very place for his own image, but another116 man stood in his accustomed corner; and though the clock 117 pointed to his usual time of day for being there, he saw no 118 likeness of himself among the multitudes that poured in through119 the Porch. It gave him little surprise, however; for he had120 been revolving in his mind a change of life, and thought and 121 hoped he saw his newborn resolutions carried out in this.
122 Quiet and dark, beside him stood the Phantom, with its 123 outstretched hand. When he roused himself from his thoughtful124 quest, he fancied, from the turn of the hand, and its situation in 125 reference to himself, that the Unseen Eyes were looking at him126 keenly. It made him shudder, and feel very cold.
Pen to paper: how has Dickens used language (and structure) to emphasise the importance of the merchants?
Re-read the following extract:
43 They scarcely seemed to enter the City; for the City rather44 seemed to spring up about them, and encompass them of its45 own act. But there they were in the heart of it; on “Change, 46 amongst the merchants, who hurried up and down, and chinked 47 the money in their pockets, and conversed in groups, and looked48 at their watches, and trifled thoughtfully with their great gold49 seals, and so forth, as Scrooge had seen them often.
50 The Spirit stopped beside one little knot of business men. 51 observing that the hand was pointed to them, Scrooge 52 advanced to listen to their talk.
53 “No,” said a great fat man with a monstrous chin, “I don’t know54 much about it either way. I only know he’s dead.”
Now consider the language (and one structural technique) Dickens has used within this extract to present the merchants as important people and people that Scrooge would have held in high esteem.
Personification Example:
How does this suggest the men were of great importance?
Metaphor Example:
How does this suggest the men were of great importance?
Adjectives Example:
How does this suggest the men were of great importance?
Structural device: polysyndeton
Example:
How does this suggest the men were of great importance?
Pen to paper: how do the men react to the news of the death of an unknown man? Why do you think the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is showing this
to Scrooge?Scrooge and the Phantom listen in to the merchant’s conversation when they are discussing the death of an unknown man. Look at each of the unheard phrases and consider what is being suggested about their feelings towards this man during his time of death?
Overheard phrases What they suggest“I don’t know much about it, either way. I only know he’s dead.”
“God knows,” said the first, with a yawn.
“What has he done with his money?” asked a red-faced gentleman.
“It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral.”
“I don’t mind going if a lunch is provided.”
“But I’ll offer to go, if anybody else will.”
Challenge question: why do you think the Phantom shows Scrooge this scene?
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ReflectionIn the opening to Stave Four, dramatic irony is used. This is when the reader (or the audience) know more than the characters within the story. In this instance, the readers suspect the dead man is Scrooge, but Scrooge does not realise this yet.
What clues can you find in the passage to help the reader to infer that the dead man is Scrooge?
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Learning episode 31
Learning goalsTo explore how people, both rich and poor, react to news of the dead man
I think I can To be extending, we need to be able to My teacher thinks I can
Identify and explain how Dickens crafts language to present different parts of LondonExplain how the charwoman reacts to the death of the dead man and evaluate how far the readers would agree with her.Explore Scrooge’s reaction and consider whether his reaction is ironic.Analysis the order of the stolen items and the dawning realisation for Scrooge.
Do it now taskRecap questions:
1. Identify two details about the presentation of the merchants.
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2. What can we infer about them as a result?
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3. What do the men say in response to the death of the man?
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4. What is dramatic irony?
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5. How is dramatic irony used in the scene with the merchants?
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ChallengeIn the space below, explode the quotation you have been given. This means we want you to write down everything you can about this quotation. Think about
Which words are key Which techniques have been used The inferences you can make The possible effect that this quotation might have on a reader.
EXPLODE A QUOTATION
New KnowledgeIn 1850, seven years after the publication of A Christmas Carol, Dickens described an area of Westminster that he called’ The Devil’s Acre.’ He wanted to draw his readers’ attention to what lay behind the external beauty of Westminster. He said:
‘The most lordly streets are frequently but a mask for the squalid district which lies behind them. (…) The district, which is small in area, is one of the most populous in London, almost every house being crowded with numerous families, and multitudes of lodgers. There are other parts of the town as filthy, dingy, and forbidding in appearance as this (…) But there are none in which guilt of all kings and degrees converges in such volume as on this, the moral plague-spot not only of the metropolis, but also of the kingdom.
Let’s have a look at the scene as described by Dickens. As we are reading, underline the words that help you form an impression of this part of London.
1 They left the busy scene, and went into an obscure part of the town,
“Good, Heaven!” said Scrooge, clasping his hands together, as he looked about him. “I was bred in this place. I was a boy here!”
2 where Scrooge had never penetrated before, although he recognised3 its situation and its bad repute. The ways were foul and narrow; the 4 shops and houses wretched; the people half naked, drunken, slipshod,5 ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their 6 offences of smell and dirt, and life upon the straggling streets; and 7 the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth and misery.
8 Far in this den of infamous resort, there was a low-browed, beetling9 shop, below a penthouse roof, where iron, old rags, bottles, bones,10 and greasy offal were brought. Upon the floor within were piled up11 heaps of rusty keys, nails, chains, hinges, files, scales, weights, and 12 refuse iron of all kinds. Secrets that few would like to scrutinise13 were bred and hidden in mountains of unseemly rags, masses of14 corrupted fat, and sepulchres of bones. Sitting in among the wares15 he dealt in, by a charcoal stove made of old bricks, was a grey-haired16 rascal, nearly seventy years of age, who had screened himself from17 the cold air without by a frouzy curtaining of miscellaneous tatters18 hung upon a line, and smoked his pipe in all the luxury of calm 19 retirement.
Pen to paper: How has Dickens crafted language to help readers form a particular viewpoint on a setting?
Key questions:
1. What impression do you form of this part of London?
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Challenge question: how does this compare to the merchant’s area?
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Prediction: what type of people would you expect to find here?
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New knowledgeIn this extract, we are introduced to three characters: the charwoman, the laundress and the undertaker’s man. Items from the dead man have been stolen and are being sold on. They claim that if he wanted to keep them after his death, he should’ve been less wicked in life – then he would have died alone, and someone would’ve been there to look after his belongings.
20 Scrooge and the Phantom came into the presence of this man, just as21 a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into the shop but she had 22 scarcely entered, when another woman, similarly laden, came in too;23 and she was closely followed by a man in faded black, who was no24 less startled by the sight of them than they had been upon the 25 recognition of each other. After a short period of blank astonishment,26 in which the old man with the pipe had joined them, they all three 27 burst into a laugh.
28 “Let the charwoman alone to be the first!” cried she who had entered29 first. “Let the laundress alone to be the second; and let the 30 undertaker’s man alone to be the third. Look here, old Joe, here’s 31 a chance! If we haven’t all three met here without meaning it!”
32 “You couldn’t have met in a better place,” said old Joe, removing his 33 pipe from his mouth. “Come into the parlour. You were made free34 of it long ago, you know; and the other two an’t strangers. Stop till35 I shut the door of the shop. Ah! How it shreeks! There an’t such a 36 rusty bit of metal in the place as its own hinges, I believe; and I’m37 sure there’s no such old bones here as mine. Ha! Ha! We’re all38 suitable to our calling, we’re well matched. Come into the parlour.39 Come into the parlour.”
40 The parlour was the space behind the screen of rags. The old man41 raked the fire together with an old stair-rod, and having trimmed his 42 smoky lamp (for it was night) with the stem of his pipe, put it into 43 his mouth again.
44 While he did this, the woman who had already spoken threw her 45 bundle on the floor, and sat down in a flaunting manner on a stool,46 crossing her elbows on her knees, and looking with a bold defiance47 at the other two.
48 “What odds, then? What odds, Mrs Dilber?” said the woman. “Every 49 person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did!”
50 “That’s true, indeed!” said the laundress. “No man more so.”
51 “Why, then, don’t stand staring as if you were afraid, woman! Who’s 52 the wiser? We’re not going to pick holes in each other’s coats, I
53 suppose?”
54 “No, indeed!” said Mrs Dilber and the man together. “We should hope55 not.”
56 “If he wanted to keep ‘em after he was dead, a wicked old screw,” 57 pursued the woman, “why wasn’t he natural in his lifetime? If he had58 been, he’d have had somebody to look after him when he was struck 59 with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by 60 himself.”
61 “It’s the truest word that ever was spoke,” said Mrs Dilber. “It’s a 62 judgement on him.”
63 “I wish it was a little heavier judgement,” replied the woman: “and it 64 should have been, you may depend upon it, if I could have laid my 65 hands on anything else. Open that bundle, old Joe, and let me know66 the value of it. Speak out plain. I’m not afraid to be the first, nor afraid 67 for them to see it. We knew pretty well that we were helping ourselves68 before we met here, I believe. It’s no sin. Open the bundle, Joe.”
69 But the gallantry of her friends would not allow of this; and the man in70 faded black, mounting the breach first, produced his plunder. It was 71 not extensive. A seal or two, a pencil-case, a pair of sleeve-buttons,72 and a brooch of no great value, were all. They were severally73 examined and appraised by old Joe, who chalked the sums he was74 disposed to give for each upon the wall, and added them up into a total 75 When he found that there was nothing more to come.
76 “That’s your account,” said Joe, “and I wouldn’t give another sixpence,77 if I was to be boiled for not doing it. Who’s next?”
78 Mrs Dilber was next. Sheets and towels, a little wearing apparel, two79 old fashioned silver teaspoons, a pair of sugar-tongs, and a few boots.80 Her account was stated on the wall in the same manner.
81 “I always give too much to ladies. It’s a weakness of mine, and that’s 82 the way I ruin myself,” said old Joe. “That’s your account. If you 83 asked me for another penny, and made it an open question, I’d repent84 of being so liberal, and knock off half a crown.”
85 “And now undo my bundle, Joe,” said the first woman.
86 Joe went down on his knees for the greater convenience of opening87 It, and, having unfastened a great many knots, dragged out a large88 heavy roll of some dark stuff.
89 “What do you call this?” said Joe. “Bed curtains.”
90 “Ah!” returned the woman, laughing and learning forward on her 91 crossed arms. “Bed-curtains!”
92 “You don’t mean to say you took ‘em down, rings and all, with him 93 lying there?” said Joe.
94 “Yes, I do,” replied the woman. “Why not?”
95 “You were born to make your fortune,” said Joe, “and you’ll certainly do 96 It.”
97 “I certainly shan’t hold my hand, when I can get anything in it by 98 reaching it out, for the sake of such a man as he was, I promise you,99 Joe,” returned the woman coolly. “Don’t drop that oil upon the 100
blankets, now.”
101
“His blankets?” asked Joe.
102
“Whose else’s do you think?” replied the woman. “He isn’t likely to
103
take cold without ‘em, I dare say.”
104
“I hope he didn’t die of anything catching? Eh?” said old Joe,
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stopping in his work, and looking up.
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“Don’t you be afraid of that,” returned the woman. “I ain’t so fond of his
107
company that I’d loiter about him for such things, if he did. Ah! You
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may look through that shirt till your eyes ache, but you won’t find a hole
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in it, nor a threadbare place. It’s the best he had, and a fine one too.
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they’d have wasted it, if it hadn’t been for me.”
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“What do you call wasting of it?” asked old Joe.
11 “Putting it on him to be buried in, to be sure,” replied the woman, with
2113
a laugh. “Somebody was fool enough to do it, but I took it off again.
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If calcio an’t good enough for such a purpose, it isn’t good enough
115
for anything. It’s quite as becoming to the body. He can’t look uglier
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than he did in that one.”
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Scrooge listened to this dialogue in horror. As they sat grouped about
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their spoil, in the scanty light afforded by the old man’s lamp, he
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viewed them with a detestation and disgust which could hardly have
120
been greater, though they had been obscene demons marketing the
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corpse itself.
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“Ha, ha!” laughed the same woman when old Joe producing a flannel
123
bag with money in it, told out their several gains upon the ground.
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“This is the end of it, you see! He frightened everyone away from him
125
when he was alive, to profit us when he was dead! Ha, ha, ha!”
126
“Spirit!” said Scrooge, shuddering from head to foot. “I see, I see.
127
The case of this unhappy man might be my own. My life tends that
128
way now. Merciful heaven, what is this?”
Pen to paper: What attitudes do the women display towards the dead man and to what extent would readers be in agreement?
The woman has very strong opinions about what they have done
“What odds, then? What odds, Mrs Dilber?” said the woman. “Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did!”
“If he wanted to keep ‘em after he was dead, a wicked old screw” pursued the woman, “why wasn’t he natural in his lifetime? If he had been, he’d have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself.”
How much sympathy does the charwoman have for the dead man? To what extent do you agree with her?
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Pen to paper: how does Scrooge respond and to what degree is his response ironic?
Re-read lines 117-121. How does Scrooge react to what he is shown?
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Why could this be seen as ironic? Use lines 124-125 to help you answer this question.___________________________________________________________________
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“Putting it on him to be buried in, to be sure,” replied the woman, with a laugh. “Somebody was fool enough to do it, but I took it off again. If calcio an’t good enough for such a purpose, it isn’t good enough for anything. It’s quite as becoming to the body. He can’t look uglier than he did in that one.”
ReflectionIn the last learning episode, we explored the use of dramatic irony in which the reader inferred from clues in the text that the dead man might be Scrooge. Look at the items the thieves have stolen from Scrooge:
A pencil-case, a pair of sleeve-buttons, and a brooch of no great valueSheets and towels, a little wearing apparel, two old-fashioned silver teaspoons, a pair of sugar tongs, and a few boots.Bed curtains.
How does this order help readers to also infer that the dead man is Scrooge?
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Re-read the following lines. Do you think Scrooge has realised? Why/why not?
126
“Spirit!” said Scrooge, shuddering from head to foot. “I see, I see.
127
The case of this unhappy man might be my own. My life tends that
128
way now. Merciful heaven, what is this?”
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Learning episode 32
Learning goalsTo explore how people, including Scrooge, continue to react to news of the dead man
I think I can To be extending, we need to be able to My teacher thinks I can
Identify how Dickens uses methods to present death and characters’ reactions to itCompare and contrast different characters’ responses to Scrooge’s deathEvaluate the message Dickens is trying to portray in presenting reactions to death in this way.
Do it now taskRecap questions:
1. Identify two words that are used to describe London in the extract we read in the last learning episode.
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2. How does this area of London compare with the merchants’ area?
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3. What attitude towards the dead man does the woman display?
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4. How does Scrooge react to what he has seen?
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ChallengeIn the space on the next page, explode the quotation you have been given. This means we want you to write down everything you can about this quotation. Think about
Which words are key Which techniques have been used The inferences you can make The possible effect that this quotation might have on a reader.
EXPLODE A 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
New KnowledgeThe Phantom takes Scrooge to a room in which a bed sits in the middle with the body of a man…
1 He recoiled in terror, for the scene had changed, and now he 2 almost touched a bed – a bare, uncurtained bed – one which, 3 beneath a ragged sheet, there lay a something covered up, which,4 though it was dumb, announced itself in awful language.
5 The room was very dark, too dark to be observed with any 6 accuracy, though Scrooge glanced round it in obedience to a 7 secret impulse, anxious to know what kind of room it was. A pale8 light, rising in the outer air, fell straight upon the bed; and on it,9 plundered and bereft, unwatched, unwept, uncared for, was the
10 body of this man.
11 Scrooge glanced towards the Phantom. Its steady hand was 12 pointed to the head. The cover was so carelessly adjusted that 13 the slightest raising of it, the motion of a finger upon Scrooge’s14 part, would have disclosed the face. He thought of it, felt how 15 easy it would be to do, and longed to do it; but he had no more 16 power to withdraw the veil than to dismiss the spectre at his side.
17 Oh, cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and 18 dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command; for this 19 is thy dominion! But of the loved, revered, and honoured head20 thou canst not turn one hair to thy dread purposes, or make one21 feature odious. It is not that the hand is heavy, and will fall down22 when released; it is not that the heart and pulse are still; but that 23 the hand was open, generous, and true; the heart brave, warm,24 and tender, and the pulse a man’s. Strike, Shadow, strike! And 25 see his good deeds springing from the wound, to sow the world 26 with life immortal!
27 No voice pronounced these words in Scrooge’s ears, and yet he28 heard them when he looked upon the bed. He thought, if this man29 could be raised up now, what would be his foremost thoughts?30 avarice, hard dealing, griping cares? They have brought him to a 31 rich-end, truly!
32 He lay in the dark, empty house, with not a man, a woman or a 33 child to say he was king to me in this or that, and for the memory 34 of one king word I will be kind to him. A cat was tearing at the 35 door, and there was a sound of gnawing rats beneath the 36 hearthstone. What they wanted in the room of death, and why 37 they were so restless and disturbed, Scrooge did not dare to 38 think.
39 “Spirit!” he said, “this is a fearful place. In leaving it, I shall not40 leave its lesson, trust me. Let us go!”
41 Still the Ghost pointed with an unmoved finger to the head.
42 “I understand you,” Scrooge returned, “and I would do it if I could.43 But I have not the power, Spirit. I have not the power.”
44 Again it seemed to look upon him.
45 “If there is any person in the town who feels emotion caused by 46 this man’s death,” said Scrooge, quite agonised, ‘show that 47 person to me, Spirit, I beseech you!”
48 The Phantom spread its dark robe before him for a moment, like 49 a wing; and, withdrawing it, revealed a room by daylight, where a50 mother and her children were.
Pen to paper: how is death presented in this section of Stave 3?1. Re-read the passage below. How does Dickens use language and structure
to present death?
1 He recoiled in terror, for the scene had changed, and now he 2 almost touched a bed – a bare, uncurtained bed – one which, 3 beneath a ragged sheet, there lay a something covered up, which,4 though it was dumb, announced itself in awful language.
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2. The death is presented as something to fear. Dickens once again uses light imagery when he writes
A pale light, rising in the outer air, fell straight upon the bed.
Why does Dickens present the light as doing this?___________________________________________________________________
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Challenge question: what other examples can you think of where light is used as a way of illuminating something and forcing Scrooge to face his reality?
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3. When Scrooge considers the dead person, he begins to think about what it is we take to the grave with us. Re-read this extract and then consider the question that follows
28 He thought, if this man29 could be raised up now, what would be his foremost thoughts?30 avarice, hard dealing, griping cares? They have brought him to a 31 rich-end, truly!
What realisation is Scrooge coming to?
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New knowledgeIn an attempt to see someone sympathetic to the man’s death, the Phantom shows Scrooge a woman and a child.
1 She was expecting someone, and with anxious eagerness; for 2 she walked up and down the room, started at every sound, looked3 out from the window, glanced at the clock, tried, but in vain, to 4 work with her needle, and could hardly bear the voices of her 5 children in their play.
6 At length the long-expected knock was heard. She hurried to the 7 door, and met her husband; a man whose face was careworn 8 and depressed, though he was young. There was a remarkable9 expression in it now, a kind of serious delight of which he felt
10 ashamed; and which he struggled to repress.
11 He sat down to the dinner that had been hoarding for him by the 12 fire, and when she asked him faintly what news (which was not13 until after a long silence), he appeared embarrassed how to14 answer.
15 “Is it good,” she said, “or bad?” to help him.
16 “Bad,” he answered.
17 “We are quite ruined?”
18 “No. There is hope yet, Caroline.”
19 “If he relents,” she said, amazed, “there is! Nothing is past hope,20 if such a miracle has happened.”
21 “He is past relenting,” said her husband. “He is dead.”
22 She was a mild and patient creature, if her face spoke truth; but 23 she was thankful in her soul to hear it, and she said so with 24 clasped hands. She prayed forgiveness the next moment, and 25 was sorry; but the first was the emotion of her heart.
26 “What the half-drunken woman, whom I told you of last night,27 said to me when I tried to see him and obtain a week’s delay -28 and what I thought was a mere excuse to avoid me – turns out to29 have been quite true. He was not only very ill, but dying, then.”
30 “To whom will our debt be transferred?”
31 “I don’t know. But, before that time, we shall be ready with the 32 money; and even though we were not, it would be bad fortune33 indeed to find so merciless a creditor in his successor. We may 34 sleep tonight with light hearts, Caroline!”
35 Yes. Soften it as they would, their hearts were lighter. The 36 children’s faces, hushed and clustered round to hear what they so37 little understood, were brighter; and it was a happier house for38 this man’s death! The only emotion that the Ghost could show39 him, caused by the event, was one of pleasure.
Pen to paper: how do the young couple respond to news of the dead man?Scrooge wants to see someone who cares about the man’s death, so the ghost shows him a young couple who owe the man money, and who feel “delight” about his death. They’re good people, and they don’t like rejoicing over a death – but he was such a merciless creditor that his death has given them hope.
1. How do the young couple respond to news of the dead man and what does this reveal?
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2. Why do you think Scrooge includes the scene with the young couple in debt?
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3. What clues are there still in the text to suggest the dead man is Scrooge?
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ReflectionOver the past few learning episodes we have been exploring various people’s reactions to news of the dead man. Look at the chart below and for each quotation, identify who says the line, explain their links to Scrooge and explain the feelings they are articulating towards him.
Identify the characters involved in these extracts from Stave 4 and explain their links with Scrooge.
What do the extracts reveal about the characters themselves and the feelings they have towards Scrooge?
“He frightened every one away from him when he was alive, to profit us when he was dead! Ha,
ha, ha!”“Well!” said the first. “Old Scratch has got his own at last, hey?” “So I am told,” returned the second. “Cold, isn’t it?”She was a mild and patient creature, if her face spoke truth; but she was thankful in her soul to hear it, and she said so, with clasped hands. She prayed forgiveness the next moment, and was sorry; but the first was the emotion of her heart.“…It would be bad fortuned indeed to find so merciless a creditor in his successor. We may sleep to-night with light hearts...”“It’s likely to be a very cheap funeral,” said the same speaker; “for upon my life, I don’t know of anybody to go to it.”“His blankets?” asked Joe. “Whose else’s do you think?...He isn’t likely to take cold without ‘em, I dare say.”
Learning episode 33
Learning goalsTo compare and contrast the deaths of Tiny Tim and the dead man
I think I can To be extending, we need to be able to My teacher thinks I can
Identify details surrounding the death of Tiny TimeConsider how these details contrast with the death of the dead manExplore the reactions of Fred to the death of Tiny TimConsider the wider message Dickens is trying to portray through this
Do it now taskRecap questions:
1. How is death presented in the extract from our last learning episode?
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2. How does Scrooge respond?
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3. When news of the dead man reach the young couple, how do they respond?
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4. Look at the following statements. Which one do you agree with the most and why?
What matters is not that the person is dead now, but what they achieved in their lifetime
It is people like this dead man that Death has power over A person’s good deeds in life will stay with the world forever Death cannot diminish those who are loved.
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ChallengeIn the space on the next page, explode the quotation you have been given. This means we want you to write down everything you can about this quotation. Think about
Which words are key Which techniques have been used The inferences you can make The possible effect that this quotation might have on a reader.
EXPLODE A QUOTATION
New KnowledgeDesperate to see some tenderness associated with death, the Spirit takes Scrooge to see the Cratchits.
1 “Let me see some tenderness connected with a death,” said 2 Scrooge; “or that dark chamber, Spirit, which we left just now, will3 be for ever present to me.”
4 The Ghost conducted him through several streets familiar to his5 feet; and as they went along, Scrooge looked here and there to 6 find himself, but nowhere was he to be seen. They entered poor7 Bob Cratchit’s house; the dwelling he had visited before; and8 found the mother and the children seated round the fire.
9 Quiet. Very quiet. The noisy little Cratchits were as still as 10 statutes in one corner, and sat looking up at Peter, who had a 11 book before him. The mother and her daughters were engaged in12 sewing. But surely, they were very quiet!
13 “And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them.”
14 Where had Scrooge heard those words? He had not dreamed15 them. The boy must have read them out as he and the Spirit16 crossed the threshold. Why did he not go on?
17 The mother laid her work upon the table, and put her hand up to18 her face.
19 “The colour hurts my eyes,” she said.
“I have come to bring you home, dear brother!” said the child, clapping her tiny hands, and bending down to laugh.
20 The colour? Ah, poor Tiny Tim!
21 “They’re better now again,” said Cratchit’s wife. “It makes them22 weak by candlelight; and I wouldn’t show weak eyes to your 23 father when he comes home for the world. It must be near his 24 time.”
25 “Past it rather,” Peter answered, shutting up his book. “But I think26 he has walked a little slower than he used, these few last 27 evenings, mother.”
28 They were very quiet again. At last she said, and in a steady,29 cheerful voice, that only faltered once:
30 “I have known him walk with – I have known him walk with Tiny31 Tim upon his shoulder very fast indeed.”
32 “And so have I,” cried Peter. “Often.”
33 “And so have I,” exclaimed another. So had all.
34 “But he was very light to carry,” she resumed, intent upon her 35 work, “and his father loved him so, that it was no trouble, no 36 trouble. And there is your father at the door!”
37 She hurried out to meet him; and little Bob in his comforter – he 38 had need of it, poor fellow – came in. His tea was ready for him 39 on the hob, and they all tried who should help him to it most.
40 Then the two young Cratchits got upon his knees, and laid, each41 child, a little cheek against his face, as if they said, “Don’t mind it,42 father. Don’t be grieved!”
43 Bob was very cheerful with them, and spoke pleasantly to all the 44 family. He looked at the work upon the table, and praised the 45 industry and speed of Mrs Cratchit and the girls. They would be 46 done long before Sunday, he said.
47 “Sunday! You went today, then, Robert?” said his wife.
48 “Yes, my dear,” returned Bob. “I wish you could have gone. It 49 would have done you good to see how green a place it is. But 50 you’ll see it often. I promised him that I would walk there on a 51 Sunday. My little, little child!’ cried Bob. “My little child!”
52 He broke down all at once. He couldn’t help it. If he could have
53 helped it, he and his child would have been further apart, perhaps,54 than they were.
55 He left the room, and went upstairs into the room above, which56 was lighted cheerfully, and hung with Christmas. There was a 57 chair set close beside the child, and there were signs of someone58 having been there lately. Poor Bob sat down in it, and when he59 had thought a little and composed himself, he kissed the little 60 face. He was reconciled to what had happened, and went down61 again quite happy.
New knowledgeWe have already seen the presentation of the dead man which Scrooge was too scared to uncover. In the next learning episode, is once again confronted with the dead man. Read a short description taken from this extract below:
15 A churchyard. Here, then, the wretched man, whose name he had16 now to learn, lay underneath the ground. It was a worthy place.17 walled in by houses; overrun by grass and weeds, the growth of18 vegetation’s death, not life; choked up with too much burying;19 fat with repleted appetite. A worthy place!
Pen to paper: how do the deaths of Tiny Tim and the dead man compare and contrast? Why has Dickens presented the deaths in this way?
Scrooge is taken to the Cratchit house and shown the family after the death of Tiny Tim. Within Stave 4 we have been presented with two deaths – the death of Scrooge and the death of Tiny Tim. This death, and the reactions to it, is contrasted greatly with the death of Tiny Tim. Using notes from previous lessons, consider how the two deaths are presented and the ways in which they are contrasted.
Scrooge Tiny TimThe atmosphere of the room where the body lies / the place where they are being buriedThe conversation about the dead person
The description of feelings caused by the death
Now think about the motivation in presenting the two deaths in very different ways.
In presenting the two deaths, I decided to …
I wanted my Victorian readers firstly to consider …
And then I want them to think about …
New knowledgeBob then shares the encounter he had with Fred, Scrooge’s nephew.
62 They drew about the fire, and talked, the girls and mother working63 still. Bob told them of the extraordinary kindness of Mr Scrooge’s64 nephew, whom he had scarcely seen but once, and who, meeting65 him in the street that day, and seeing that he looked a little – “just66 a little down, you know,” said Bob, enquired what had happened to67 distress him. “On which,” said Bob, “for he is the pleasantest-68 spoken gentleman you ever hear, I told him. “I am heartily sorry69 for it, Mr Cratchit,” he said, “and heartily sorry for your good70 wife.” By the by, how he ever knew that I don’t know.”
71 “Knew what, my dear?”
72 “Why, that you were a good wife,” replied Bob.
73 “Everybody knows that,” said Peter.
74 “Very well observed, my boy!” cried Bob. “I hope they do. 75 “Heartily sorry,” he said, “for your good wife. If I can be of service76 to you in any way,” he said, giving me his card, “that’s where I 77 live. Pray come to me.” Now, it wasn’t,” cried Bob, “for the sake 78 of anything he might be able to do for us, so much as for his kind79 way, that this was quite delightful. It really seemed as if he had 80 known our Tiny Tim, and felt with us.”
81 “I’m sure he’s a good soul!” said Mrs Cratchit.
82 “You would be sure of it, my dear,” returned Bob. “If you saw and 83 spoke to him. I shouldn’t be at all surprised – mark what I say! - 84 if he got Peter a better situation.”
85 “Only hear that, Peter,” said Mrs Cratchit.
86 “And then,” cried one of the girls, “Peter will be keeping company87 with someone, and setting up for himself.”
88 “Get along with you!” retorted Peter, grinning.
89 “It’s just as likely as not,” said Bob, “one of these days; though90 there’s plenty of time for that, my dear. But, however and 91 whenever we part from one another, I am sure we shall none of us92 forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it.”
93 “No, never, father!” they all cried again.
94 “I am very happy,” said little Bob, “I am very happy!”
95 Mrs Cratchit kissed him, his daughters kissed him, the two young96 Cratchits kissed him, and Peter and himself shook hands. Spirit97 of Tiny Tim, thy childish essence was from God!
Pen to paper:1. Identify three comments Fred makes to Bob Cratchit.
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2. How does Bob feel after his interaction with Fred?
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3. What does Bob mean when he says that Fred could get ‘Peter a better situation’?
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4. Why does Dickens include this moment? What could Scrooge learn from it?
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ReflectionAt the end of this vision, Scrooge starts to realise that the dead man he has been presented with is himself.
98 “Spectre,” said Scrooge, “something informs me that our parting99 moment is at hand. I know it but I know not how. Tell me what100
man was that was whom we saw lying dead?”
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The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come conveyed him, as before -
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though at a different time, he thought: indeed there seemed to
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no order in these latter visions, save that they were in the Future
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- Into the resorts of business men, but showed him not
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himself. Indeed, the Spirit did not stray for anything, but went
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straight on, as to the end just now desired, until besought by
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Scrooge to tarry for a moment.
How do we know Scrooge is considering the possibility the dead man is him?
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Learning episode 34
Learning goalsTo explore the reasons why Scrooge feels he is ready for redemption
I think I can To be extending, we need to be able to My teacher thinks I can
Identify what the Spirit shows Scrooge and how he reactsConsider what the Spirits have shown Scrooge across the stave and the lessons he has learntConsider why the stave ends on a cliffhanger
Do it now taskRecap questions:
1. Why do you think Scrooge wanted to see death with some tenderness?
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2. How has the death of Tiny Tim affected the Cratchit family?
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3. How is the death of Tiny Tim contrasted with the death of the dead man?
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4. What do we learn from Bob’s encounter with Fred?
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ChallengeIn the space on the next page, explode the quotation you have been given. This means we want you to write down everything you can about this quotation. Think about
Which words are key Which techniques have been used The inferences you can make The possible effect that this quotation might have on a reader.
EXPLODE A QUOTATION
New KnowledgeAnd as the Stave comes to an end, Scrooge is confronted by his reality…
1 “This court,” said Scrooge, “through which we hurry now, is where2 my place of occupation is, and has been for a length of time. I see3 the house. Let me behold what I shall be in days to come.”
4 The Spirit stopped; the hand was pointed elsewhere.
5 “The house is yonder,” Scrooge exclaimed. “Why do you point6 away?”
7 The inexplorable finger underwent no change.
8 Scrooge hastened to the window of his office, and looked in. It 9 was an office still, but not his. The furniture was not the same,
10 and the figure in the chair was not himself. The Phantom pointed11 as before.
12 He joined it once again, and, wondering why and whither he had 13 gone, accompanied it until they reached an iron gate. He paused14 to look round before entering.
15 A churchyard. Here, then, the wretched man, whose name he had16 now to learn, lay underneath the ground. It was a worthy place.17 walled in by houses; overrun by grass and weeds, the growth of18 vegetation’s death, not life; choked up with too much burying;19 fat with repleted appetite. A worthy place!
20 The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to One.21 He advanced towards it trembling. The Phantom was exactly as
In came Mrs Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile. In came the three Miss Fezziwigs, beaming and lovable. In came the six young followers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men and women employed in the business. In came the housemaid, with her cousin, the baker. In came the cook, with her brother’s particular friend, the milkman. In came the boy from over the way, who was suspected of not having board enough from his master…
22 it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its 23 solemn shape.
24 “Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said 25 Scrooge, “answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the26 things that Will be, or are they shadows of the things that May be 27 only?”
28 Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.
29 “Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if 30 persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses31 be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what32 you show me!”
33 The Spirit was immovable as ever.
34 Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and, following the35 Finger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name,36 EBENEEZER SCROOGE.
37 “Am I that man who lay upon the bed?” he cried upon his knees.
38 The finger pointed from the grave to him, and back again.
39 “No, Spirit! Oh no, no!”
40 The finger still was there.
41 “Spirit!” he cried, tight clutching at its robe, “hear me! I am not42 the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this43 intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?”
44 For the first time the hand appeared to shake.
45 “Good Spirit,” he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before46 it, “your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me that 47 I yet may chance these shadows you have shown me by an 48 altered life?”
49 The kind hand trembled.
50 “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.51 I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future. The Spirits of all52 three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that 53 they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this 54 stone!”
55 In his agony he caught the spectral hand. It sought to free itself, 56 but he was strong in his entreaty, and detained it. The Spirit57 stronger yet, repulsed him.
58 Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, he 59 saw an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress. It shrunk,60 collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost.
Pen to paper: what is Scrooge shown and how does he react?1. What is Scrooge confronted by?
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2. Why do you think the Spirit points Scrooge in the right direction?
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3. What effect does the sight have on Scrooge?
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Pen to paper: Is Scrooge ready for redemption?At the end of Stave Four, Scrooge says:
50 “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.51 I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future. The Spirits of all52 three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that 53 they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this 54 stone!”
In the chart below, summarise what the Spirits showed Scrooge in each stave and what lessons you think Scrooge has learnt as a result.
What did the Spirit show Scrooge?
What lessons has he learnt as a result?
Stave One
Stave Two
Stave Three
Stave Four
ReflectionThe stave finishes on a cliffhanger when Dickens writes:
58 Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, he 59 saw an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress. It shrunk,60 collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost.
Why do you think the stave ends in this way?
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Formative assessment
From Stave Four– The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge his fate.
A churchyard. Here, then, the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay, underneath the ground. It was a worthy place. Walled in by houses; overrun by
grass and weeds, the growth of vegetation’s death, not life; choked up with too much burying; fat with repleted appetite. A worthy place!
The Spirit stood among the grave, and pointed down to One. He advanced towards it trembling. The Phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape.
“Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said Scrooge, “answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?”
Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.
“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, is persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!”
The Spirit was immovable as ever.
Scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and following, the finger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name, EBENEZER SCROOGE.
“Am I that man who lay upon the bed?” he cried, upon his knees.
The finger pointed from the grave to him, and back again.
“No, Spirit! Oh no, no!”
The finger was still there.
“Spirit!” he cried, tight clutching at its robe, “hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?”
For the first time the hand appeared to shake.
“Good Spirit,” he pursued, as down upon the ground he fell before it, “your nature intercedes for me, and pities me. Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!”
The kind hand trembled.
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!”
In his agony, he caught the spectral hand. It sought to free itself, but he was strong in his entreaty, and detained it. The Spirit, stronger yet, repulsed him.
Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed, he saw an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress. It shrunk, collapsed and dwindled down into a bedpost.
4 (a) Explore how Dickens presents intense emotions in this extract.
Give examples from the extract to support your ideas.
(b) In this extract, there is a real sense of emotional intensity.
Explain why intense emotions are important elsewhere in the novel.
In your answer, you must consider:
Different moments where intense emotions are presented How important they are