A Christmas Carol - English Literature GCSE

Fred and Scrooge Dickens inserted a character foil into A Christmas Carol to make Scrooge look extremely unpleasant in contrast with nicer characters. In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with the protagonist*  of the story, to highlight qualities of the other character. For example, by Fred being young, positive and selfless, Scrooge being old, negative and selfish is emphasised. Some other examples of character foils used in literature are: Lennie and George - Of Mice and Men Romeo and Mercutio - Romeo and Juliet Mary and Lydia - Pride and Prejudice Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Jekyll and Hyde Pip and Estella - Great Expectations (also written by Dickens) Dr. Frankenstein and his monster - Frankenstein  *The protagonist of a story is the (one of the) leading character(s). In A Christmas Carol, the protagonist would be Scrooge.

How does Dickens present Scrooge? Dickens presents Scrooge as the typical high class man in the Victorian Era. This is shown when Scrooge says '"If they would rather die (...)  then they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."' The word 'surplus'  shows that Scrooge thinks of the working class as unnecessary extras to the Capitalist society in the Britain at the time. This is written to reiterate how horrible the upper classes were to the lower classes at this time, and it shows how ideas like this made it difficult for the poor to survive during the Industrial Revolution.

Stave 1 - Key Quotes 'Marley was dead, to begin with (...) Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.' - Narrator 'a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!' - Narrator 'Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire' - Narrator '"A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" cried a cheerful voice. It was the Scrooge's nephew' - Narrator '"Bah!" said Scrooge. "Humbug!"' - Scrooge 'his face was ruddy and handsome' - Narrator '"What else can I be," returned the uncle, "when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What's Christmas-time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books, and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If...

Stave 1 - Plot Summary A miser, old Ebenezer Scrooge, sits in his office on a cold Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers because Scrooge refuses to spend money on coals for a fire. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Scrooge reacts with bitterness, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!"  in response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!" . Two portly gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge to donate some money to their charity to help the poor in the festive season. He refuses, and asks the gentlemen if the prisons or workouses are still open and, if so, that the poor should be sent there. Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold house, Scrooge is visited by his old business partner, who died seven years ago that night: The Ghost of Jacob Marley. Marley's punishment for his greedy life is that his spirit is condemned to wander the Earth weighted down by heavy chains. Marley wish...

Plot Overview Scrooge makes Cratchit work in the cold on Christmas Eve. Scrooge refuses to give money to charity when some 'portly gentlemen' come to his door. Fred (Scrooge's nephew) comes to visit and talk to him about Christmas Dinner, which Scrooge refuses. The Ghost of Jacob Marley (Scrooge's old work partner) haunts Scrooge and informs him that he will be visited by three spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past visits and shows Scrooge some of his childhood Christmases. The Ghost of Christmas Present visits and shows Scrooge Bob Cratchit's family Christmas. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come visits and shows Scrooge the series of events that will occur after Scrooge has died. Scrooge wakes up on Christmas Day and mends his selfish ways.

Victorian Christmas In the 1840s, most businesses remained open on Christmas Day, and employees rarely got the day off. Due to the extreme poverty at this time, people were unable to afford  having the day off anyway. At the beginning of the Victorian Era, Christmas was hardly celebrated at all. However, by the end of Queen Victoria's reign, it was considered to be one of the most important celebrations of each year! Prince Albert is renowned for 'bringing Christmas to Britain'. In Germany, where he was born, evergreen trees were decorated with candles, sweets and fruit at Christmastime. When the Royal Family were photographed around a decorated evergreen tree in 1848, Christmas Trees became very fashionable throughout the country. When A Christmas Carol was published in 1843, Dickens celebrated Christmas lavishly, and told ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Most Christmas traditions that are used in the 21st Century originated in the Victorian Era.

Poverty and Disease The combination of poverty, overcrowding and bad sanitation left impoverished Victorians open to disease. Many workers worked long hours with little access to clean, fresh air and sunlight. During the Victorian Era, the life expectancy in London was only 37 - today in London, the average is 90.05. There were many epidemics happening in London during the Victorian Era. The two most common and well-known being Cholera and Tuberculosis. Poor Victorians lived in the most dreadful conditions. Sometimes families of 12 or more were squeezed into tiny rooms, or in alleyways or streets near sewers or public toilets. These unsanitary conditions made it easy for disease to spread - especially since there was a lack of knowledge surrounding medicines and cures for diseases at the time.

Economic Divide The rich and the poor were significantly divided during the Victorian Era. The rich were known as the middle or upper   class , whereas the poor were known as the working class. The rich lived in lavish mansions, were privately educated and lived grand lives. Many wealthy families refused to help the poor; they thought that they were unworthy of their time and effort. The poor were often forced to send their children away to workhouses in an attempt to gain the family some much-needed money. There were more working class families than there was upper class families. This can be known as a  hierarchy .  

Industry and Population The Industrial Revolution replaced men with machines, which meant that many people lost their jobs; both in the countryside and the towns and cities. This caused people from the country to move into cities like London, which quickly became overpopulated. Many families ended living in extreme poverty or  destitution . In a short space of time, London's population grew from under 1 million inhabitants to 4.5 million. London struggled to cope with the overpopulation, and became  squalid  (extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect).

Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was born on the 7th February  1812 in Kent, England. He moved with his family to London at age 9, and his father was sent to debtor's prison there 3 years later. Charles' family lived in the prison, and he worked as a child labourer. In 1827, he became a law clerk for Ellis and Blackmore , but felt that it was not the right profession for him. In 1831, he became a shorthand reporter for the Mirror of Parliament . He soon became renowned for his ability to quickly and accurately report what was said in the courtroom. In 1833, Dickens began writing essays (also known as sketches). These essays became more and more popular - and eventually led to him publishing his first book: The Pickwick Papers  in 1836.