Plot - Settings - Themes - Characters - Techniques - Context

Plot - What happens in Stave 1?

  • We are introduced to the protagonist - Ebenezer Scrooge
  • We are told about Scrooge's background and what his personality is like
  • We see Bob Cratchit working for Scrooge in his cold office
  • Fred comes to see his uncle - Scrooge - and invites him over for his Christmas party. Scrooge refuses
  • Two portly gentlemen come to Scrooge and Marley's to ask Scrooge for some money for charity
  • Scrooge goes home and thinks he sees his dead partner, Marley, in the door knocker
  • The Ghost of Jacob Marley haunts Scrooge and tells him that, if he does not change his ways, he will be condemned to wear heavy chains and roam the Earth for all eternity
  • Marley tells Scrooge that he will be haunted by three spirits

Settings - Where does this part of the novel take place?

  • London, England
  • Scrooge and Marley's
  • Scrooge's house

Themes - What are the big ideas that Dickens is exploring/introducing in this section of the novel?

  • Greed
  • Poverty
  • Hierarchy
  • The paranormal
  • Class
  • The plight of the poor

Techniques - What type of language and structural techniques is Dickens using in this part of the novel?

  • Triadic structure
  • Short, dramatic sentences
  • Clear narrative voice
  • Similes
  • Metaphors
  • Dialogue
  • Personification

Context - What are the links between the time Dickens was writing A Christmas Carol to what see in this part of the novel?

  • Lots of people were very poor in Victorian Era England, London especially
  • The Victorian Era had lots of very cold Winters, shown with the cold that Cratchit feels when he is in the office
  • Most people were very scared of the high class men in this time period

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