A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

(public domain)

Plot Summary

• Set on Christmas Eve.
• Ebenezer Scrooge (old man) is visited by a ghost; first is old business partner Jacob Marley.
• Ghost of Christmas past
• Ghost of Christmas present
• Ghost of Christmas yet to come
• Show Scrooge how his mean behaviour has affected those around him.
• End - he realises there is still time to change and then transforms into a warm and kind-hearted human being.

'Dickens wrote this story in 1843. At the time there was a tradition for reading ghost stories at Christmas, hence the numerous spirits that Scrooge encounters. The themes of wealth and injustice are clear comments on the inequalities of wealth distribution in Victorian England.' 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zgvbgk7/revision/1

1. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge makes his clerk, Bob Cratchit, work in the cold.
2. He refuses an invitation to his nephew Fred's Christmas party and will not give money to the charity collectors.
3. At home he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Marley.
4. The Ghost of Christmas Past wakes Scrooge and shows him moments from his childhood, his apprenticeship and his failed engagement.
5. The Ghost of Christmas Present takes him to the Cratchit's home, where he is saddened by the ill, but kind, Tiny Tim. He is also shown how Fred celebrates Christmas with friends and how others celebrate Christmas together.
6. The final ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come who terrifies Scrooge with visions of his death.
7. Scrooge awakes on Christmas Day and is delighted to find he has the chance to repent of his miserly ways. He buys a turkey for the Cratchits and attends his nephew's party.
8. Scrooge becomes like a second father to Tiny Tim and gains a reputation for knowing how to celebrate Christmas.