A Christmas Carol

Page numbers refer to the 2012 Duke Classics version of the novella.

Chapter 1

Reading Check

1. Marley is Scrooge’s former business partner. (Page 9)

2. His skin is pale and cold. He is frosty in temperament. (Pages 10-11)

3. Christmas Eve (Page 12)

4. “Bah! Humbug!” (Page 14)

5. They are asking for charitable donations for the poor. (Page 21)

6. Workhouses and prisons (Page 22)

7. He sees Marley’s face in the door knocker. (Page 31)

Short Answer

1. Fred invites Scrooge to Christmas Day dinner, but Scrooge refuses without even considering it. (Page 18)

2. He doesn’t give him enough coal to stay warm and docks his pay for taking off for Christmas. (Page 28)

3. Marley is there to bring Scrooge a warning, and Scrooge will be visited by the other three spirits that night. (Page 50)

Chapter 2

Reading Check

1. A flame or bright light (Page 61)

2. The country town where he was born (Page 65)

3. It was generally sad and lonely, with harsh rearing by his father. (Page 69)

4. Scrooge’s younger sister and mother to his nephew who visited earlier (Page 74)

5. Scrooge’s ebullient former boss at his first apprenticeship (Page 78)

6. A young lady named Belle to whom he was betrothed but now has traded his love of her for the love of money (Page 89)

Short Answer

1. He enjoyed the merriment and enjoyed attending Fezziwig’s annual party (Page 85).

2. It is a vision that takes in the more recent past of Belle after she is married to someone else and has many children. (Page 95)

3. He is deeply saddened and upset and begs the spirit to show him no more. (Page 98)

Chapter 3

Reading Check

1. He is a giant man dressed in a green robe with a holly wreath on his head. (Pages 105-106)

2. They visit the present-day town where people are bustling about the market, purchasing food. (Page 114)

3. He is the son of Scrooge’s clerk Bob Cratchit. (Page 122)

4. Scrooge hears Fred saying that he feels sorry for Scrooge because he lives alone and is so miserable. (Page 143)

5. He turns into an old man and tells Scrooge that he will die that night. (Page 155)

6. two spectral children named Ignorance and Want (Page 156)

Short Answer

1. The room is decorated lavishly with holly and greenery, and the floor is filled with delectable food. (Page 104)

2. They visit the home of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s clerk, and watch them have a meager Christmas dinner. (Page 119)

3. If no one intervenes in the Cratchits’ impoverished situation and offers financial assistance to help with Tiny Tim’s poor health, he will die. (Page 128)

Chapter 4

Reading Check

1. Personal items, including bedsheets, that belong to a dead man (Page 172)

2. He finds a dead body lying in the home alone, with no one there to mourn him. (Page 181)

3. They owed him money for their mortgage that they now do not have to pay. (Page 183)

4. They are mourning Tiny Tim, who has died. (Page 188)

5. Ebeneezer Scrooge (Page 196)

Short Answer

1. The spirit is dressed in a black robe and does not speak. It only points with its hand. (Page 160)

2. He begs for his life and promises to change his ways. He will honor Christmas and remember the lessons each spirit taught him. (Page 197)

Chapter 5

Reading Check

1. He is giddy and is shouting Christmas greetings to all. (Page 201)

2. He wants to know what day it is and if the butcher has sold the large turkey in the window. (Page 203)

3. He surprises Fred by attending their Christmas dinner. (Page 211)

4. People know him as a changed man and someone who understands the meaning of Christmas. (Page 215)

Short Answer

1. He wants to share his wealth with those who need it. He generously donates money to the same man whom he forced out of the counting-house the previous day. (Page 209)

2. He sends them a lavish Christmas dinner, raises Bob’s salary, and becomes like a second father to Tiny Tim. (Page 214)