EFL Movie Study Guide for: A Christmas Carol

from www.krigline.com   www.krigline.com.cn

The underlined terms are defined in the vocabulary section below.

Note 1: This classic story has been told many times in film. While this “Study Guide” should be helpful for any version, this guide was created with the 1984 film (with George C Scott) in mind.

Story: This classic tale introduces us to one of Charles Dickens best-known characters, the Christmas-hating Ebenezer Scrooge. In nineteenth century England, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future show Scrooge the poverty of his material wealth and the blessings that come with generosity. Can they convince him to change before it’s too late? Characters and concepts from this 1843 story are so well-known that it should be on every English-learner’s “must see” list.  (1984; George C Scott, David Warner, Roger Rees; [made for TV] drama, holiday classic; 100 minutes)

Setting: London, England; mid 1800s

People and proper nouns:

Ebenezer Scrooge: a miserly rich man who hates Christmas

Jacob Marley: Scrooge’s dead former partner

Fred Holywell: Scrooge’s nephew (and the narrator in this version of the story)

Bob Cratchit: Scrooge’s underpaid clerk (employee)

Tiny Tim: Cratchit’s youngest son, who is “a cripple” (i.e., has a bad leg)

Mr. Fezziwig: Scrooge’s first boss, a jolly/happy man who loved Christmas

Nouns/verbs (vocabulary):

(to be) abandoned: to be left somewhere without help, resources, or a way to get out (the connotation of this term includes sadness and/or hopelessness)

apathy: a general lack of interest that often results in people being unwilling to work for needed change

apprenticeship: a time when you are learning a job from someone who is experienced (like an internship)

to berate: to speak in anger to someone because they have done something wrong

boarding school: a school for children with a dormitory, so they live there and study there

coal: a hard black mineral that is often burned to create heat or steam

crutch: a stick used to help someone walk (e.g., because of a leg injury); something that gives support or help

defensive: speaking (or acting) in a way to defend or protect oneself (esp. when you think sb is criticizing you)

garments: clothes

generous: describes someone who often willingly gives (time, money, help) to others, esp. to those in need

glimpse: a short experience of or peak at something that helps you to begin to understand it

the grave: death (in general), or a place where dead people continue to exist

humbug: nonsense; a negative term to describe something as nonsense or deceptive (esp. related to the way Scrooge feels about Christmas in this story)

idiot: an offensive term to insult someone’s intelligence

ignorance: a lack of education or understanding

malice: a hateful desire to cause harm

miser (miserly): a greedy, selfish person who loves money but hates to spend it, even to bring himself comfort or to help people in need (in English, “scrooge” has become a synonym for “miser”)

to mourn: to show great sadness or respect for someone who has died

the poorhouse/workhouse: a place (in 19^th century England) where very poor people could live and work (often long hours, with little pay, in terrible conditions)

shush!: used to tell sb to be quiet

simile: an implied comparison using like or as (e.g., as sly as a fox, as pretty as a peacock, he thinks like Scrooge)

surplus: extra, and often unneeded

tact (tactless): tact is the ability to speak carefully about something, so as not to offend or embarrass the people around you (tactless people often embarrass or upset others)

to vow: to promise in a very strong way (often meaning "a solemn promise to God")

want / to be in want: (formal) need, lack / to be in need or to lack sth

Phrases/sayings:

(to be) still in force: to continue to exist (e.g., a law or invitation that hasn’t been canceled)

it’s all he can afford: he doesn’t have money to do any more than this

hold your tongue: do not talk; be quiet

upon their brow is written the word “doom”: “doom (obvious failure or destruction)” will be caused by these things (ignorance and want)

Discussion:

1. Tell your partner what you liked best about this story.

2. Why do you think Dickens’ story has been popular for over 150 years?

3. If a dead person (like Scrooge’s partner Marley) could come back to talk to you, what would you ask him? What would it take to make you believe what he said?

4. If a ghost showed you glimpses from the past, what would you like to see (or not see) again?

5. What responsibility do wealthy people have toward poor people? In your eyes, what does it mean to be wealthy?

6. Would you like to know about your future? Why or why not?

7. Dickens, and western readers/viewers, know the history of Christmas. To them, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, who was sent from Heaven to save people from sin/rebellion/evil. God’s “generous gift” to mankind set an example for us, so on this “birthday” we want to be generous too. If you don’t know much about this holiday, ask questions to those who saw the movie with you, or look for answers on line. You can start with the links at www.krigline.com.cn/candycane.htm

(To see more information about Christmas, see these other pages at krigline.com: the traditional Christmas story, who is Santa (圣诞老人)?, the pre-Christmas Advent season; other Christmas movie study guides on this website: A Snoopy/Charlie Brown Christmas, Last Holiday, White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life)

Summary of "A Christmas Carol":

   Ebenezer Scrooge (a rich businessman) loves money, is never generous, and hates Christmas. To him, the holiday is just an excuse for lazy people to take a day off of work (robbing their bosses, who must pay for their holiday). He thinks that the feasts and gifts are also a waste of money. He doesn’t share the “joy” and “good cheer” that most people feel at Christmas, and expresses his dislike with the phrase “Bah, humbug”.

On Christmas Eve, Scrooge’s former partner comes from the grave to try to save Ebenezer from his own terrible fate: forever wearing chains that symbolize his greed and endless sorrow for having failed to be generous with his money while he was alive. Marley says that three ghosts (or “spirits”) will visit Scrooge.

First, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge glimpses of his childhood and youth, pointing out how he changed from someone who enjoyed life to someone who loved only money.

Next, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge holiday joy, even among the poor (like his clerk Bob), and tries to show Scrooge why helping others is so important.

Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (who never speaks), shows Scrooge a frightening glimpse of the future: Bob’s son will die, and when Scrooge dies no one will mourn or miss him—and he will be heading for the fires of hell.

When Ebenezer wakes up on Christmas morning, he is a changed man. He is truly sorry for having loved money more than he loved people. He vows to change, and we see the first day of his “new life.”

Sentences/dialogs from the movie:

(in part from www.imdb.com/title/tt0087056/quotes; imdb's website is a great place to find movie facts and more)

Say these dialogs out loud with your friends; it will help you prepare to watch the movie. The underlined words are defined in the vocabulary section above.

1.   Ebenezer Scrooge: These are garments, Mr. Cratchit. Garments were invented by the human race as a protection against the cold. Once purchased, they may be used indefinitely for the purpose for which they are intended. Coal burns. Coal is momentary and coal is costly. There will be no more coal burned in this office today, is that quite clear, Mr. Cratchit?

      Bob Cratchit: Yes, Sir.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Now please get back to work before I am forced to conclude that your services here are no longer required.

2.   [Scrooge’s nephew Fred comes in to wish his uncle a Merry Christmas, leading to an argument about the holiday. Fred gives a convincing speech about the good reasons to like Christmas]

      Fred: There are a great many things from which I have derived good, from which I have not profited, Christmas among the rest. But I’ve always thought of Christmastime as a good time, a kindly, forgiving, charitable time; a time when men and women seem, by one consent, to open their shut-up hearts freely to their fellow creatures. So though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver into my pocket, I do believe that it has done me good, and I say “God bless it.”

      [Cratchit claps in agreement, which makes Scrooge angry.]

      Ebenezer Scrooge: [to Cratchit] Another sound from you... and you'll keep your Christmas by losing your situation. (i.e., by losing your job)

      Fred: Don’t be cross uncle. Come dine with us tomorrow. I ask nothing of you; I want nothing from you. Why can’t we be friends?

3.   Tiny Tim: [outside Scrooge's office] Merry Christmas, Mr. Scrooge.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Don't beg on this corner, boy.

      Tiny Tim: I'm not begging, Sir. I'm Tim Cratchit. I'm waiting for my father.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Tim Cratchit, eh? Well, you'll have a long wait, then, won't you? [he walks off]

      Tiny Tim: Merry Christmas, Sir!

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Humbug.

4.   [Scrooge meets some businessmen at “the exchange”—a place where people buy and sell large amounts of food or other things]

      Mr. Pemberton: ... Ah, Ebenezer. We were afraid you wouldn't come.

      Mr. Tipton: It's about to close, Sir.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Well, I'm here, aren't I?

      Mr. Pemberton: Good. You'll take our bid, then?

      Mr. Tipton: I take it you've changed your mind.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Yes, I have changed my mind. The price has gone up.

      Mr. Pemberton: Gone up? But that's impossible!

      Ebenezer Scrooge: If you want my corn, gentlemen, you'll meet the price I quoted yesterday... plus five percent interest for the delay.

      Mr. Tipton: That's outrageous, Scrooge. You'll be left with a warehouse stuffed full of corn!

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Well, that's my affair, isn't it?

      Mr. Pemberton: If we have to meet your price, our bread will be more expensive. The poor will suffer.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Then buy someone else's corn. Good day, Sirs.

      Mr. Tipton: Scrooge, one moment. We'll buy your corn... at the price you quoted yesterday.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: It's too late for that, gentlemen. And if you wait until tomorrow, it'll cost you another five percent interest.

      Mr. Pemberton: Damn it, Scrooge, that's not fair!

      Ebenezer Scrooge: No, but it's business. I'll give you a second to make up your minds.

      Mr. Tipton: All right, Scrooge, done and done!

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Good. Make sure that a check for the entire amount is deposited with my clerk. I don't ship until I have the cash in hand.

5.   [At Scrooge’s home, the ghost of his former partner (Marley) enters through the wall, and after much effort he manages to frighten Ebenezer]

      Ebenezer Scrooge: What do you want with me?

      Marley's Ghost: Much.

6.   [We see a glimpse of Scrooge in boarding school; he has often been left alone at school during the holidays. His father does not like to see him because Ebenezer reminds him of Ebenezer’s dead mother. But one Christmas, Scrooge’s sister, Fan, comes to take him home for the holiday.]

      Young Scrooge: Fan? [they hug]

      Fan: Dear, dear brother! I've come to take you home, brother. Home for good and all! Father is so much kinder now than he used to be. One night, he spoke with me so gently that I worked up the courage to ask him if you might come home! And he said yes, you should. We came in a coach to pick you up; it's right outside!

      Young Scrooge: You've grown into quite a young woman, Fan.

      Fan: And you've grown into quite a young man, never to need see this lonely place again. Come on, let's not keep Father waiting.

      [They go outside to meet their father, Silas. Young Ebenezer starts to hug Silas, but the elder man holds out his walking-stick, preventing the boy from doing so]

      Silas Scrooge: There, there, boy. Let's have a look at you. Well, they haven't been over-feeding you. That's evident.

      Young Scrooge: I've grown, Fan tells me.

      Silas Scrooge: Yes, most boys do. I imagine she's also told you that you're not moving back here. So it's time you made your way in the world. I've arrange an apprenticeship for you. You'll move into Mr. Fezziwig's establishment in three days' time.

      Fan: Three days, Father? It's been YEARS since we've had my brother at home! I was hoping we'd have him for longer.

      Silas Scrooge: LONGER? Three days is QUITE long enough for BOTH of us. You DO agree, Ebenezer, DON'T you?

      Young Scrooge: Indeed, Sir. Quite long enough.

      Silas Scrooge: That's better. Come along, Fan.

7.   [The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to his clerk’s small home; Mrs. Cratchit serves a small goose to her thrilled family]

      Ebenezer Scrooge: It's such a small bird.

      Ghost of Christmas Present: It's all Bob Cratchit can afford.

8.   Ebenezer Scrooge: [asking the Ghost of Christmas Present about Tiny Tim] Tell me, Spirit... Will he live?

      Ghost of Christmas Present: I see an empty place at this table. I see a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will die.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: No. Say he'll be spared.

      Ghost of Christmas Present: If these shadows remain unaltered by the future, none other of my species will find him here (i.e., no other “Ghosts of Christmas Present”—so Tim will die within a year). But if he is to die, then let him die... "and decrease the surplus population!"

      Ebenezer Scrooge: You use my own words against me?

      Ghost of Christmas Present: Yes! So perhaps, in the future, you will hold your tongue until you have discovered where the surplus population is, and WHO it is. It may well be that, in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than MILLIONS like this poor man's child.

(continued in the next column)

9.   [The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Ebenezer to his nephew Fred’s house; he and guests are talking about Scrooge; no one present can see or hear Ebenezer or the Ghost]

      Fred Holywell: His wealth is quite useless to him, really. He doesn't do any good with it; he doesn't even make himself comfortable with it.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: I haven't squandered it, if that's what you mean by "making myself comfortable!"

      Ghost of Christmas Present: You mustn't argue with those in the right. It's pointless, and even tactless.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Tact is a quality I despise.

      Ghost of Christmas Present: That, I can see.

10. [The group at Fred’s house is playing a game called “similes.” Someone has just “lost” because she couldn’t finish the simile “Quick as a …”]

      Ebenezer Scrooge: ”Quick as a FLASH," you idiot!

      Ghost of Christmas Present: Ebenezer! Shush!

      Ebenezer Scrooge: You said they could neither see nor hear us.

      Ghost of Christmas Present: Oh, yes... that's right. Well, even I forget the regulations sometimes; after all, I don't come back very often.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Shush... I'm trying to listen to the game!

11. [The Ghost of Christmas Present is showing Scrooge some poor people, trying to keep warm over a fire.]

      Ebenezer Scrooge: ...Where are we now?

      Ghost of Christmas Present: The name would mean nothing to you. It's a place, like too many in this world.

      Meg (a mother, talking to her children): ...Mary, Peter, they're cooked. [to her husband, Ben] Do we have enough wood for the night?

      Peter (their son): They're too hot to eat yet, mother.

      Meg: They'll be cooler soon enough.

      Mary (their daughter): How did you get these, father?

      Ben: [defensive] I didn't steal them, if that's what you're saying!

      Meg: She never said you stole them, Ben! Don't berate the girl.

      Ben: She should have some respect!

      Meg: They fell from a cart into the road, Mary.

      Ben: Your father's not a thief, Mary... Not yet.

      Meg: ...Ben, come back and eat with us, won't you?

      Ben: Look at these hands, Meg. They're hard hands; they've done hard work. I want to work, to have bread for my children... It's not right that there's no work.

      Meg: We four still have each other, Ben. That's the most important thing.

      Ben: I love you, Meg, all of you. Tomorrow, I want you to take the children and go to the Parish Poorhouse.

      Meg: No! Better we all drown in the river, than go to one of those places and be separated forever!

      Ben: Only until I can find work.

      Meg: We wouldn't last that long...! Come on, Ben, let's have some dinner.

      Ebenezer Scrooge (talking to the Ghost): Why are these people out here? Wearing rags, eating scraps! Why aren't they in poorhouses, or...?

      Ghost of Christmas Present: Have you visited any of these poorhouses you speak of?

      Ebenezer Scrooge: No, but I'm taxed for them; isn't that enough?

      Ghost of Christmas Present: You tell me. (i.e., What do you think is the answer?)

12.  [The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge two skinny, poor children, who have been hidden under his robe.]

      Scrooge: Who are they?

      Ghost: They are your children. They are the children of all who walk the earth unseen. Their names are Ignorance and Want. Beware of them, for upon their brow is written the word “doom.” They spell the downfall of you and all who deny their existence. 

13. Ebenezer Scrooge: [Sitting under the bridge after the Ghost of Christmas Present leaves] What have I done... to be abandoned like this? What?

14. [The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come has taken Scrooge to the poor part of town, where Scrooge’s housekeeper is trying to sell what she took from his house when he died—though Scrooge doesn’t yet understand that he is the dead man she stole from.]

      Mrs. Dilber (housekeeper): A watch, bed-curtains, blankets... So what's your offer for all these?

      Old Joe (who buys/sells used things): One pound-sterling, five crowns and three schillings. Not a hay-penny more if I was to be boiled for it.

      Mrs. Dilber: You're hardened, Joe, and no mistake!

      Old Joe: I'm always kind to the ladies! That's the way I ruined myself! [they both laugh]

      Ebenezer Scrooge: [to the Ghost] Spirit, what perversity is this? I've asked to see some emotion connected with that man's death... and you've shown me only greed, and malice, and apathy! Let me see some tenderness, some... depth of feeling!

      [Suddenly, Scrooge finds himself back at the Cratchit house]

      Ebenezer Scrooge: There must be some mistake; your fellow Spirit already brought me here, earlier. [the Ghost motions for him to go on in] Very well... You're devilishly hard to have conversation with.

15. Fred Holywell: Uncle Ebenezer, this is my wife Janet. Janet this is Uncle Ebenezer.

      Janet Holywell: It's a pleasure.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: More like a surprise, wouldn't you say?

      Janet Holywell: Well, that too.

      Fred Holywell: That's quite true. Quite honestly it is a surprise. At least, yesterday, you made it quite clear, it seemed to me at least, that you had no intention of accepting my annual invitation.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: I made other things clear too, didn't I, Fred? That Christmas was a humbug - a waste of time and money, a false and commercial festival, devoutly to be ignored.

      Fred Holywell: Yes, basically that was it.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Well, I've come for three reasons. First, to beg your pardon for the things I said about Christmas. That was a humbug Fred.

      Fred Holywell: Was it?

      Ebenezer Scrooge: I didn't know it then, but I know it now. Secondly, I've come to meet your wife.

      Fred Holywell: Well, here she is.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: Yes, and a very beautiful woman she is, too.

      Janet Holywell: Thank you.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: I uh... I was in love once. Would you believe that?

      Janet Holywell: Yes.

      Ebenezer Scrooge: But I possessed neither the courage nor the optimism, nor perhaps the depth of feeling that you two have. Thirdly, if the invitation to dine with you today is still in force, I accept.

      Fred Holywell: Of course, it's still in force! Hurrah! I was sure that one day...

      Ebenezer Scrooge: You were sure? Well, apparently you were right. Yes, I should like to dine with you and your friends.

      Janet Holywell: You'll be more than welcome!

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