Q: How does Dickens approach the subject of death in Stave Four? (Think plot, language, detail)

1. Q: How does Dickens approach the subject of death in Stave Four? (Think plot, language, detail) In Stave Four, Dickens creates a sense of dread towards death with a simple plot device—the ghost of Christmas Future showing Scrooge the effects of his own death and its meaninglessness in gradual, foreboding revelations. Scrooge visits a cold and rainy London of the future, where he hears old business colleagues joking about the death of somebody they knew but did not personally care about. EVIDENCE - While Scrooge begins to sense that the subject of their discussion led a meaningless life, he does not realize that the he, himself is that subject is himself. Dickens builds this sense of dread in another scene—the dead man’s belongings have been plundered by the grimy, destitute, selfish scavengers of London. Scrooge visits these bottom-feeders as they are hawking his very own belongings in a depressing pawn shop. EVIDENCE However, Scrooge is still unaware that he is the dead miser who kept ‘everything to himself’ in life, unintentionally preserving his belongings for plunderers.

2. A Christmas Carol – Summative Checklist • You have two hours to write the summative essay. • You will choose one essay prompt out of several. Label your choice and respond to it with your best effort. • Outline and think through your thesis statement before writing. • Outline and think through your body paragraph structure. (At least three body paragraphs) • Proofread your essay; correct any mistakes before turning it in. • Study your notes – Books and notes, unfortunately, will not be allowed during the summative essay. Use details from the novel that convey bigger ideas.

3. A Christmas Carol – Summative Study Guide • The main characters, events, symbols and emotions of each Stave. (Also, how Scrooge develops, changes in each stave.) • Dickens’ use of descriptive language, literary devices, (Hyperbole, personification, etc) and narration (for example, dialogue, brevity or boisterous description). • Themes, symbols and ideas which occur throughout the novel, (Christmas, togetherness, family, camaraderie, change from the heart, Christianity, concern for the poor). • Characters which are symbolic (The three Ghosts, the children named Ignorance and Want). • Victorian setting, (London, winter) and customs such as feasting on Christmas, party games, pawn shops. • Social commentary (Industrialization and inequality, personal change and initiative as a way of helping others).

4. A Christmas Carol – Final Practice Prompt • Works of literature often invite minor characters to play important roles in the development of the plot, or in the ideas expressed by the work as a whole. Select two minor characters from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and analyze their importance to the novel. • HINT: Explain how the characters • Assist in plot development • Help develop a main idea of the novel.