A Christmas Carol

1. A Christmas Carol The Ghost of Christmas Present and the Cratchits

2. Focus • At the end of this lesson we will have considered the effect Dickens’ was trying to achieve by contrasting Scrooge with Bob Cratchit and his family.

3. Looking Back... • Let’s flip back to Act 1, Scene 1 for a moment, and look at a character who’s been ignored until now...Bob Cratchit. The door of Scrooge’s counting-house was open, that he might keep an eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal...Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle... ...cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge... What impression do you get of Cratchit, based on his brief description in Stave One of the novel?

4. Looking Back... • What impression do we get of Bob Cratchit in Act 1, Scene 1 of the play? • Remember to consider the 4 ways that character is revealed to an audience: • 1. Dialogue • 2. Exchanges and Interactions • 3. Non-verbal communication • 4. Narration

5. Whole class reading... • Please follow along, as we read Act 1, Scene 4 and Act 2, Scene 1.

6. Questions to Consider • How do the spirits try to test Scrooge? • When does the next ghost appear? • How would you present the Ghost of Christmas Present on stage? Sketch your ghost. • What is the household of the Cratchits like?

7. Pay particular attention to the way the Cratchits are depicted. Write down all the ways the Director / Dickens / the Playwright tries to show us that they are a happy family, despite their circumstances. Let’s continue watching the film, from where we left off.

8. Plenary • What effect is Dickens / the playwright trying to achieve by showing the Cratchits as a happy family, despite their lack of money? • What lesson is this meant to teach Scrooge?