A Christmas Carol: Before Reading Discussion Questions

1. How does our past shape our present and future? Give a specific example.

2. Can people change/transform? Why? Why not? Give a specific example.

3. Can money buy happiness? Why? Why not? Give a specific example.

A Christmas Carol: During Reading Discussion Questions

1. How does Scrooge feel about the holiday? Quote a line from scene 1 to support your answer.

2. List 3 events that happen before Marley visits for the first time.

3. Where does Ebenezer first ‘think’ he see Marley?

4. Why has Marley’s Ghost come to visit Ebenezer? Be specific about Marley’s purpose.

5. Record 3 things that happened during the visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past?

6. How does Scrooge feel about Fezziwig? Quote a line of text to support your answer.

7. On page 401, The Ghost of Christmas Past says “You cannot change now ______. I am your ______, Ebenezer Scrooge, all the ______you could have ______.

8. Who does the Ghost of Christmas Present look like to Ebenezer?

9. Where do Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present go during his visit?

10. Tell me a few specific things we learn at this location.

11. Twice Ghost of Christmas Present uses words Scrooge has said earlier in the play. What are these two phrases? How do these words come back to haunt him?

12. On page 405, Ghost of Christmas Present refers to two beggar children. He says they are not spirits but as real children that represent ______and ______. The ghost goes on to say that if he continues to deny them, they will ______and ______.

13. In scene 5, the Ghost of Christmas Future takes Ebenezer to two locations. What do we learn at each of these locations?

A Christmas Carol: After Reading Discussion Questions

  1. Record three lines of text that help you understand the setting of the story?
  1. List FOUR other characters in the play AND each character’s relationship to Scrooge.
  1. Explain how Scrooge’s lifestyle is inconsistent with his wealth.
  1. Who is Marley? What is his relation to Scrooge? How long has he been dead?
  2. How are Marley and Scrooge alike and different?
  1. What specific events in his life helped him develop his attitude about the holiday season?
  1. What does Marley’s chain represent? ______
  2. What is Marley’s fate?
  1. Where does each ghost take Scrooge and what do we learn from each of the ghosts visit?
  1. What do you think Dickens’ purpose was for the sequence of the ghost? (Past, Present, Future)
  1. Which Spirit was the most frightening to Scrooge? Explain your choice.
  1. Which Spirit had the greatest effect on Scrooge? Explain your choice.
  1. Using textual evidence, explain what this quote means.

I am not the man I was. I will not be that man that I have been for so many years.