Stave 3 (The Ghost of Christmas Present)
TASK: Find relevant quotes which focus on the key events in Stave 3
KEY EVENT IN STAVE 3 KEY QUOTES
The Ghost of Christmas Present appears in
Scrooge’s home. He is a jolly giant who carries
a horn, and the room is decorated in
Christmas splendour.
Scrooge sees the Cratchit family and their
paltry Christmas. He is moved by Tiny Tim,
but the spirit tells him he will die if things
don’t change.
Scrooge shows concern for Tiny Tim’s future.
The spirit shows Scrooge Christmas around the
country, from the streets, to the miners, to
the lighthouse keepers and sailors. All are
festive and happy.
Scrooge sees his nephew’s Christmas party,
where Fred says he pities Scrooge, while the
others make fun of him. Scrooge joins in with
the party games.
The spirit shows Scrooge two starved children,
Ignorance and Want. He vanishes as Scrooge
notices a dark, hooded figure coming.
Extra: Ignorance and Want
‘Forgive me if I am not justified in what I ask," said Scrooge,
looking intently at the Spirit's robe, "but I see something strange,
and not belonging to yourself, protruding from your skirts. Is it a
foot or a claw?"
"It might be a claw, for the flesh there is upon it," was the Spirit's
sorrowful reply. "Look here."
From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched,
abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and
clung upon the outside of its garment.’
The two children are ALLEGORIES (representations or
symbols) of TWO social problems: Ignorance and Want.
They represent these problems in human form. Notice
how they have capital letters to reinforce this. Ignorance
and Want are vital to understanding Dickens’ SOCIAL
Why would Dickens choose children to symbolise the problems in
• society?
• Ignorance: People like Scrooge, who ignore the problems of the poor, create enormous
social problems. They create children like this.
• Want: because the population has ‘boomed’ in Victorian times, many people ‘want for’
(go without) the basic necessities such as food and shelter. Combined with the
ignorance of the rich, this creates massive social problems. It creates children like
this.
These children will grow into adults who live a
life of crime, causing BIGGER problems and
creating a cycle.
Cloze Summary: Complete the missing words in the summary of Stave 3 below:
Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present. He symbolises______ ____ _______.
He sits on a throne of food and wears a __________ with no sword (which symbolises
peace). The ghost shows Scrooge the Christmas of other people: he waves his torch to spread
the Christmas Spirit, focusing on poor people as they “______________”.
They visit the Cratchit family, who offer the reader an idealised version of the Christmas for
the poor. They wear “____________” to celebrate the day and work as a team to
create their meagre Christmas dinner. They _____________ Scrooge, despite the fact
that he underpays Bob and treats him poorly. Scrooge becomes upset for Tiny Tim when the
ghost reveals he will die. He realises how ___________ he has been and feels
_________
for his past ways.
At Fred’s Christmas party, everyone enjoys themselves. The Cratchit family represents the
poor and Fred’s party represents the _________ ___________. The family make
fun of Scrooge and his behaviour and don’t have respect for him. Fred says his wealth is of
no use as he believes he “_____________________________”.
The ghost shows Scrooge ________ ____ _________: they are personified
problems of society. Scrooge is horrified and asked if they can be helped, but the ghost uses
his own words to shame him: “___________________________________
” The ghost of Christmas Present dies and leaves Scrooge feeling confused yet he is
beginning to realise his past ____________ .
ribbons Ignorance and Want Guilty “Doesn’t do any good with it”
selfish “Are there no prisons?” “Are there no workhouses?”
toast middle classes generosity and goodwill
scabbard mistakes need most
