If you are looking for the beginning of the study for A Christmas Carol then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of available book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
Where did the Ghost of Christmas Past take him after leaving his old schoolhouse? (pg. 30)
What event takes place before Scrooge’s eyes in this new location? Describe some of the things that take place. (pg. 30-32)
How much did the Ghost say Fezziwig probably spent upon the event? (pg. 33)
What did the Ghost of Christmas Past take Scrooge to see next? What takes place in this scene? (pg. 34-35)
“What idol has displaced” Scrooge’s affection for the young woman? (pg. 34)
What final scene did the Ghost show Scrooge, what takes place? (pg. 36-37)
Who does the “comely matron” turn out to be? (pg. 36-37)
What did her husband say he observed about Scrooge that day? (pg. 37-38)
In what manner did Scrooge part company with the Ghost of Christmas Past? (pg. 38)
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
Dickens writes, “the floor was swept and watered, the lamps were trimmed, fuel was heaped upon the fire; and the warehouse was as snug, and warm, and dry, and bright a ball-room, as you would desire to see upon a winter’s night.” (pg. 31) Compare and contrast this with the description of Scrooge’s counting house in Stave 1, pg. 3. What do you notice?
What words or phrases does Dickens use repetitively and what effect does he intend to create by those repetitions? (pg. 31-32)
Why is Scrooge “heated by the remark” the Ghost makes about Fezziwig? (pg. 33)
Why does Scrooge want “to say a word or two” to his clerk? (pg. 33)
What caused Scrooge to change into “another man” whom his fiance cannot bear to marry? (pg. 34-35)
Dickens writes, “I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest licence of a child, and yet been man enough to know its value.” (pg. 36-37) What does he mean by this?
The text says of the Ghost of Christmas Past, “it looked upon him with a face, in which in some strange way there were fragments of all the faces it had shown him” (pg. 38). How might this help us better understand the original description given of the ghost at the beginning of the Stave?
From the time Scrooge’s heart was touched by the Spirit (pg. 25) what indications are there throughout the rest of stave 2 which suggest he is already a significantly changed man?
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
“May you be happy in the life you have chosen!” (pg. 35) says Belle. What does it mean to be happy and how should we pursue happiness? Look to examples of people in Staves 1 and 2 who appear to be truly happy. What is the difference between them and Scrooge?
If you could revisit any period of time in your past life what would it be and why?
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Compare the event, and its list of attendees, at Fezziwig’s event to Luke 14:12-24. How is Fezziwig seen to be a righteous man by his deeds?
Read Psalm 127. What does this teach us about Belle and her husband?
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Resurrection, Festivity, Joy, Happiness, Family, Love, Light vs. Darkness