Activities
1) “When Scrooge awoke, it was so dark, that looking out of bed, he could scarcely distinguish the transparent window from the opaque walls of his chamber. He was endeavouring to pierce the darkness with his ferret eyes, when the chimes of a neighbouring church struck the four quarters. So he listened for the hour”.
This is how the chapter 2 begins. Find at least three different words to define the feelings you can link to the scene and write the exact sentences which suggest them to you.
2) Write in the right chronological sequence the events the Ghost makes Mr. Scrooge see and observe:
PAST
PRESENT
FUTURE
3) What feelings do Mr. Scrooge’s travelling through time rise in him
(E.g.: Piety, resentment, sadness, anger, repentance...)?
Link them to the episode they apply to.
4) “Spirit!'' said Scrooge, ``show me no more! Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me?''
Why is Scrooge feeling tortured by the Spirit?
Explain what makes him suffer, here, in your own words.
5) According to what you have learnt about Scrooge’s past, what important elements are lacking from his present life?
6) "What would I not have given to one of them! Though I never could have been so rude, no, no! I wouldn't for the wealth of all the world have crushed that braided hair, and torn it down; and for the precious little shoe, I wouldn't have plucked it off, God bless my soul! to save my life.
As to measuring her waist in sport, as they did, bold young brood, I couldn't have done it; I should have expected my arm to have grown round it for a punishment, and never come straight again.
And yet I should have dearly liked, I own, to have touched her lips; to have questioned her, that she might have opened them; to have looked upon the lashes of her downcast eyes, and never raised a blush; to have let loose waves of hair, an inch of which would be a keepsake beyond price: in short, I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest licence of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value".
What kind of feeling is predominant in this passage? Who is he missing, here?
Try to explain the meaning of the sentence: “I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest licence of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value”.
7) Love is one of the missed opportunities in the character’s life. Say when and how he rejected affection and suggest why.
8) Write a short-story and tell what would happen if a Ghost like the one in C. Dicken’s novel showed up and brought you with him to see your past, present (and future).
