Posted in A Christmas Carol
It’s the sixth day, and we're into the third stave. What a great book so far! I apologize if I post the discussions a little late; I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed with midterms and stuff, but I will still keep this going as best I can.
Discussion Notes
The thing that struck me about this reading is how happy the Cratchits were even though they had so little. The children were forced to work to supply for the family. And not only the Cratchits, but also the peasants and the sailors, and even Scrooge's young nephew. None of them had wealth, yet they were all content, full of joy and Christmas spirit.
Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but wickedness overthrows the sinner. There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. ~ Proverbs 13:6-7
Scrooge made himself rich, but in that, he lost all of the things that were important in life. The Cratchits could certainly have been called poor, but they were happy because they had love in their lives.
Discussion Questions
1. Both at the Cratchit house and at Scrooge's nephew's, when Scrooge's name was mentioned, it cast a shadow on their former happiness. How do you think this affected him when he saw it?
2. What significance did the children Ignorance and Want have?
3. How have Scrooge's eyes opened to his own sinfulness? How has he changed so far? What about him is different than he was before?
Sorry the discussion for today is so short! Tomorrow begins my Christmas break, so I will have more time to update the blog. Make sure to read Stave IV: "The Last of the Spirits," and come back for discussion on Thursday.
Regards,
Sylvia
Dec. 18, 2007 - Untitled Comment
I forgot to answer the question yesterday about which Dickens books I've read already--The Pickwick Papers, A Tale of Two Cities, Nicholas Nickleby, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, David Copperfield, Martin Chuzzlewit, Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, and a couple of his other short Christmas stories. Looking at them, I've actually not read some of his most famous ones (Oliver Twist and Great Expectations). I do like Dickens a lot, though, which is somewhat surprising, as I can be a very lazy reader, and Dickens always takes concentration (for me, at least).
1. The book didn't really give any hint as to how Scrooge felt about this, but I would imagine that it couldn't have been a happy feeling. It's never pleasant to find out that you aren't liked by someone. Especially since Scrooge was starting to soften up to them all, and probably cared more about their opinion of him now than he had formerly.
2. Haha, good question. I'm actually a little puzzled about how they relate to the story. Sometimes Dickens can be a little muddy to me. Anybody else have some ideas on this?
3. One thing that was really a mark of change in Scrooge (to me) was that when he met the Ghost of Christmas Present, he was prepared to learn. He said, "To-night, if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it." That was a dramatic change from the way he was before. In addition, I found it quite humorous how involved he got in the games at his nephew's house. That was a big change. And how much he cared about Tiny Tim.
Okay, this is kind of silly, but was anyone else annoyed at the way Scrooge's nephew was making fun of him behind his back? Granted, maybe Scrooge deserves it. But since Scrooge's nephew is supposed to be the good guy, and since he claims good will towards Scrooge, it just rubs me the complete wrong way that he made a huge joke out of him.
My favorite scene had to be at the Cratchit's house. Dickens always describes things in a way that sort of melts my heart and make me want to giggle at the same time. I love this sentence: "the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard upon their posts, crammed spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped." So funny!
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