it's officially 30 days until the start of the first gcsc exam and if you're in 11 time is something that's quite precious to you at the moment so what I wanted to do guys was to literally give you a bite-sized video of everything you need to know when it comes to Christmas Carol if you're setting this as part of your set text for the English literature paper one exam okay so this video what I wanted to do was to offer literally everything you need to know when it comes to context theme and key Cod for the main characters within this noela by Charles Dickens so as you can see behind me basically I've created a mind map of sorts okay so it's kind of like a little bit of an elaborate mind map where I basically outline the main context points to REM remember okay so if you forget everything else when it comes to context and this is really important for AO3 literally just remember these main points and you're fine and you're covered for context of course also what you need to remember if you forget everything when it comes to themes these are the main themes to remember and of of course when it comes to the main characters including Scrooge Bob cratchet as well as the three ghosts ghost is Christmas past present and future the main quotations to memorize for all of these characters now guys I actually created um this and put this into like a little PDF file so guys if you want to download this and have this a copy of this just literally follow the link below and you can download it for free okay however what I want to do guys is to literally Begin by going over the definitive context you need to know for Christmas Carol themes as well as the main quotations that you can talk about and then what I'm going to do is to go through a model answer that I've prepared for the 2020 paper so let's begin with context these are the main four context points to be aware of when it comes to Christmas Carol firstly remember that Dickens his own father went to a detis prison when he was just 12 years old and as a result of going to des's prison he had to be put to work at 12 years old okay so Dickens was writing about for example the children ignorance and want from a place of experience okay that's the first contextual factor to be aware of Dickens actually wasn't writing about all of these kids who worked as chimney sweepers and so on and of course in Christmas Carol ignorance and what he wasn't talking about it from a place of just ideas he directly experienced what it was like to have to be put to work at a young age okay because his dad went to aa's prison so he had to work for a bit when he was 12 years old in order to try and provide for the family that's the first context point you need to remember and to understand hence Dickens really empathized with the poor the second context point to remember is of course the 1834 new poor law it was basically a law that was passed which basically stated that if you're poor and you're unable to look after yourself the government can help you as long as you were willing to work for free in a workhouse which is going to provide your accommodation and the accommodation that workhouses telling to provide was basically the cold Factory floor okay this obviously this poor law was seen by Dickens as actually punishing the poor for their position and he was very very critical of it of course this poor law is alluded to and referred to by scruin who says that there no prisons and there no workhouses okay this is showing obviously how insensitive he was the third context point is to remember is to do with a guy called Thomas malus Thomas malus basically came up with a fairly harsh Theory what he said is overpopulation is one of the reasons why there's lots of poverty in Victorian England and you know there's just a problem of poverty there's just way too many of us and actually things like disease mics and so on are actually quite good because they kill off quite a number of us and reduce overpopulation now Dickens when he read this theory was very very critical of it he saw it firstly as very insensitive it's almost like saying that the poor deserve to die because of um there being too many of them and of course it also takes the pressure away from the government to do something to help the poor okay so Dickens again talks about this and alludes to this when uh Scrooge refers to the Surplus population the better diet and reduce the Surplus population it's a reference to Thomas malus who Dickens was quite critical of the fourth context point to remember if you forget every other context point is to do of course with the Industrial Revolution Dickens is a Victorian writer he was there at the height of the Industrial Revolution whilst obviously it brought lots of progress when it came to factories and so on Dickens was also highly critical of the fact that the Industrial Revolution created an even worse social divide okay so the divisions between the very few Factory owners who became quite Rich versus the poor on Whose backs the Industrial Revolution was built was something that Dickens was quite critical of those are the main context points if you forget everything to do with context if you're not sure you know you look at an extract and you're like I literally do not remember everything I've got a blank just remember these four context points and you are good for the upcoming English literature paper one exam now let's talk about themes the main themes that you need to be aware of starting with Christmas now remember Dickens was writing for FY a very religious audience okay people were quite religious at this time and he wanted to use A Christmas Carol as a noela to remind them firstly of the importance of Christmas Christmas was a time of being charitable and giving remember God gave his only son Jesus okay who was born on Christmas day but also so Not only was it a reminder to his readers that they need to be giving of course it's also a reminder of the importance of spending Christmas time with the family and the loved ones that's the first theme to remember and to obviously talk about if relevant to the question the second theme to bear in mind is of course the theme of redemption dickons didn't want to use Scrooge to just scare his readers and say oh look at you know how terrible he is all the bad Deeds he's done he now deserves to go to hell actually Dickens wanted to use this story as a really positive story in the sense that it has a positive outcome if you genuinely change remember Redemption is the idea of forgiveness if you show that you're genuinely Sorry God gives you a second chance as did the ghosts who gave Scrooge a second chance okay as long as rich people Factory owners business people change their ways they're kind of to poor people that pay the workers more fairly actually they are capable of redemption that's the main thing that Dickens was trying to illustrate through Christmas Carol the third theme to remember and to be aware of is of course the theme of Charity the whole story is based on charity and the importance of giving to the poor one of the things that Dickens wanted to do was to encourage his Rich readers remember at this time the people who tended in Victorian era to have the time and you know the Leisure to read dickens' stuff wasn't working class people who are busy working he was writing usually for an upper class Rich reader who was somebody of leisure therefore he was writing to remind them of the importance of giving charitably to the poor of being generous of paying them higher wages that's the next third theme to remember the fourth theme is of course to do with social injustice this novel criticizes the very massive gaps in Victorian England between the few Rich who were like Scrooge Who were very comfortable but also a little bit misily they weren't paying the workers fairly versus the vast majority of poor people now Dickens not only did he want to criticize his Rich readers and obviously Rich um businessmen and so on but also Dickens was quite critical of the government okay because the government basically passed laws such as the 1834 new poor law as a way of protecting the rich rather than looking after the poor okay so of course he was also quite critical of the government in terms of helping out the rich and widening this Gap okay poor people were not really looked up after they weren't re helped if anything they were just sent to prisons or workhouses whilst the rich were protected by the government Dickens was both trying to trigger his wealthy readers to change but also he was criticizing how the government was in its approach towards the poor the fifth and final theme to be aware of if you forget everything else is of course the theme of family and this is most clearly Illustrated through Scrooge and Fred okay so Fred illustrates the importance of family family offers you a source of support it's also a source of strength through hardships okay and Scrooge unlike all the other characters who have families within this novel such as Fred and his family Belle and her family as well as Bob cratchet and his family Scrooge is actually very isolated okay so also Dickens wants to use this novel as a way to illustrate the importance of family in providing us comfort in providing us companionship and also Solace a place to you know go to in times of hardship this is something that Scrooge neglected and ultimately he was isolated as a result now let's look at the main quotations if you literally forget everything else with key characters these are the main quotations to just commit to memory and remember let's start off with obviously the first main character which is Scrooge of course the simile solitary as an oyster encapsulates Scrooge's a character it captures this essence of what Scrooge is like at the beginning of the novel he's quite solitary he's totally cut off and also his greed only makes him more miserable if anything Dickens is is trying to show that when he became more charitable he was also around other people people loved him and he was less solitary that's the first quotation to remember and it's a simile the second of course is when he says b humbug okay when he's basically saying oh what rubbish again what we can see here is he disdains Christmas and of course this changes the third quotation is when he's directly alluding to the new poor laws are there no prisons dot dot dot workhouses if you wanted to say you know you can add are there no prisons rhetorical question one are there no workhouses so it's two rhetorical questions and of course what this illustrates is how Scrooge at first is very very um uncharitable he's very harsh towards the poor he's quite mly quite greedy and he almost sees the poor as inhuman okay they are you know good enough to be thrown into prisons and workhouses and he doesn't see them as deserving of his charity of course he changes because this is Illustrated when he gradually realizes when he's taken to see fezziwig's old boss and the Ghost of Christmas Past mocks the party that Fe wig through for all of them and especially Scrooge as an apprentice and Scrooge says what do you mean you know it's a small matter what fzy wig did he did such a positive thing for us and he had the power to make us happy or unhappy now Scrooge is speaking here using oxy opposite words and what he's basically saying is employers businessmen just like him have the power to really change the lives of their workers okay and it's up to them with what they're going to do with this power okay and of course what this novel is trying to illustrate to Dickens readers is that they need to think about this immense power that they have especially if they have employees in making their lives easier or harder the final quotation which obviously illustrates um Scrooge first he being offered a chance at Redemption at redeeming himself okay so the Ghost of Christmas um Yet to Come basically gives him yet another chance so we can see he's forgiven and given a chance at Redemption and of course he genuinely changes is when he says I will live in the past dot do dot present do do dot Future Okay so past present and future this is Rule of three here we can see that Scrooge has completely transformed he's changed and how he has changed is what Dickens wishes his wealthy readers would transform into okay so those are the main quotations to remember with Scrooge as well as the um techniques that go with them the second key character of course is Bob cratchet he is a symbol of the poor okay now in terms of Bob cratchet these are the three main quotations to remember if you forget everything to do with Bob cratchet or other poor characters mentioned in this okay the first quotation is when we learn how he's described right how withdrawn he is initially when we see him in scro's office we learn the clerk's fire was so very much smaller so now here we can see this comparative adjective smaller as well as of course the noun fire what does this illustrate what this illustrates is how misly how mean Scrooge was but equally how Bob cratch it like most poor people are very accustomed to being mistreated by their employers okay it symbolizes how lots of workingclass poor people in Victorian England were really accustomed that were used to be mistreated by their work by their employers the second quotation which is related to Bob crater's character is during the Christmas meal we can see that he's still really really happy with the little his wife is able to cook for them but um the narrator Dickens still admits it was a small pudding for a large family now what you want to emphasize here is the oxymoron small and Lodge it's illustrating how Scrooge under pain Bob cratchet led him to not be able ble to provide very well for his family they had such a small Christmas meal but then on the other hand even if they didn't have a great life they were still very happy because they were together as a unified family the final creation that illustrates Bob crater's character is of course when Tiny Tim dies and Bater is crying out my little little child which is an exclamatory sentence as well as the repetition of little here we can see the direct consequences the direct impact of Scrooge's behavior on the workingclass poor he has directly led to the death of Bob ket's own son now the other key character of course is the Ghost of Christmas Past so of course it starts with past present and future all right so let's have a look at the G of Christmas Past the first quotation is how he appears okay he seems like a child dot dot dot like an old man this simile which ju supposes how the ghost both looks like a child and an old man is really powerful because what this is illustrating is a symbolizing the child aspect is symbolizing the spirit taking Scrooge back to when he was a child a k to remind him of his childhood and his innocence and of course the old man symbolizes Scrooge in his current state as an older adult who's quite bitter and also whose innocence has been robbed through his greed and his selfishness the second quotation for Ghost of Christmas Past is when the ghost sarcastically States um when he's talking about fezziwig's party a small matter dot dot dot to make these silly folks so full of gratitude so of course the ghost is um making fun of feck's party saying oh it's not really a big deal but of course Scrooge says no it's a massive deal fezziwig has the power to render us happy or unhappy of course what the ghost is doing is he's transforming Scrooge he's making Scrooge realize the power he had to make Bob cratches life easier the final quotation for the Ghost of Christmas Past is when he when we learn once Scrooge is starting to absorb the lesson this is towards the end of that Stave okay the ghost its light was burning Ellipsis bright and here we've got a literation of the plosives B we can see here that the spirit is starting to see that Scrooge is transforming he's start to internalize how he should change those are the quotations for the Ghost of Christmas Past now with the Ghost of Christmas present the first quotation is how he's described as a jolly giant okay Jolly which is an adjective actually contrasts our expectations as readers usually when we think about ghosts we think about them as being these scary evil malevolent forces but actually this ghost is almost a little bit like Santa Claus okay the other quotation is of course when he presents the two children to Scrooge and these children symbolize the impact of poverty on Young young children okay young people the future generation it robs them of their innocence and this is Illustrated through this list yellow Mega ragged okay yellow Mega ragged scowling wolfish if you wanted to also add those extra adjectives now what this listing is emphasizing is how people like Scrooge and Rich readers actually caused the young children okay so the children of the people they employed to suffer their innocence was robbed they looked really unnatural okay and it was all down to people like Scrooge the final quotation for G of Christmas present is this boy's ignorance this girl is want remember ignorance is used to represent children who uh never go and get an education right they remain ignorant they don't get an education because they don't get an education they can't get jobs and they tend to turn to crime in order to fund their Lifestyles and that's why um The Ghost says beware most of this child okay because they're going to be a menace to society they're going to be a menace to people like Scrooge the other of course um symbol of the girl being want want just means lack of right wanting B basic necessities like clothing and not wearing Rags okay a lot of these children were ragged children that's why they even went to ragged schools okay cuz they're literally wore Rags uh wanting just basic um housing and so on okay so the girl symbolizes just children who lacked just the bare minimum The Bare Basics and the best Necessities the final quotations and the final set of quotes to remember is of course to do with the Ghost of Christmas future he's the most Sinister Ghost and the first quotation relates to how he is dressed in a deep black garment the adjective black black emphasizes this um Sinister appearance but also it foreshadows the death of Scrooge remember the color black is related to coffins and death okay and of course its appearance foreshadow Scrooge's eventual death when he sees his gravestone the second quotation is how the Phantom pointed alliteration of P here illustrates that it's unyielding it's pointing and almost showing Scrooge that your fate is set you're going to become like Jacob Marley however the final quotation which illustrates that the spirit decides to forgive him and gives another chance is when we learn the kind hand trembled and of course kind which is an adjective illustrates that the ghost believe Scrooge can be redeemed he can be forgiven so he forgives him and gives him another chance so as I mentioned if you literally forget everything else just remember this and you're absolutely fine when it comes to the upcoming exams and as I mentioned you can literally download all of this in the link below now what I'm now going to do is show you a model response for the 2020 exam okay so I'm going to walk you through guys um how I answer this exam paper