A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Week 3: Stave II — The First of the Three Spirits
Read Stave II ('The First of the Three Spirits') of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Previewing Week 3 of A Christmas Carol
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 7-week guide when you’re ready.
The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge not to comfortable memories but to the ones that cost him most — the boy alone at school, the fiancée who released him, the life he did not live. Notice what makes Scrooge weep and what makes him angry.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.The Ghost of Christmas Past is described paradoxically: 'like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man,' with white hair yet a face without a wrinkle, and a jet of light springing from its head that it sometimes covers with an extinguisher-cap. What might Dickens intend by making the spirit of memory look both ancient and young at once?
2.When Scrooge sees his childhood self alone at school, he 'sobbed.' Then, noticing the boy-singer he had frightened away the night before, he says quietly, 'I should like to have given him something: that's all.' This is the first flicker of empathy in Scrooge.
a.Why does seeing his own lonely past produce empathy for a present stranger?
b.Have you ever had an experience of your own pain opening your eyes to someone else's?
3.Old Fezziwig spends 'but a few pounds of mortal money' on the Christmas party, and yet his apprentices are overflowing with gratitude. When the Ghost points this out, Scrooge defends Fezziwig without realizing he is indicting himself: 'He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome... The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.' What is the difference between Fezziwig's kind of leadership and Scrooge's? Which one requires more — money or something else?