A Christmas Carol- Tips

FINAL EXAMINATION TIPS
• Analyse the key words in the topic. Brainstorm synonyms to assist your use of varied expression in the essay. Make connections to major themes.
• Do not simply summarise the plot of the text. You must show the ability to analyse the events and characters.
• The content of your essay should be based on the chosen topic. Discuss the whole topic in each paragraph. Do not incur coherency problems by separating relevant ideas. Avoid including irrelevant information.
• Avoid generalisations about the characters and issues in the text. Make specific and well-supported assertions about all aspects of the text.
• Avoid repetition of examples, ideas and vocabulary. Repetition creates the impression of a limited knowledge of the text and also reflects poor planning and structure.
• Avoid including large quotes. Key quotes should be carefully selected, limited in length and linked to the topic of discussion.
• Plan the main ideas in your essay and express them in clear topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph
• Write and edit clearly in pen, not pencil. Examiners cannot assess what they cannot read.
• Ensure spelling is accurate, especially of characters’ names in order to show fundamental knowledge of the text.

A Christmas Carol is more a moral tale than a social commentary. Discuss.
In A Christmas Carol, Dickens deliberately and unapologetically comments on the society which was 19thCentury England. As his own life gives context to his commentary, Dickens discusses what he sees as the moral and social imperatives of the time. As the two are inextricably bound both are addressed in an attempt to bring about the change he argues is necessary of an empathetic and just society.
The inequity between the rich and the poor and societies ‘ignorance’ in sight of this lack of social justice is central to this novella. As readers we are not only made acutely aware of the ‘want’ of the poor , more so we are lead to believe that their plight is made far more of a hardship as a result of an uncaring and ignorant society. As the character of Tiny Tim so beautifully encapsulates, society is only as ‘civilised’ as it is willing to care for the most vulnerable of its members. As the second spectre elucidates, unless something changes in the future, Tiny Tim would not continue to live. However it is not until the ghost quotes Ebenezer’s own Malthusian words back to him that Scrooge begins to understand the wider implications of his insular existence. The “covetous old man” comes to realise through the visions that “for a man to understand his own business and not interfere with other people’s” was to tacitly approve of an unjust social order. As had been his experience as a small child in the work houses of 19th century England, Dickens speaks with conviction of the need for society to be responsible for the welfare of all in society. As an employer Scrooge had not even been responsible for the welfare of his own employees, let alone wider society, a point which Dickens ensures is not lost on the reader. However he is sure not descend too heavily into moralising at the risk of marginalising his audience; instead striving to balance his moral missives with equally potent silences. Though the three previous visions speak to Scrooge, the final ghost’s silence leaves the reader to make his own condemnatory conclusions. This balance between a didactic tone and some more subtle implications strike a clever balance in the novella between moralising and allowing the reader to draw his own conclusions about the society of the time.
It is undoubtedly the allegorical nature of the plot which gives the novella gravitas. ….