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Year 10 - English

'A Christmas Carol' Stave 3: Ignorance and Want

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge's redemption

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils read and explore 'A Christmas Carol'. They start by reading the novella in full, pausing during each stave to analyse key scenes, characters, themes and methods. After reading the novella, pupils chart Scrooge's redemptive journey and craft an essay on the presentation of fear.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain the significance of the characters Ignorance and Want and how Dickens uses them to convey his message of social responsibility.

Key Notes

  • Dickens believed that the key to a moral and upstanding society, was a carefree and innocent childhood
  • The children in the novella either depend on themselves or are depended on by others and therefore are not carefree
  • Ignorance and Want represent society - they have been shaped and moulded by the cruelty and injustice of inequality
  • Dickens describes Ignorance and Want as animalistic and feral to reflect the neglect and cruelty they have faced
  • Dickens uses these two characters to highlight our moral necessity to protect children from misery and 'Want'

Vocabulary To Learn

  • Moral: Being a moral person means you understand the difference between right and wrong and do the right thing.
  • Dependent: If someone is dependent upon someone else, it means that they rely upon them.
  • To corrupt: If something has the power to corrupt someone, it has the ability to make them behave in a dishonest and immoral way.
  • To neglect: If someone is being neglected, their basic needs (like love, shelter and sustenance) are not being met.
  • Hypocrisy: Hypocrisy means claiming to have higher standard of behaviour or morals than you actually have.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Students tend to struggle to understand how Scrooge has metaphorically fathered Ignorance and Want.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Dickens believed that the key to a moral and upstanding society, was a carefree and innocent childhood. The children in the novella either depend on themselves or are depended on by others and therefore are not carefree.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Moral'

Being a moral person means you understand the difference between right and wrong and do the right thing.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Students tend to struggle to understand how Scrooge has metaphorically fathered Ignorance and Want. Correction: By being ignorant, Scrooge has neglected his social responsibility and nurtured inequality and injustice - the two children represent this.

More Lessons In This Unit

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