A Christmas Carol: Plot Summary (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Plot Summary

One of the most vital and helpful things you can do in preparation for the exam is to ‘know’ the plot of A Christmas Carol thoroughly. Once you know the text well, you should be comfortable and familiar with key events that you can then link to larger ideas. Having an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the text will help you to gain confidence to find the most relevant references to support your response.

Overview

A Christmas Carol is a  novella composed of five  staves and is set in mid-19th Century England, in the city of London. 

The novella opens with a declaration that a man called Jacob Marley is dead. It is Christmas Eve and Ebeneezer Scrooge, a money-lender, is at work. Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, arrives and invites his uncle to Christmas dinner but the invitation is declined. Scrooge also refuses a request to donate to a charity.

Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Marley. He warns Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits over the next three nights. Marley disappears into the night and Scrooge falls into a deep sleep. Scrooge awakens and is confronted by the Ghost of Christmas Past. The spirit accompanies Scrooge into the past, where Scrooge is forced to witness several events. Failing to extinguish the light of the spirit, he returns to his bedroom and falls into a deep sleep.

Scrooge is next visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present. The spirit takes Scrooge to the house of Bob Cratchit. Bob arrives with their youngest son, Tiny Tim, who is in poor health. The spirit states that Tiny Tim will die if nothing occurs to alter his future. Upon Bob’s insistence, the family drinks a toast to Scrooge. They both depart and the spirit takes Scrooge to several places where people are revelling  in the festive season. They arrive at Fred’s house where the guests are playing a game; after which they all raise a toast to Scrooge. Scrooge and the spirit depart and they visit homes, hospitals and jails. Two starving children emerge from under the spirit’s cloak. When the clock strikes midnight, the spirit disappears. 

Scrooge is confronted by another spirit: the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The spirit takes Scrooge through various scenes associated with the death of an unnamed man. They both journey to the Cratchit’s house, where Tiny Tim has died. Scrooge is taken to a graveyard where he is shown a tomb with his name written upon it. Scrooge pleads with the spirit for a chance to alter his future. The spirit disappears.

Elated  that he has been given a chance to redeem himself, Scrooge promises to change for the better. Upon realising it is Christmas Day, he sends a turkey to the Cratchits, gives money to charity and attends Fred’s Christmas dinner. The next morning, Scrooge informs Bob that he will assist his family. Scrooge has been transformed into a good man and the novella ends with Tiny Tim’s call for God to bless everyone.

Stave I

• The opening lines declare that a man called Jacob Marley is dead

• Marley had been a former business partner and only friend of Ebenezer Scrooge

• The scene shifts to Scrooge in his counting house  on Christmas Eve

• Scrooge refuses to spend money to sufficiently heat the building and his clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in an adjacent room

• Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, arrives and invites his uncle to Christmas dinner but Scrooge responds "Bah! Humbug!" and declines the invitation

• Disappointed, Fred departs and two gentlemen arrive seeking a contribution to their charity 

• Scrooge refuses and declares that the poor can seek shelter in the workhouse or prison

• Later that evening, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley

• Marley informs Scrooge that he has been condemned to wander the Earth, weighed down by heavy chains, due to his selfish deeds 

• He warns Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits over the next three nights

• Marley disappears into the night and Scrooge falls into a deep sleep

Stave II

• Scrooge awakens in the darkness and a clock chimes 

• A spirit appears (the Ghost of Christmas Past) described as a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head

• The spirit takes Scrooge’s hand and they fly through the air 

• The spirit shows several visions from Scrooge’s past:

  • His school days as a child

  • His going home for Christmas with his sister, Fan

  • His apprenticeship with an employer called Fezziwig

  • His engagement to a young woman called Belle

• Scrooge becomes distraught by the visions and implores the spirit to take him home

• The spirit brings Scrooge to Belle’s home where her husband informs her that Marley is dying and Scrooge will be alone in the world

• Incensed by these visions, Scrooge attempts to extinguish the spirit’s light but fails 

• He returns to his bed and falls into a deep sleep

Stave III

• Scrooge awakens, the clock chimes and a voice beckons him into the next room

• He is confronted by another spirit in a green robe: it is the Ghost of Christmas Present

• The spirit brings Scrooge into the London streets and to the house of Bob Cratchit, where Bob’s wife and several of their children are preparing Christmas dinner

• Bob arrives with their youngest son, Tiny Tim, who is evidently in poor health

• Perturbed by Tiny Tim’s appearance, Scrooge inquires if the boy will live

• The spirit responds that Tiny Tim will die if nothing occurs to alter his future

• Upon Bob’s insistence, the rest of the family reluctantly drinks a toast to Scrooge

• The spirit brings Scrooge to numerous places where people are revelling in the festive season

• They arrive at Fred’s house where the guests are playing a game and they raise a toast to Scrooge

• Scrooge and the spirit depart and visit other homes, hospitals and jails

• As Scrooge observes the spirit beginning to age, two starving children emerge from under its cloak

• When the clock strikes midnight, the spirit disappears and a  solemn figure moves toward him

Stave IV

• Scrooge is confronted by another spirit: the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

• Despite some trepidation , Scrooge agrees to follow the spirit 

• The spirit shows Scrooge various scenes related to the death of an unnamed man:

  • He hears city merchants  conversing , unpleasantly, about the man

  • He witnesses the man’s belongings being sent to a rag-and-bone shop

  • He sees the corpse of the man lying on a bed under a sheet

• Scrooge demands that the spirit show him someone who has feelings about the man’s death

• They journey to a house where a couple is rejoicing about the man’s death, as they owed him a debt

• Scrooge demands that the spirit shows him an example of people displaying sensitivity towards someone else’s death

• He is taken to the Cratchit’s house, who are grieving the death of Tiny Tim 

• Scrooge demands to know the identity of the dead man and is taken to a graveyard, where he sees a tomb with his name written upon it

• Scrooge pleads with the spirit for an opportunity to change his future but the spirit vanishes

Stave V

• Scrooge is elated as he realises he has been given the chance of  redemption

• Upon finding out it is Christmas Day, he orders an enormous turkey and sends it to the Cratchits’ house

• He dresses in all of his fineries and walks amongst the streets, acknowledging everyone with a smile and a Christmas wish 

• He sees the gentleman who had previously requested a charitable donation from him and gives him a large amount of money

• Scrooge visits Fred’s house for Christmas dinner and he has a joyous evening

• The next morning, Scrooge returns to his counting-house and offers to raise Bob’s salary and to help his struggling family

• Scrooge changes his ways and becomes a second father to Tiny Tim, who does not die

• The novella ends with Tiny Tim’s expression for God to bless everyone.