Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol

Name: ___________________________________ Date: __________________

STAVE 1: Interpreting Text Language and Vocabulary Ms. Brown Grade 7

Interpreting text language

Marley’s Punishments
DIRECTIONS: We learn about how Marley – and his ghostly companions –
are being punished for their earthly crimes through three methods of
characterization: SPEECH and LOOKS (Marley’s verbal explanation to
Scrooge and his physical appearance) and ACTIONS (what the ghosts
outside Scrooge’s window are doing). On the chart below, interpret the
given text language into your own words to identify the multi-faceted
punishment. An example is provided. When finished, read the provided
excerpt on the back of this worksheet and answer the two questions.

TEXT EVIDENCE INTERPRETATION IN YOUR OWN WORDS

1. “‘Incessant torture of remorse’” (23).

“‘[Traveling] the whole time,’ said the Ghost. ‘No

rest, no peace’” (23).

“The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither

2.
and thither in restless haste” (26).

“I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot linger

anywhere…weary journeys lie before me!" (22)

“The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It
was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was
made...of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds,
3. and heavy purses wrought in steel” (18).
“Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost;
some few (they might be guilty governments) were
linked together; none were free” (26).
The ghosts must carry heavy chains made of steel. The
chains wrap around their entire body and are locked in
place. The items that hang from the chain are steel, too,
and symbolize the specific crimes that the ghost
committed when alive.

“…one old ghost in a white waistcoat…who cried

piteously at being unable to assist a wretched
woman with an infant, whom it saw below upon a
4.
doorstep. The misery with them all was, clearly, that
they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters,
and had lost the power forever” (26).
 Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol

“‘But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,’ faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to
himself.

‘Business!’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my
business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were
but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!’

It held up its chain at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief, and flung it heavily upon
the ground again.

‘At this time of the rolling year,’ the spectre said, ‘I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-
beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor
abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?’” (p. 23-24).

DIRECTIONS: Use the provided excerpt from A Christmas Carol provided above to answer the following questions.

Why is Marley being punished? What does Scrooge mean when he says Jacob was a “good man of business”?
What do the items on Marley’s chain symbolize?

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ARE THESE PUNISHMENTS EFFECTIVE? Write in I.C.E. format with a DIRECT QUOTE from the above passage.

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