1. A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens

2. About the Author Charles Dickens 1812-1870 Famous author and social campaigner At 12 began working full days at a warehouse Work conditions and cruel treatment influenced Dickens’ later writings

3. Birth/ Early Life One of eight children Favorite pastime when young was reading Photographic memory of people he met and things he read Raised in a middle class family --Family debt forced young Dickens to begin working --Father placed in debtor’s prison

4. In Victorian England, poor people usually did not get much help. Even young children, sick people, and the elderly went without assistance from the government or charities.

5. As a young man, Charles Dickens witnessed a decline in the traditional celebration of Christmas in England. Because of the Industrial Revolution, many employers wouldn’t even give their employees Christmas Day off.Industrial Revolution

6. More about the author Writing Wrote most of his stories in short installments for newspapers Used cliffhangers- story pauses, leaving character in an exciting or difficult situation Paid by the page– contributes to the length of his stories

7. Important Works Great Expectations A Tale of Two Cities Oliver Twist A Christmas Carol David Copperfield Pictures from Italy A Trial for Murder

8. Death Died of a stroke after working on his last novel Edwin Drode Died exactly 5 years after being in a train accident

9. Dickens’ writings Social Commentary Disliked the division between social classes in Victorian England Felt that the poor were treated unfairly Advocate for charity

10. Victorian Christmas Traditions Many Christmas traditions celebrated today were introduced during Dickens’ time Decorating Christmas trees Christmas cards Gift giving from parents to children Traditional Christmas carols Christmas stories

11. Charles Dickens had experienced poverty as a child, and he was very concerned about the poor people of England. He raised money to help people in need by reading A Christmas Carol at charity events.

12. Scrooge’s story brought about other changes too. For example, because of the book, a home for disabled children was started a factory owner began closing his factory every Christmas and giving turkeys to of all his employees

13. Discussion Starters Dickens believed that human beings were largely responsible for society’s ills, such as poverty, hunger, and suffering. How much responsibility does each individual have to help others in need? How can one person help make the world a better place?

14. Theatre Terms Dialogue– words spoken by characters. Preceded by characters’ names in plays Dramatic monologue– speaker in play addresses a silent listener Gesture– physical movement of a character during a play Props– articles or objects that appear onstage during a play

15. More theatre terms Soliloquy– character reveals thoughts by talking aloud to himself; not meant to be heard by anyone else onstage Aside– actor speaks directly to audience; is not heard by others onstage Monologue– only one character speaks; others onstage can hear him Playwright– author of a play

16. More theatre terms Stage directions– comments given by the author to describe dialogue, setting, and action of a play Staging—position of actors on stage, backdrops, costumes, props, and lighting Blocking– movement and position of actors on stage within a scene Theme– unifying subject or idea of story Symbol– object that stands for something other than itself

17. Characterization- The act of creating and developing a character Direct Character- A writer states the characters’ traits or characteristics Indirect Character- A writer depends on the reader to draw conclusions about the character traits