by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens's timeless morality tale follows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge through ghostly visions of past, present, and future that transform his cold heart, rich in Victorian imagery.
adv. in a way that shows intense emotion or enthusiasm.
He prayed fervently that the shadows of what might be were not fixed, but still open to change.
adj. relating to a ghost or spirit.
The apparitional figure drifted through the locked door, its ghostly chains dragging across the cold stone floor.
adj. greedy for riches
Marley warned that his avaricious life had forged every link of the chain he was condemned to carry.
adj. noisy energetic and cheerful.
The boisterous laughter of Scrooge's nephew filled the parlour, warming every guest who had doubted the invitation.
adj. showing sympathy and concern for others.
The transformed Scrooge became so compassionate that he raised Bob's salary before the man had removed his hat.
adj. lacking basic necessities like food and shelter.
The spirit showed Scrooge families left destitute by cold and hunger while he counted coins by candlelight.
adv. in a way that shows kindness and willingness to give.
On Christmas morning Scrooge gave so generously that the prize turkey barely fit through the Cratchit's narrow door.
adj. very upsetting or distressing to experience.
The harrowing vision of Tiny Tim's empty chair struck Scrooge more deeply than any ghost's cold warning.
v. to light up or make clear.
The Ghost of Christmas Present seemed to illuminate every wretched alley with the warmth of his glowing torch.
n. a deep feeling of sadness or sorrow.
The spirit revealed a melancholy boy left alone at school while other children rushed home for the holidays.
adv. a greedy stingy person who lives in a poor way in order to save money.
Scrooge was so miserly that he kept his office fire reduced to a single smouldering coal all winter.
adv. in a way that suggests something bad will happen.
The chains rattled ominously in the hallway long before Marley's translucent form passed through the bolted door.
adj. feeling or showing sorrow for wrongdoing.
He fell to his knees, wholly penitent, and promised the phantom he would honour Christmas all the year.
v. changed in form or appearance.
By dawn Scrooge was utterly transformed, laughing at the frost on his window as though greeting an old friend.
adj. shaking or quivering from fear or excitement.
Scrooge lay trembling beneath his bedclothes, dreading the arrival of the second spirit as the bell struck one.
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