Good morning.

My name is Ms. Halladay, and I'll be taking you through today's lesson as your teacher.

Thank you so much for joining me.

It's lovely to have so many of you here.

And let's get started with today's lesson.

So, today's lesson is called Stave 1: Meeting with Marley's Ghost.

And today's the third lesson in our "Christmas Carol" Scrooge's Redemption Unit, where we're going to be looking specifically at the character of Marley's ghost and how Dickens characterises him.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the significance of Marley's ghost.

But first, here are some key words that you'll need in order to unlock today's learning.

We've got penance, remorse, to culminate, social responsibility, and catalyst.

I'm going to put the definitions of these keywords up on the board, so if you feel that you'd like a little longer to read and digest them, please feel free to pause the video and do so at your own pace.

And here's today's lesson outline.

We're going to start off by actually meeting Marley's ghost by reading part two of stave one.

We're then going to start looking at Marley's ghost and the idea of penance.

So, let's get ahead and meet him then with reading stave one, part two.

But first, a quick discussion and some recap.

I'd like to know what you remember about Marley.

So, I'd like you to discuss who is Marley, and what do we know about him? What impression of Marley did we get in the very beginning of the novella? And finally, what do you think Marley's ghost might say to Scrooge? Okay, 'cause he's going to deliver him a little bit of a message in this part of the text.

So, I'm gonna invite his pause video now while you have those conversations.

Fantastic recall there.

Really well done.

I'm so impressed by how much you can already remember about Marley.

So, let's just recap and make sure we're all on the same page before we move forward.

Firstly, Marley is Scrooge's deceased business partner and his only friend.

We were told that Marley didn't have any other friends other than Scrooge, because Scrooge, if you remember, was his sole mourner, sole (indistinct), et cetera.

And this gave the impression that he might have been unpleasant and isolated, much like Scrooge.

In terms of what he might say to Scrooge, well, he might be giving Scrooge a message about how to live his life.

Okay, so let's get into the reading, and see exactly what he has to say to Scrooge now.

I am going to read the first section of the text together, and I'm going to ask you some questions along the way.

So, let's get started.

"The same face: the very same.

Marley in his pigtail, usual waistcoat, tights and boots; the tassels on the ladder bristling, like his pigtail, and his coat skirts, and the hair upon his head.

The chain he drew was clasped about his middle.

It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made, for Scrooge observed it closely, of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel.

His body was transparent; so that Scrooge, observing him, and looking through his waistcoat, could see the two buttons on his coat behind.

Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he had never believed it until now." So, let's do a quick check for understanding.

Which of the following does Marley's ghost not have attached to him? Is it, A.

cash boxes, B.

jewellery, C.

chains, or D.

padlocks.

And I'm gonna give you a few moments to pause the video while you write your answer down.

Fantastic, you are right.

It is jewellery! Okay, Marley's ghost attached to this chain has loads of cash boxes, chains, padlocks, but there was no mention of jewellery.

So, well done if you got that correct.

Now, before we answer some questions based on what we've just read, I'd like to clarify a few pieces of vocabulary.

So, first of all, you might have been wondering what ledger is.

Well, it's a book of financial accounts.

You also might have not known what deeds were, okay? But these are the documents which show ownership of land and property.

So, now that we know that, I'd like you to discuss, what might the chains Marley's ghost is wearing symbolise? And I'm gonna invite you to pause the video while you have those discussions and before we share some ideas.

Some great discussions there.

Now, in terms of what the chains might symbolise, we know that Marley, like Scrooge, was a very kind of unpleasant and isolated character.

And these chains are actually symbolic of all of the sins that Marley committed in life, okay? So, every single thing that is attached to him on this chain, so the cash boxes, the keys, the padlocks, they are symbolic of the many sins that he has committed during his lifetime.

They are also symbolic of the type of sins that he's committed, okay? Now, Marley was a character who, like Scrooge, very much values money over human connection, okay? And the fact that he is weighed down with all of these symbols of greed and avarice, like deeds, like ledgers, like the cash boxes, they all illustrate kind the fact that he prioritised financial gain and the pursuit of wealth over being a kind, generous, and charitable person.

So here, he is literally suffering the consequences of his actions in life, okay? They are literally weighing him down, okay? And they are symbolic of his guilt and the sins that he has committed here.

So, well done if you got that in your discussions.

So, let's carry on reading.

"No, nor did he believe it even now.

Though he looked the phantom through and through, and saw it standing before him, though he felt the chilling influence of its death-cold eyes; and marked the very texture of the folded kerchief bound about its head and chin; which wrapper he had not observed before; he was still incredulous, and fought against his senses.

'How now!' said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever.

'What do you want with me?' 'Much!' Marley's voice, no doubt about it.

'Who are you?' 'Ask me who I was.

'" What I'd like you to do now is discuss the following questions.

So, how does Scrooge respond to Marley's ghost? And why does Dickens use the word "was" in "Ask me who I was" instead of am? What might he be trying to show here? So again, I'm gonna invite you to pause the video while you have those discussions now.

So, first of all, Scrooge's initial reaction is that of surprise, okay? And I don't think that we're particularly surprised by the fact that he's feeling so surprised and incredulous, because it's not every day that your old friend walks up to your house in ghost form, is it? So, we can understand that Scrooge feels quite taken aback and can't believe what he's seeing.

His response then turns to kind of hostility.

And he's like why are you here, okay? He says, "What do you want with me?" Okay, so it's almost like even though he's seen his friend for the first time, and yes, he's in ghost form, except that, so it might not be the same, but even though he is seen his friend for the first time in seven years, his response is so cold and quite aggressive, to be honest.

Why does Dickens use the word "was" in that "Ask me who I was?" I think that's really significant, okay? I think it's significant for these reasons.

So, first of all, it's clear that Scrooge knows who Marley is, okay? Even though he asks him who are you? What he means is like, what has happened to you? And why are you here? Marley says, "Well, don't worry about that.

You need to ask me about my life," okay? Because what Marley's going to teach Scrooge is about all the mistakes that he made in his life.

And the reason that Dickens chooses to use the word was here is because these are actually two very different characters.

Marley in life and Marley's ghost have completely different moral values, as we will see, okay? Marley in life was selfish, miserable, and uncharitable.

Marley's ghost, however, is currently serving a sentence of punishment for his behaviour in life.

And he is come to the realisation that the way that he behaved when he was alive was unacceptable, immoral, and selfish.

Okay, so Dickens uses that word was to show a really clear distinction between these two characters and to illustrate that Marley's attitudes have really changed since he has been punished for his actions in life.

Dickens is so, so clearly illustrating that these are two different characters almost.

Even though they're versions of Marley, they have completely different values and morals, okay? And that's really important for us to understand.

So, that's why he's making that distinction so early on here.

So, in a minute I'm going to release you to go and do your independent reading, but I just wanted to remind you that you should be interactively reading, okay? Using the following strategies.

So, I'm just gonna leave that up there for you to digest for five seconds or so, so that you can remember what you're supposed to be doing in order to make your life as easy as possible when we get to the end of the novella.

And we're then wanting to come back and analyse the beginning.

Okay, so as I said, I'm now gonna hand over to you guys, and I'm gonna encourage you to read the rest of stave one all the way to the end.

So, you're gonna read from "Ask me who I was" to "and fell asleep upon the instant." Now as you are reading, I'd like you to be pausing and discussing the following questions.

How does Scrooge initially react to Marley's ghost? Okay, we've kind of answered that, but I'd like you to keep it in mind moving forward.

What fate lies in store for Scrooge according to Marley's ghost? What are Marley's ghost's regrets? Who will visit Scrooge, and why? And what changes do we see in Scrooge at the end of this extract? And I'd like to remind you that you should not be forgetting to do your interactive reading, 'cause that is really important.

It'll save you a loads of time later when we're analysing the text holistically.

So, pause the video and start reading, and really enjoy this, 'cause this book is just such a joy to read.

So, I'd really like to see you enjoy it as much as I do.

So, pause the video and off you go.

Well done, and I could see some really, really deeper active reading there and some fantastic annotation going on.

So, let's collect and share our responses to those questions.

So, first of all, how does Scrooge initially react to Marley's ghost? Well, we know that he initially doesn't believe in what he's seeing, okay? And he actually thinks that he ate something off, which has caused him to hallucinate.

It must have been something really powerful to make him hallucinate that much.

But anyway, that is what he believes.

This disbelief is then replaced with fear as he fell on his knees and he trembled and shivered, okay? So, that kind of incredulous response that we saw very quickly turns to fear, as I'm sure it would.

Now be, what fate lies in store for Scrooge according to Marley's ghost? Well, according to Marley's ghost, Scrooge's fate will be even more punishing than his, as Marley tells Scrooge that his is a "ponderous chain." Now, in terms of Marley's ghost regrets, we touched a little bit upon this before and said that obviously Marley has a lot of regrets.

Marley's ghost, sorry, has a lot of regrets about the way that he treated people.

While he regrets his willful ignorance of others that were in need of support, he states that upon reflection, "Mankind was his business," okay? And that he should have concerned himself with his community rather than his money and material assets.

In terms of who will visit Scrooge and why, well, Marley's ghost informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts over the course of three nights.

He tells him that without these visits, he cannot hope to shun the path that he treads.

So, he really must embrace these visits, and listen to the ghost's messages.

In terms of what changes we see in Scrooge at the end of this extract, well, we start to see the very slight beginning of a change in Scrooge, okay? It's not massive, it is just slightly there.

He's become slightly more open to other people's influence, okay? And he tentatively obeys the ghost commands and starts to become curious about what the ghost is trying to show him.

We also see that he tried to say humbug, but he stopped at the first syllable.

Now that's massive because it- sometimes it feels like all Scrooge says his bah-humbug, okay? And he tries to say it really hard and he can't.

So, that shows us that his beliefs are already starting to change.

His character has already started to evolve.

Now, I'm gonna give you a few moments just to pause the video and share any annotations that you made when you were reading interactively.

So, let's move on to the second part of our lesson where we're going to have a look at Marley's ghost and the idea of penance.

So, penance is an action performed by somebody who has sinned, and it shows remorse or regret for sin.

So, it is a demonstration of regret for one's sins.

Through repenting, the process of penance, the sinner hopes to achieve reconciliation, which is basically divine forgiveness.

So, forgiveness from those above.

So, I'd now like you to discuss how is the idea of penance relevant to what we have just read? Okay, so I'm gonna invite you to pause the video while you have those discussions.

Some great discussions.

And I really loved hearing somebody talk about the fact that Marley's ghost is currently serving penance, okay? Him being weighed down by all these cash boxes and chains, that is his punishment for his sin in life.

Unfortunately, Marley's ghost cannot achieve reconciliation, because he has been damned to wander the earth in this state.

So, he can never, ever be given forgiveness.

However he's currently repenting, okay? And what he's trying to do is now save Scrooge from the same fate as him.

And that in itself, I suppose, he's trying to seek reconciliation for Scrooge, okay? Because he can't have it himself.

So, well done, if you identified that that was the relevance of penance to what we've just read.

So, we're now going to read this extract from stave one that you will have just read independently.

"'I wear the chain I forged in life,' replied the ghost.

'I made it, link by link and yard by yard.

I girded it of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.

Is its pattern strange to you?' Scrooge trembled more and more.

'Or would you know,' pursued the ghost, 'The weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago.

You have laboured on it since.

It is a ponderous chain!' So, what I'd like you to do now is discuss why does Marley's ghost repeat the pronoun I? And what is the effect of Dickens' use of the verbs made and girded here? And finally, what is the effect of Marley's ghost's question to Scrooge that I've highlighted for you, is its pattern strange to you? So, I'm gonna invite you to pause the video while you have those discussions and conversations, and before we share our ideas together.

Some fantastic discussions there.

So, let's share some responses.

First of all, Marley's ghost repeats that pronoun I to show that he has actually taken responsibility for his actions, okay? He says, "I made it, I forged it, I girded it," okay? And that shows us that he made the choice to behave in this way.

He made the choice to be selfish and miserly, and he's now paying the price for it.

It shows that he has taken accountability, and therefore, it illustrates his remorse and his regret.

So, well done if you identified that.

Now, Dickens's choice of verbs in made and girded shows that this chain is the culmination of his selfishness.

It is the complete and utter result of Marley's actions and attitudes in life.

So, this is very much the consequences of Marley's own actions, and it implies a great deal of craftsmanship.

That word girded, okay? It's been made with care.

Now that is not (indistinct) traditional sense, okay? What Dickens is trying to say there is that, you know, Marley has laboured on this chain, okay? The amount of people that he has offended, upset, exploited, hurt, wounded, he has carefully made this chain through all of his immoral wrongdoing, okay? And it also implies the weight of the chain.

So, how many sins that Marley's ghost has committed in life, okay? So, it's really effective in showing just what a sinful character Marley was when he was alive.

So again, using the same extract, let's look now at Dickens' use of repetition and what's the effect of that here with this "link by link and yard by yard." So again, I'd invite you to pause the video while you have those conversations.

Again, some really fruitful discussions there.

And I just love hearing all your ideas.

I can see that you are really understanding Marley's character here.

So, well done.

So, first of all, the repetition emphasises just how long that chain is, okay? The idea of repetition is that it goes on and on and on, much like the chain, okay? It's a really long chain, because the Marley's committed a lot of sins, okay? Now each sin is a link in this chain.

So, as I've just said, the length of the chain and the fact it's made up of individual links that represent Marley's sins all show how deeply immoral Marley was when he was alive.

So, Dickens is trying to show us the extent of Marley's wickedness here.

That repetition also reflects that Marley just kept repeating the same mistakes, okay? Again, repetition means doing something over and over again.

Well, that's exactly what Marley did.

He treated people awfully over and over again, okay? With no remorse, no regret, and no consideration of the impact that he would've been having on their lives, okay? And that's kind of what Dickens is saying here, is saying this was a mistake.

You kept making the same mistakes over and over again.

And finally, the repetition, it also reflects the sound of the clanking chains being dragged.

So, if I read it to you again, you'll be able to hear that it's almost onomatopoeic.

So he says, "I made it link by link and yard by yard." And here we can almost hear him dragging those heavy chains along the floor and having to take little pauses, because they're so heavy.

So, the repetition makes it almost onomatopoeic as well.

So, well done if you've got any of those ideas.

Again, let's look at Scrooge's response to Marley here.

Why does he tremble in response to this question of "Is it pattern strange to you?" Okay, so again, I'm gonna give you a moment to pause the video and have a think about that.

Okay, so, Scrooge is trembling here, and well done to those of you that got this, 'cause I heard this said quite a few times is actually his response to Marley's rhetorical question.

Marley says, "Is its pattern strange to you?" And we as a reader think, well, no, it's not, because Scrooge has behaved in exactly the same way that Marley behaved in life, okay? But Scrooge's trembling is his fear as he realises that this will be his fate as well.

It's not fear of Marley's ghost, it's fear of his own consequences.

He's really worried that he will now face the exact same fate that Marley is facing.

So, that trembling here shows us that actually Scrooge recognises that he has behaved in the same way as Marley, and that therefore his fate will be the same.

So, well done, if you got that.

And again, we know that Dickens is an absolute master at verb choice, okay? So, let's have a look at Dickens' choice of verbs in pursued, bare, and laboured, and then also his adjectives as well.

So, let's look at the effects of the adjective ponderous.

So, I'd like you to pause the video while you reread that extract and have a discussion about those two questions here.

Fantastic.

And I heard some really good suggestions, and I think this was my favourite here.

So, here the ghost pursues Scrooge, and it shows that he's here on a mission.

If you pursue something, you go after it, okay? You keep going until you've got it.

He doesn't show Scrooge mercy.

Even when Scrooge is trembling and fearful, he doesn't show him any mercy whatsoever, because he knows that he has to deliver this message to help Scrooge try and avoid the same fate that he's been given.

That verb laboured also implies Scrooge's intentional selfishness.

Just like Marley, just like what we were saying before about the fact that it's almost like he's taken care to build his own chain just by being repeatedly selfish and miserly.

And again, bear, if you bear something, it's often a punishment or it's a burden or it's a weight, okay? And that again, shows that the chain is a product of his own behaviour.

This is a burden that he has brought upon himself, okay? And Dickens is making that really clear here.

Again, that word laboured.

If you're labouring, you are working, okay? And it reflects the fact that Scrooge has made a career of selfishness and his dedication to isolation.

It's almost like a career in itself, because he's been so committed to being this isolated, you know, wicked and immoral and uncharitable character his whole life.

That actually his chain is massively long, because of all the sin he's committed in this pursuit of isolation.

And then finally, that word ponderous.

It's a really interesting choice of objective here by Dickens.

So, obviously it shows the weight and the length of the chain, but also interestingly, if you ponder something, it means that you think about it.

So, the chain here forces the wearer to think about and reflect on the consequences of their actions.

And this links back to the idea of penance that we were talking about.

It's the idea of like reflecting on your past actions and asking for forgiveness, and trying to receive that reconciliation and that divine forgiveness, okay? That Marley's ghost will never get.

This whole idea of ponderous links to the idea of penance, 'cause this idea of repenting for one's sins.

So, let's check that you've understood what we have learned.

True or false? Marley's ghosts should be discussed distinctly from Marley and life as they are almost two different characters.

So, I'm gonna give you a moment's pause video while you decide whether you think that is true or false.

And well done to those with identified that it is in fact true.

I think most people got that right.

So, really massive, well done from me.

Now, the hard part, I'm gonna ask you to justify why that is in fact true.

Is it because, A.

Marley in life held very different views from Marley's ghost, so they should be referred to distinctly to reflect this.

Or is it B.

Because Marley's ghost and Marley in life are two different characters entirely, and it is just a coincidence that they are both called Marley.

So again, I'm gonna invite you to pause the video and decide which of the justifications you think is the reason that that statement is indeed true.

And well done if you identified correctly that it is because they both hold very different views and morals.

Marley in life was selfish, inconsiderate, and wicked.

Whereas Marley's ghost is repenting for his sins in life, and now understands that actually his behaviour was immoral and selfish.

So, well done if you identified that A was the correct justification.

So, now a quick discussion again, and I'd like you to discuss, what do you think the purpose of Marley's ghost in the novella is? So, why is Dickens included him in this novella? So again, I'm gonna encourage you to pause the video for a few seconds while you have those conversations and before we share our ideas together.

Some great discussions there.

And here's some things that you could have said.

So, you could have said that Marley's ghost represents the Christian idea of penance.

He has visited Scrooge as part of his repentance for his sins in life.

You could have also said that Marley's ghost serves as a warning, not just to Scrooge, but also to the reader, that we must make choices, not with our own benefit in mind, but with the interests of others in mind too.

His message is that of social responsibility and charity.

Now I'd like you again to discuss, well, how might a Victorian middle class reader have responded to Marley's ghost? So, think about that for a second, and pause the video to have those discussions.

Some great discussions there.

And I really liked this idea that actually a Victorian middle class reader who knows fully well that they might have behaved in the same way that Marley's ghost behaved in life might also be filled with fear.

Because what we've got to remember is that people were deeply religious back then, okay? And they would've really believed in this idea of afterlife and divine forgiveness and penance, okay? And so this would've been a really terrifying concept for people, especially those who have sinned or knew that they perhaps hadn't behaved in the most moral way possible.

Okay, so I think personally that a middle class reader in the Victorian era would have responded with utter fear and dread at the character of Marley's ghost, much like Scrooge.

So, well done if you picked up on that.

Onto our last task of the lesson.

So, we have this statement here.

"The visit from Marley's ghost seems to be a turning point for Scrooge in the novella." To what extent do you agree? And I'd like you to discuss the answer to this question.

You could consider the message that Marley's ghost is conveying, how Scrooge initially reacts to the ghost versus how he reacts by the end of the stave.

And finally, what changes we see in Scrooge.

So, I'm going to encourage you to pause the video, have your discussions, but just make sure that you jot some of your ideas down as these will be really good notes to refer back to.

So, pause the video, have your discussions, and jot your ideas down.

Some fantastic discussions there.

Now, here's one side of the coin.

You might have agreed with the idea that the visit from Marley's ghost seems to be a turning point for Scrooge, because you might have said that Scrooge now has an awareness that his mortal actions, so his actions in life when he was alive, have spiritual consequences, so consequences after death.

You might have also agreed, because Marley's ghost presents the ideas of penance, charity, and social responsibility to Scrooge.

And these are ideas that Scrooge has not previously considered, okay? It's very clear that Scrooge had little awareness of the idea of spiritual consequence, okay? And wasn't invested in the concepts of charity or social responsibility.

You might have said that Scrooge initially dismisses Marley's ghost, but then becomes more receptive to his message because of his fear.

You also might have pointed out that actually we do start to see a slightly more human side to Scrooge, because of his fear.

And we do feel a twinge of empathy for him in this moment as he realises his fate.

And finally, you might have pointed out that Marley's ghosts visit is the first of the four ghosts visits, and it acts as a catalyst for Scrooge's later transformation.

So, well done if you pulled out any of those ideas in response to that statement.

So, to summarise today's learning from stave one, meeting with Marley's ghost, let's remember that Marley's ghost visits Scrooge and warns him of his impending damnation if he doesn't change his ways.

We know that Marley's ghost is regretful and remorseful for his actions in life.

And that Dickens uses Marley's ghost to convey Christian ideas of penance and remorse.

Marley's ghost verbalises Dickens' message about the importance of being charitable and socially responsible, and that the chains and cash boxes that he wears show that he wasted his life in pursuit of solely material gains, and that he has profited from others' financial ruin.

We also begin to see a slight change in Scrooge as fear drives him to heeded Marley's ghost's warnings.

I'd like to thank you for taking the time to join me today and for participating so actively in today's learning.

I'm already looking forward to getting started on lesson four, while we'll be looking at Scrooge as a very Victorian character.

So, I hope that you'll join me for that lesson, and I hope that you'll have a lovely rest of your day.

See you later, and thank you.