Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Miss Halliday, and I'll be your teacher for today.

It's an absolute pleasure to have you all with me, and I'm really looking forward to delving deeper into "Marley's Ghost" and some of the allusions that Dickens makes in order to characterise him as repentant.

So without further ado, let's get started.

So today's lesson is called "Marley's Ghost's Regret".

And by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to understand and explain how Marley's Ghost represents the Christian idea of repentance.

Here are some keywords that you'll need for today's lesson.

We've got repentance, penance, biblical allusion, to reconcile and parable.

Here are the definitions of those keywords.

So repentance means to express sincere regret or remorse for a person's actions.

Penance is a set of actions or a deed done in repentance for sins committed.

A biblical allusion is where the writer draws parallels to or references stories from the Bible.

To reconcile means the restoration of a good relationship between two opposing people or forces.

And finally, a parable is a story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson as told by Jesus Christ in the Gospels.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're gonna begin by looking at the Christian idea of penance more generally.

We're then going to focus more specifically on "Marley's Ghost" and how he is presented as a repentant character.

But let's start first of all by looking more generally at the idea of penance in Christianity.

So we know from our keyword side that penance is a set of actions or a deed that is done in repentance for some sins that have been committed.

To repent means to change one's mind and to regret one's past actions.

Sophia raises a good question here for you.

She asks, "Well, what is it that Marley's Ghost changes his mind about?" I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you discuss with the people around you or write your ideas down independently if you are on your own.

The answers to Sophia's question.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic discussions and really respectful interactions with one another.

Some really insightful and perceptive answers there.

So one of the things that Marley's Ghost has changed his mind about and that perhaps he didn't realise in life, but he has come to realise through his repentance, is that actually mankind was his business.

And what he means by that is this idea that he should have looked out for the welfare of his fellow human beings.

Because actually while he preoccupied himself with business in kind of monetary sense and how to make money as quickly as possible in his business with Scrooge, what he should have been concerning himself with was what kind of legacy he'd be leaving, who he was helping, and what positive impact he could have had on those around him.

So what he has learned and changed his mind about is what his humanitarian purpose actually is.

So well done if you got that as an answer.

Fantastic work.

So penance is effectively a recognition of one's sins and a commitment to reconcile with God to rectify our wrongdoing.

So to put our wrongs to rights basically.

Now in the book of James in the Bible we're told, "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed." And I'd like you to use this little quote from the Bible to discuss, "Well, why might Marley's Ghosts be visiting Scrooge?" So again, I'm going to invite you now to take a few moments to pause the video while you discuss the question on screen with the people around you, or think about it independently if you're on your own.

Off you go.

Some really fantastic ideas there and a massive well done.

And I was so impressed by how many of you are actually using quotations to justify your opinions and responses.

So well done.

So you might have said, as Sophia points out, that Marley Ghosts has the opportunity here to really help Scrooge to redeem himself.

And he presents him with a chance to change his mind about the way that he's behaving and therefore change his actions because we know that actually, our mindset really influences our behaviour.

So if Marley's Ghost is successful in getting Scrooge to change his mind, he'll also be successful in getting Scrooge's behaviour to change as well as our behaviour often is indicative of our mindset.

So well done if you got the idea.

Fantastic work.

So the word penance and the word repentant actually both originate from the Latin word "pensare", which means to think, but also from the Latin word "pendere", which means to weigh.

So what I'd like you to do now is I'd like you to think, well bearing in mind the etymology of the word penance, and the fact that it does come from those Latin words, which mean to think and to weigh, how does the concept of bearing a weight and also thinking link to the character of Marley's Ghost? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you find somebody to share answers with before we share some ideas as a greed together.

So off you go.

Fantastic discussions and some really perceptive suggestions there.

So here's what you might have said.

So you might have said that Marley's Ghost's chains are a ponderous weight that he has to bear because of his actions in life.

And that word ponderous is really interesting and significant because it contains the word to ponder, which means to think, okay? If you ponder something, it means you think it.

Now, this shows that Marley's Ghost has been condemned to a lifetime of self-reflection and introspection on how he could have been more philanthropic and moral.

So even by choosing that a objective ponderous when Marley's Ghost says to Scrooge, "Yours is a ponderous chain." Dickens is here really clearly signposting.

Not only that, this is penance for Marley's sins, but also that this kind of punishment, its whole purpose is to make Marley's Ghost reflect on his wrongdoing and reach a new conclusion.

So change his mind.

So to make him literally repent for what he's done.

So even that word ponderous is really intelligent word choice from Dickens 'cause it has all of these kind of religious and spiritual connotations that all kind of characterise Marley's Ghost as deeply remorseful and regretful of his actions in life.

So well done if you got those ideas.

So in the book of Luke, in the Bible, we hear of the story of Lazarus and the rich man, and this is one of Jesus's many parables.

I'm going to read the parable to you now, and then we're going to think about how this relates to 'A Christmas Carol'.

So make sure that you are paying really close attention to what's going on in this parable.

I'll read it out and you can follow along on screen.

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

At his gate was laid, a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to heaven.

The rich man also died and was sent straight to hell from hell.

The rich man looked up and saw Lazarus sitting next to Abraham.

He called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.

'" What I'd like you to discuss now is, well, what do you think Abraham's response might have been to the rich man? So I'm going to invite you now to pause a video while you consider what you think Abraham's response to the rich man was and why.

Off you go.

Thank you, let's come back together for some discussions.

Well, firstly, I really liked this suggestion that perhaps Abraham might take mercy on the rich man because we know that the Bible preaches forgiveness.

So I'd really interested to hear that some of you think that Abraham will grant the rich man some relief.

I was also equally interested to hear that many of you think that Abraham won't allow the rich man to have any water to call his tongue because he didn't show Lazarus the same courtesy when he was alive.

Let's see, shall we? "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

'" Abraham then goes on to state that "The gulf or the gap between heaven and hell is so wide that even those who now want to cross it cannot." In response, the man answered, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family for I have five brothers.

Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment." Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them." The rich man responded, "No, father Abraham, if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." So let's quickly check for understanding before we start our discussion about how this relates to 'A Christmas Carol'.

So why did Abraham not grant the rich man the relief of some water? Was it A, because he didn't like the rich man because of his lack of repentance? Was it B, because the rich man had not shown mercy to Lazarus, or do you think it's C, because the rich man could afford his own water, so Abraham didn't want to give him any? I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you make your answer selection, off you go.

And fantastic work to those of you that correctly identified that the answer is in fact B, Abraham doesn't grant the rich man relief because the rich man didn't show any mercy to Lazarus when he was alive.

So now the rich man is learning the consequences of his own actions.

Well done if he selected B.

So here's our first task of the lesson, and it's very much linked to the story and the parable that we've just read.

And what I'd like you to do is I'd like you to discuss, well, how might the story of Lazarus and the rich man link to 'A Christmas Carol'? And I'm gonna give you some questions that will help you to structure your discussions and gather some ideas together.

So first of all, we've got, "Who would the rich man in 'A Christmas Carol' be and why? Who from 'A Christmas Carol' would be the five brothers of the rich man and why?" And finally, "What in 'A Christmas Carol' would be the wide gulf that Abraham referred to in the parable?" Now, the way that I would complete this is, I would possibly think to myself for a few moments about the answers to these questions and then I would turn to the person next to me and share my ideas and opinions.

I always think it's wise to gather your ideas first, and get them clear in your head before you share them with somebody else.

So I now recommend that you pause the video, and take a few moments to consider the questions on screen before then sharing them with somebody else.

And if you want to make notes, please do feel free to do so as you discuss.

So pause the video and off you go completing this task.

Some really incredible work there.

And I'm really impressed by how many of you were able to establish really clear connections between this parable and 'A Christmas Carol'.

So here's what you might have said.

And as always, if you see anything you like that you think you might want to refer back to, please do take the time to pause the video and jot ideas down as we are going through them.

So here's what you might have said, Jacob's states, "The rich man in the parable would be Jacob Marley in the novella because Marley is in purgatory and regrets his actions in life, but sadly can't change them." And I really like this here because Jacob's drawing parallels and he's really kind of evidencing his opinions with examples from the text.

So he's saying, "You know what? The rich man, he resides in hell because of the way that he behaved in life.

And equally similarly, Marley's Ghost is residing in purgatory because of the way he behaved in life.

So both characters here are being punished in the afterlife for things and sins that they committed in their actual lives." And then Laura replies, "Well, Scrooge would be representative of the rich man's brothers, as Marley's Ghost comes back to one Scrooge about his avaricious behaviour and to help him avoid the same fate." So if you remember in the parable, the rich man begs Abraham to let him go back and speak to his brothers so that they don't end up with the same fate as him.

And it equally in 'A Christmas Carol', we see Marley's Ghost as being given the opportunity to come back and help Scrooge to be saved from the same fate that he has.

So again, there's real parallels drawn between the two characters there as well.

And finally, as Aisha points out, "The wide Gulf that Abraham referred to in the parable, which is the gulf between heaven and hell, in the novella, this gulf could be the gap between the Victorian rich and the poor." Because we know that there was a lot of societal injustice around at the time and a lot of inequality, especially among the different classes of people in the Victorian era.

And those huge, huge disparities in the qualities of life that different people living in in some cases in the same areas were facing.

So again here we really kind of see those parallels drawn between 'A Christmas Carol' and the parable rich man.

So well done if you got any of those ideas.

Fantastic work 'cause this was a really difficult task and I've been blown away by your responses.

So enter the second part of the lesson now where we're going to have a look specifically at Marley's Ghost and how he's presented as a repentant character.

So as always, we're going to start off with a discussion and I'd like you to think, "Well what does Marley's Ghost look like? What does he carry with him and what is the significance of what he carries?" So a little bit of a recap activity there, I suppose.

I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you recap the answers to those three questions to the best of your ability.

Off you go.

Fantastic work.

Really well done.

And I'm really impressed with how many of you were able to remember very specific details about the appearance of Marley's Ghosts, like the chains, like the fact that he wears that bandage around his head, the fact that his body is transparent.

Really, really impressed with that.

And well done to those of you that remembered that he carries all of those cash boxes, deeds, ledgers, padlocks chains with him and that they all represent the sins that he committed in life.

So excellent recap work.

You are all ready to start learning something new.

So here's Dickens's description of Marley's Ghost.

A part of it, I'm gonna read it, you follow along closely because we're going to answer some questions together in a moment.

"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." Bit of a strange description there from Dickens I must say.

But really interesting when you start to analyse it closely, which we're about to do.

So I'm really looking forward to seeing what you think of this description.

Now to us today, the bowels are just simply one of our internal organs.

They don't really carry much significance, okay? However, in the New Testament of the Bible, the bowels are often referred to as the deepest emotional parts of a person.

Their love, their compassion, and their empathy.

And they're actually often referred to as the seat of compassion in a person.

So what I'd like you to do now is bearing that information in mind.

I'd like you to revisit that little bit of extract at the top of the slide and think, well what might Dickens be implying about Marley in his description of his lack of bowel? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider the answer to that question.

Off you go.

Amazing discussions.

I'm really impressed with that and it was so lovely to see so many of you keep referring back to that little snippet of extract.

I'm really kind of using the evidence in front of you to justify your opinions.

So excellent work.

So here, I think that what Dickens is really trying to suggest and what I heard many of you say is that actually Marley had no compassion in life, okay? So when it says that Scrooge had, I heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he didn't believe it until now.

I think what Dickens is implying here is that, lots of people had commented on how callous and cruel that Marley was in his life.

It's almost a half joke here that Dickens is making because obviously literally Scrooge can see his bowels because his body is transparent.

But there's a definite suggestion here that actually what Dickens is saying is that Marley really had no kind of emotion or compassion or empathy or kindness for anybody else.

And I think that here Dickens is really trying to signpost to us exactly what it is that Marley's done so wrong because he's trying to teach his Victorian readers, isn't he? How to treat people with more compassion.

So he is using all of these allusions and all of these references to really kind of drive home this idea that Marley was a very sinful character and that the reason that he's ended up with this fate is because of the way that he behaved in life, because he was so immoral, selfish, and avaricious.

So well done if you got those answers.

Excellent work.

So let's check for understanding.

Which of the following bowels not represent in the Bible.

Is it A, kindness, B, compassion, C, bravery, or D empathy? I'm going to invite you now to pause video while you make your answer selection.

Off you go.

Fantastic work if you picked C, you are absolutely right.

Remember that in the Bible, bowels are referred to as the seat of compassion.

So they represent a person's kindness, compassion, and empathy for others, not their bravery.

So Marley's Ghost tells Scrooge, "It is required of every man." The ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men and travel far and wide.

And if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death, it is doomed to wander through the world.

Oh woe is me and witness what it cannot share but might have shared on earth and turn to happiness." And that is such a poignant moment in this novella and it's one of my favourite moments 'cause I just think it really kind of encapsulates Dickens' whole message of social responsibility.

So we're going to have a look at this extract in a lot more detail now.

So first of all, I'd like you to think, "Well, what does the word fellow meant suggest about human beings? What is the effect of the word 'doomed'? Can you think of anyone else in the Bible who had to wander as a punishment for sin?" And finally, "What does the spirit mean when he talks about what he might have shared and turn to happiness?" So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you use the extract on screen to consider the four questions that I've presented to you.

Feel free to discuss some of the people around you, but equally feel free just to annotate your extracts independently.

I can't wait to hear what you come up with when we share our ideas together.

Off you go.

Fantastic annotations, I'm so impressed.

So here's what you might have said.

You might have said that this word "Fellowmen" suggest that all men are equal.

And it's actually really reminiscent of what Fred says in Stave 1, where he talks about people being "fellow passengers" to the grave.

And what Dickens is trying to emphasise there when he talks about this idea of us all being fellow passengers to the grave is that actually, in the eyes of God, nobody is above death.

Everybody's going to die.

And therefore that makes everybody intrinsically and fundamentally equal.

And that's really a lesson that Marley's Ghost seems to have learned here because he uses this word "fellowmen".

He understands his responsibility as one member of humanity and one member of a larger community.

And that's something that he clearly failed to understand when he was alive.

So it's great to see here Marley's Ghost remorse and kind of repentance.

Secondly, you might have talked about this idea of the word "doomed".

And again, that has really religious connotations 'cause the prophets issued really stern warnings that unrepentant sin would incur disastrous judgement and that that's what doom meant.

So it's this idea if people do not repent for their sins, don't recognise their immoral and poor behaviour, then society unfortunately will incur disastrous judgement and that that will be the punishment for an avaricious and greedy approach to life or a sinful approach to life.

And in terms of who else is deemed to wonder the earth, those of you who are quite familiar with the Bible will know that actually Cain is condemned to wonder the earth forever for murdering his brother Abel.

And again, real parallels here are drawn between Marley's Ghost and Cain.

And Cain in the Bible is considered one of the kind of really awful sinners, one of the most evil people in the Bible.

And therefore, in comparing Marley's Ghost to Cain, Dickens is kind of showing us the level and the extent of Marley's Ghost immorality and wickedness.

And the fact that he deserves every bit of this punishment that he has earned.

Because as he himself states, "I girded it of my own free will." He says, "I made this chain, I made it link by link and yard by yard." And he is only now taken responsibility for his behaviour in life.

And here Dickens is just so clearly showing us that these are the consequences of avarice greed and selfishness.

And finally, in terms of what the Ghost means when he talks about witnessing what he can't share, but what he might have shared, it's this idea that in life Marley's Ghost witnessed things and chose not to help.

He turned a blind eye to the suffering of others.

Whereas now as a ghost, he recognises how wrong, immoral and wicked that is and he really wants to help.

But part of his punishment is that he's not allowed to.

And that in itself for him is incessant torture.

'Cause he can only watch other people's despair without intervening.

He's not allowed to intervene much like the rich man in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, he can't go and help his brothers.

He's not allowed to.

And it's the same with Marley's Ghost.

He wants to help people but he can't.

And that forms part of his torture and part of his penance.

So again, let's look at another part of the text.

So we've got Marley's Ghost.

"It held up its chain at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unveiling 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 it's like would've conducted me!" Here are some questions for you to discuss based on the extract.

First of all, "Why do you think Dickens uses the pronoun it instead of he? Why does Marley's Ghost suffer at this time of year most? Which biblical event is Dickens alluding to here?" And finally, "What does Marley wish that he had done and what do we learn from him?" So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you consider those four questions with the people around you now.

And some fantastic discussions there.

Now, you might have come up with this idea that Dickens in using the pronoun it, dehumanises Marley's Ghost because his humanity has been stripped away.

And this could also reflect that this Marley is a stranger to Scrooge.

Now I've said before that I often, I personally like to think of Marley in life and Marley's Ghosts are two very different characters because actually they have very, very different outlooks and perspectives.

Marley in life is avaricious and greedy, whereas Marley's Ghost is actually more considerate and repentant and he understands what is right and wrong.

So I think the pronoun it also kind of puts some distance between Scrooge and this new version and almost different version of Marley that he doesn't recognise.

And that scares him in itself.

He's frightened of Marley's Ghost as well because he doesn't recognise the person that he's become or the spirit that he's become.

Now Marley's Ghost says that he suffers most at Christmas.

And that's because it is a time we know, according to the Portly Gentleman, "When want is keenly felt and poverty hits hardest." So this is the time that Marley's Ghost suffers the most because people need support the most.

And we know from the previous extracts that Marley's Ghost is not allowed to intervene in the suffering of other people.

He's only allowed to watch it and witness it and that will make him feel really helpless and useless.

And that is what his torture is.

It's to watch people suffer and not be able to intervene.

And people suffering is most noticeable at Christmas, which is why Marley's Ghost suffers himself the most at Christmas 'cause he can't help these people in need of aid.

So Dickens here is alluding to the star of Bethlehem and he's suggesting that Marley should have sought out the poorest homes and helped because that's where the support's needed the most.

And he asks himself, "Why did I walk through crowds of fellow human beings and my eyes turned down? Why didn't I look for guidance? Why didn't I follow the blessed star to the homes of poor people?" So Marley's Ghost is effectively asking himself, "Why didn't I help when I had the opportunity to? Why did I ignore the suffering of these really poor people who needed my support?" And finally, what I think is really important to note here is that Marley's Ghost message, even though it's filled with Christian allusions so allusions to the Bible, his message is actually for everybody.

It's a generic message about charity and kindness.

It's not a religious message.

Marley's Ghost is not saying you need to be Christian.

What he's saying is we need to treat people equally and treat people kindly.

And that in itself is not a religious message.

It's a generic universal message on how to be a good human being.

So I think it's really important that we don't see Marley's Ghost message as a religious one, but more of a humanitarian one.

So let's check for understanding before we move on.

"Which of the following biblical allusions does Dickens not make through the character of Marley's Ghost?" Is it A, to Cain and Abel, B, allusions to the star of Bethlehem, C, allusions to the rich man and Lazarus? Or is it D, allusions to the good Samaritan? I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you make your answer selection.

Off you go.

A massive congratulations if you correctly identified that the answer is in fact D, Dickens does not make allusions to the good Samaritan.

Well done.

So onto our final task of the lesson, I'm going to ask you to do a little bit of writing.

So what I'd like you to do is write an analytical paragraph in response to this question.

"How does Dickens present Marley's Ghost as repentant?" Now in your response, you'll need to refer to one of the biblical allusions that Dickens makes through the character of Marley's Ghost.

And I really want to see evidence that you understand these allusions and how they're being made and why they're being made.

I'd also like you to include and analyse one quotation from Marley's Ghost conversation with Scrooge.

Now that doesn't necessarily have to be one of the extracts that we've looked at together this lesson.

You might want to really challenge yourself and go and find your own part of the extract to analyse and include.

And that's absolutely fine and I'd love it if you did that.

But if you want to, you can obviously lean on what we've done together this lesson and use those two extracts to help you with that.

I'd also like you to use as many of the words from the vocabulary bank as possible.

And here it is, the Vocabulary Bank.

So in that bank we've got great words to use like repentant, biblical allusions, parable, condemnation, penance, regret, remorse, avarice, miserliness and philanthropy.

These words will really help you to be concise with your analysis and be really specific about exactly what it is that Dickens is doing and why he's doing it.

So what his purpose is.

So what I'm going to do now is invite you to pause the video while you write your analytical paragraph using the resources that I've given you to help.

Off you go.

Phenomenal effort, really well done.

And it was fantastic to see so many of you really wanting to challenge yourself and trying to find quotations that we hadn't been through together.

So really well done.

That is really resilient and ambitious of you.

I'm really impressed.

So here's what you might have written.

"In 'A Christmas Carol', Marley's Ghost is presented as repentant through Dickens' use of biblical allusions.

Through Marley's Ghost visit to Scrooge where he warns him of his impending doom if he continues to behave misanthropically and avariciously.

Dickens alludes to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.

Through Marley's Ghost regret and his warning to Scrooge that his is also a ponderous chain, Dickens positions Mali as the rich man who begs Abraham to warn his mortal brothers of the consequences of such greed so that their souls can be saved.

In drawing parallels with this biblical parable, that many Victorian readers would have been familiar with, Dickens warns his readers about the divine consequences of greed and selfishness, motivating them through fear to change their ways and be be more socially-responsible." So a really clear response there, that talks through the allusions that's been made, why it's been made, and what it tells us about the character of Marley's Ghost and his repentance.

So really clear and good response there.

And do please feel free to pause the video and quickly jot down any notes that you want to take from this model answer to keep.

So to summarise the learning from today, first of all, penance is a set of actions or a deed done in repentance for sins committed.

In the Bible, the word repent means to change one's mind.

Dickens draws parallels between Jacob Marley and Cain from the Bible to suggest that like Cain, Marley's eternal wondering is punishment for his sins.

Furthermore, Dickens also draws parallels between Marley and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

Marley warn Scrooge of the consequences of avarice and greed.

And finally, Marley's Ghost message uses Christian allusions to teach Scrooge and to the reader about their moral responsibilities.

I'd like to thank you for coming to today's lesson.

It's been an absolute pleasure to look and explore some of Dickens' use of allusions through the characters of Marley's Ghost in more depth.

Thank you for coming.

I've really enjoyed teaching you and I hope to see you next time.

See you later, bye.