BIG IDEAS
Q: What is a “big idea” in an essay?
A: A broad concept (like kindness, isolation, change) that answers the question, not a small detail.
“God bless us everyone.”
: Divine Dialogue.
Q: What are the three parts of a strong POINT?
A: WHAT + HOW + WHY.
Q: What was Victorian poverty like?
A: Harsh, overcrowded, dangerous; families had very little.
Q: Who says, “God bless us everyone”?
A: Tiny Tim.
Q: Name ONE big idea linked to Scrooge’s isolation.
A: Emotional coldness / lonely routine / gloomy home / refusal to connect.
What method is used in:
“Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.”
A: Symbolism.
Create a POINT from:
“He went home to his gloomy house.”
A: Dickens shows isolation through Scrooge’s gloomy home to show his emotional emptiness.
Q: What unfair attitude toward the poor did Dickens reject?
A: The belief that the poor were lazy or deserved their suffering.
Q: Who represents joyful leadership?
A: Fezziwig.
Which big idea fits this extract?
“Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room.”
A: He keeps warmth to himself → emotional coldness.
What method is used in:
“Solitary as an oyster.”
A: Simile.
Which part is missing?
“Dickens shows Scrooge is lonely because he eats alone.”
A: WHY (writer’s purpose).
Q: Why did Dickens include the Cratchits?
A: To show dignity, moral strength, and kindness among poor families.
Q: Who challenges Scrooge with goodwill and patience?
A: Fred.
Q: Which big idea fits this?
“He went home to his gloomy house.”
A: Physical isolation and emptiness in his life.
Identify the method:
“The cold within him froze his old features.”
A: Metaphor personifying emotional coldness.
“Dickens shows Scrooge is cold-hearted because he is mean.”
A: Dickens presents Scrooge as emotionally cold through his harsh behaviour to show how selfishness harms human connection.
Q: How does Dickens criticise the workhouses?
A: Through the charity collectors and Scrooge’s harsh response, revealing society’s cruelty.
Q: Who symbolises suffering caused by poverty?
A: Tiny Tim.
Q: Give THREE different big ideas about kindness that could form three paragraphs.
Cratchit family’s moral strength.
Fezziwig’s joyful generosity.
Fred’s forgiveness and goodwill.
(Any three valid big ideas receive full credit.)
Explain the method used in this line and what it suggests:
“The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already.”
A: Pathetic fallacy → darkness reflects Scrooge’s inner gloom and isolation.
: Turn this into a high-level POINT:
“Bob held Tiny Tim’s withered hand in his.”
A: Dickens presents kindness through the Cratchits’ gentle, loving bond, using this moment to show that moral strength and gratitude exist even in poverty.
Q: Explain how Dickens uses Scrooge’s transformation to comment on Victorian society.
A: Scrooge’s change shows that generosity and social responsibility can reform society and protect the vulnerable.
Q: Who acts as the moral conscience and exposes Scrooge’s failings?
A: The Ghost of Christmas Present.