Novel Study: Dickensian Characters 'A Christmas Carol'
Overview
A study of the exploration of characterisation using extracts from a range of Charles Dickens’ texts, leading to the study of characters within A Christmas Carol. Students will consider, reflect, and evaluate how Dickens uses his characters as a tool to explore themes and key messages. Students will use their reflections as inspiration to develop their own character descriptions.
Unit aims:
- Explore how Dickens use his characters as a vehicle to convey certain opinions and beliefs about Victorian society
- Develop selection and retrieval skills to evidence ideas
- Analyse the significance of names and their revealing aspects about characterisation
- Explore how Dickens creates successful characters through description and how to adopt similar strategies to create own
Example Key Words
Perspective
A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; point of view.
Nomenclature
The devising or choosing of names for things, especially in a science or other discipline.
Onomatopoeia
The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle).
Personification
The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
Simile
A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion).