Research Handout
Take notes about Dickens’ influence during the gallery walk:
Area of Influence Central Idea Supporting Details Dickens depictions of Christmas ● Before Dickens’ novel, Christmas was not A White Christmas in A Christmas Carol served as a widely celebrated as a major holiday: “As an “blueprint” that introduced and example, the committee of the Carlton Club, popularized many holiday which ran the Conservative Party at the traditions. time, arranged ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day itself.” ● “Specifically, the idea of a white Christmas which was and still remains a relatively uncommon occurrence in much of the UK appears in A Christmas Carol as if it happened each and every year.” Dickensian poverty Dickens was concerned about ● “Dickens helped popularize the term ‘red poverty and was one of the first tape’ to describe the bureaucracy in authors to portray a real look at positions of power that particularly hurt the those in the underclass and weak and poor.” povertystricken. ● “Dickensian has now become the easiest word to describe an unacceptable level of poverty.” ● “In 2009, when president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers wanted to talk about the deprivation in some areas, it was not described as terrible or horrific but as ‘life mirroring the times of Dickens.’” Modern character Dickens characters used ● “And some in the industry think that Dickens comedy language to create a real lively has done even more for the current crop of humor that has influenced comedians.” modern characters and comedy. ● "’In fact, I think he's the finest comedian we've ever produced. Much comedy today is conditioned by the way Dickens wrote it in the 19th Century and comedy writers today owe a huge debt to him.’” ● "’It's that sense of the rhythms, the colloquialisms and the way we speak. In reality, we don't finish our sentences and we all interrupt each other.’"
The cinema Not only does Dickens’ have ● “He argued that Dickens invented, among countless works that have been other things, the parallel montage where adapted for the screen, many two stories run alongside each other and the closeup.”
Grade 7: A Christmas Carol
credit him with creating ● “The BFI says that there were around 100 conventions of cinema. versions of Dickens's work recreated in film in the silent era alone. And those adaptations continue to this day. This is in large part because of the visual way Dickens wrote, creating painstaking depictions of places.”
Meaningful names Dickens created so many ● “What Dickens did differently was refine the characters whose names have practice to suggest character traits and their come to have figurative role. Some are obvious Mr meaning. M'Choakumchild, the teacher in Hard Times, or ambitious lawyer CJ Stryver in The Tale of Two Cities but others are less so.” ● “A couple of the most famous characters have become so recognisable that they have entered the language as nouns somebody meanspirited or lacking generosity being described as a Scrooge, for example.” Our view of the law Dickens works helped ● “No two books outside the bounds of technical law are more worth reading for law students than Pickwick Papers and Bleak House," Zechariah Chafee Jr once wrote in the Harvard Law Review.” ● “‘Even a trained trial lawyer, however, is puzzled by some of the legal points brought up by Dickens, because they have fortunately passed forever out of the realm of living law."’
Reread the extension task directions. For each aspect of the task, draft a research question:
1. What are examples of adaptations and references to Dickens’ works? 2. How has Charles Dickens influenced holiday traditions? 3. How has Charles Dickens influenced the way we talk and language we use?
Search terms for my research questions:
Charles Dickens, modern adaptations, references in modern culture, Dickens influence film media, Dickens influence holiday traditions, influence Christmas Dickens influence language, words phrases Dickens created
Grade 7: A Christmas Carol
Locating Credible Sources Source and Title Location Gist
Example: BBC News, Charles http://www.bbc.com/news/magazin Article gives six areas of Dickens’ Dickens: Six things he gave the e16184487 influence with examples under each; modern world relevant info for the task on his influence on Christmas, the film industry, and creating memorable and lasting characters.
Mirror, A Christmas Carol: What’s http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tvnews Dickens Christmas Carol has been your favorite version of Dickens’ /christmascarolwhatsyourfavouri adapted many times. classic festive tale? te4835798
New York Times, Lionel Bart, 68, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/ Oliver! the musical was adapted Songwriter; Created the Musical 05/theater/lionelbart68songwrite from Oliver Twist and very 'Oliver!' rcreatedthemusicaloliver.html successful.
History Today, Dickens and the http://www.historytoday.com/geoff Discusses Dickens’ influence on Construction of Christmas reyrowell/dickensandconstruction Christmas christmas
The Week, 11 words coined by http://theweek.com/articles/46786 Article about how Dickens has Charles Dickens 7/11wordscoinedbycharlesdicke influenced the words and phrases ns we use today
Grade 7: A Christmas Carol