Jacob Marley Unchained Trivia Quiz

Answer: Door nail

Charles Dickens tells us that "Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon `Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail." And thus begins one of the greatest English-language Christmas stories of all time.

Answer: 7

Dickens tells us that Jacob Marley died exactly seven years to the date of his unexpected return from the grave on that fateful Christmas Eve. And what had Marley been doing throughout the intervening years? Scrooge wondered the same thing: " 'Seven years dead,' mused Scrooge. `And travelling all the time!' `The whole time,' said the Ghost. `No rest, no peace.

Incessant torture of remorse.' `You travel fast?' said Scrooge. `On the wings of the wind,' replied the Ghost.

Answer: Door knocker

While walking home from his office on Christmas Eve, Scrooge encounters the eerie apparition of a funeral carriage, much like the one that had borne away his late partner, Jacob Marley. Upon arriving home, he is further horrified to see the ghostly image of Marley's face superimposed on his front door knocker.

Answer: All of the bells in the house start ringing

Just prior to Marley's ghostly appearance, all of the bells in Scrooge's house start to ring in concert with one another. The cacaphony lasts only a brief time, then, according to Dickens, stops just as it had begun, with all of the bells falling silent at once.

Answer: Ink wells

Also included in the list of objects that make up Marley's chain are keys, padlocks, and "heavy purses wrought in steel." A ponderous load to drag throughout eternity indeed!

Answer: I can

Scrooge: "Can you sit?" Marley: "I can." Scrooge: "Do it, then." And according to Dickens, the late Mr. Marley executed the move beautifully, seating himself in the armchair opposite the fireplace, just as he always had.

Answer: Potato

Finishing his litany, Scrooge then declares, "There's more of gravy than of the grave about you, whatever you are!" Ladle did he know! (Or should that be "little"?) At any rate, speaking of gravy, biographers assert that Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" specifically in the hope that "it would make his fortune." As the sole breadwinner for his parents, siblings, wife, and children, Dickens was understandably eager to ride the figurative gravy train.

Answer: Toothpick

Ever the cynic, Scrooge asks Marley's ghost if it sees the toothpick he is holding up. "`I do,' replied the Ghost. `You are not looking at it,' said Scrooge. `But I see it,' said the Ghost, `notwithstanding.' " So much for Scrooge's attempt to take the heat off himself.

Answer: It flies out through the open window

Marley's ghost exits backward through Scrooge's open window, joining all of the other tortured spirits who have lost the power to help those in need and who must spend eternity regretting their selfishness while alive. And you thought that YOU had regrets about that last holiday office party!

Answer: Aimee Mann

Granted, Aimee Mann's song is a personal story about love and has little to do with Dickens' classic Christmas tale. Still, the image of the chain that Marley was condemned to drag around in the afterlife is a poignant one that continues to influence many people today.