Explanation: In this excerpt from Chapter 1 of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, what the chain represents is <u><em>the consequences of choices</em></u>. Scrooge receives the visit of his dead partner's ghost. Jacob Marley's ghost is carrying a chain. The ghost tells Scrooge that he wears it as a punishment for his greedy life, and has come to prevent Scrooge from having the same fate.
