International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct,London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom, 2023 Book Analysis. As the day passes, the fog and cold become more severe. Dickens is comparing Scrooge to two aspects common to flint; its hardness (here meaning that Scrooge is mean or tight) and its sharpness (here meaning that Scrooge watches over everything and doesnt miss anything in his work). Scrooge is an outsider because that is the way he likes it. 16, no GCSES, no other qualifications, is there anything left for me? This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. The fact that there are three spirits and that they will arrive at the same time for the next three nights creates a definite, easy structure for Scrooge, and the story, to follow. External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. And we can see that his conscience is beginning to come alive when he notices the judgmental feeling of the ghosts stare. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. Dickens fills this first Stave with superlative and vivid descriptions of Scrooges miserly character and in so doing sets him up for quite a transformation. The narrator describes Scrooge as "Hard and sharp as flint." His appearance matches his character, with cold-looking, pointy features. Spirit! he cried, tight clutching at his robe, hear me! The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. That night, on the stroke of midnight, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Marley. This almost prompts a realization in Scrooge as he catches on to the fact that his wealth provides him (and indeed Fezziwig) with the power to make people happy. The use of similes helps an author to strengthen a description, and for the reader it helps to better visualize the scene in their heads. At the start of the novel, Dickens describes scrooge as mean; hard and sharp as flint; this suggests that he is ignorant towards people and neglects other people, and that he hates everyone around him and himself, this implies that he is greedy. If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population". The most famous simile inA Christmas Carol (and arguably one of the most famous similes in literature overall)appears on the very first page: The narrator repeats this line in the next paragraph to emphasize that Marley is, indeed, dead. We are currently converting the 3,000+ pages within our WordPress site to make them more mobile friendly. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs Here, Scrooge is talking about Fezziwig and how he uses his wealth to lift others up. He becomes nearly inebriated with joy. To say that Scrooge could be made neither warm nor cold by any outside influence again paints him as an outcast. Once more? science pearson edexcel end of unit test higher. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! he walked through his rooms to see that all was right. I took a good deal o pains with his eddication, sir; let him run in the streets when he was wery young, and shift for hisself. Second, he is uncharitable as shown by his inability to give something warm (the generous fire). Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. These include Scrooges cold nature, the power of wealth, and loss. "Oh! Flint is a type of ground that makes it difficult for life to grow kind of like how scrooges character allows no imaginations to grow. Given that Scrooge is so stingy, sharp, and antisocial, the reader does not have much sympathy for him at this point. that's all.". Despite Scrooge's ill temper Fred generously and authentically invites him over. clause and each adverb clause adv. flint can start fires when it is messed with. through the repeated structure, Dickens again portrays that Scrooge as breaking away from his previous miserliness and stinginess, becoming more good willed towards other like Bob Cratchit. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. `He died seven years ago, this very night.. The Spirit pointed from the grave to him, and back again. Complete your free account to request a guide. He stopped at the outer door to bestow the greetings of the season on the clerk, who, cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge. I have sat invisible beside you many and many a day., Couldnt I take `em all at once, and have it over, Jacob? hinted Scrooge. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didnt thaw it one degree at Christmas. His nephew left the room without an angry word, notwithstanding. Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he had never believed it until now. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. He used to know how to have fun. The clock tower that looks down on. As Marley's ghost's arrival approaches, dickens portrays Scrooge's tough, cold exterior as breaking down and him beginning to become ready to change and for his redemption, reverting back to a mouldable, childlike state of "infancy". Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs Still, returned the gentleman, `I wish I could say they were not.. "Nothing" said scrooge "nothing. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. Apparently, Scrooge is: Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. It beckoned Scrooge to approach, which he did. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Accessed 2 Mar. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. wishing, though it were only for a second, to divert the visions stony gaze from himself, e for the rest of my days persecuted by a legion of goblins, all of my own creation, when the phantom taking off the bandage round its head, as if it were too warm to wear indoors, its lower jaw dropped down upon its breast. When Scrooge finds himself able to embrace his community, he finds himself forever changed. Current Year 10 Official Thread (2022-2023). Marley is a figure of both terror and kindness it will become clear that instead of wanting revenge on Scrooge, he has come to protect him. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. `Merry Christmas! See in text(Stave One). Scrooge doesn't live by his senses in any aspect of his life. Analysis; Cold-hearted: According to Dickens's description, . But Scrooge sees any such human sentimentanything that interferes with the accumulation of moneyas foolishness. `How it is that I appear before you in a shape that you can see, I may not tell. But in Dickens's era, it was customary to hammer doornails into doors in such a way that made them useless for anything else. Scrooge sat down upon a form, and wept to see his poor forgotten self as he used to be. The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. Living conditions there were unpleasant and the work was tough such as 'picking out' old ropes. His answer is, "Bah! Privacy Policy, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. Marley's purgatorial afterlife is described as a wasteland of endless journeying. Historical Context I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong. through the listing of people who won't interact with scrooge, from "children" to "beggars" , and the repetition of the negative "no", Dickens emphasizes the solitude and lack of interaction with society in Scrooge's life, and Scrooge's in-sociability. a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? The Student Room and The Uni Guide are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. Refine any search. By showing Marleys face among the faces of legends and saints from scripture, Dickens puts him in a saint-like position, showing Scrooge the light like a religious leader. Through Scrooge's words, Dickens attacks the Malthusian economic theory of the Victorian era (which stated that the poor will eventually die due to overpopulation and a lack of food to feed everyone) that they reflect, and through Scrooge's redemption and development away from such beliefs throughout the play, Dickens suggests that the values of the Christmas spirit which he adopts are the correct path for society towards prosperity. Scrooge is especially disgruntled when Fred mentions his wife, for example. Teachers and parents! Consequently, everybody who comes into contact with Scrooge avoids him. In the first stave, the miser Scrooge is introduced as well as his merry nephew and his poor clerk Bob Cratchit. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.". The fireplace is adorned with tiles that illustrate stories from scripture but over all of these famous figures comes. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel. The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. Much good it has ever done you!, There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say, But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. Though his nephew tries to convince him to join his family, Scrooge replies, "Nephew, keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine!" What right have you to be merry? It was not angry or ferocious, but looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look: with ghostly spectacles turned up on its ghostly forehead. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain. When Jack Cade leads a rebellion against the king, he declares that "if I do not leave you all as dead as a doornail, I pray God I may never eat grass more." There were Cains and Abels, Pharaohs daughters; Queens of Sheba, Angelic messengers descending through the air on clouds like feather-beds, Abrahams, Belshazzars, Apostles putting off to sea in butter-boats, hundreds of figures to attract his thoughts -- and yet that face of Marley, seven years dead, came like the ancient Prophets rod, and swallowed up the whole. "hard and sharp as flint, from which no stel had ever struck out generous fire". Note also Marley's disgust at the connection of the words "good" and "business", which Scrooge also used earlier in his conversation with Fred. The simile first appeared in Shakespeare's Henry IV. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open. The cold became intense. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. God save you! cried a cheerful voice. This is not just a tale of one man's redemption; it is a kind of call to arms for all people to take to heart. *(Many, Nobody)* is predicting rain for tomorrow. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. "No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him", Dickens uses "warmth" as a metaphor for goodwill and inversely "cold" as a metaphor for ill will throughout the novella, so here it suggests that no good will or ill will from others in society are able to affect scrooge as he's become totally impervious to and disconnected from interactions with society, "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait". In Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is presented as a miserly old man, who is a social outcast and is quite happy to be one, at least in the beginning. He took us home and hammered us. The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it costs a fortune. This girl is Want. Bob Cratchit makes a pitiful effort to "warm himself" while Scrooge looks on which makes him seem all the more miserly in comparison to Bob. Scrooge signed it. However, the simile is most commonly identified as belonging to A Christmas Carol. Current Year 11 Official Thread (2022-2023)! Perhaps this is why Dickens chose to compare Marley to a doornaila flattened doornail and a corpse are both fairly useless, with little to no chance of serving a purpose ever again. This gives the perception of Scrooge being a very cold character, a word also associated with being mean. This suggests his ability to hurt others. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! What to expect as an older masters student? very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night. It swung so softly in the outset that it scarcely made a sound; but soon it rang out loudly, and so did every bell in the house. I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices, I dont make merry myself at Christmas and I cant afford to make idle people merry. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! However, Scrooge being likened to "flint" suggests that, although he has never given "generous fire" he has the potential to be good-willed, sociable, generous and the other attributes encapsulated by the Christmas spirit, as portrayed by the recurring symbol of "fire" used by dickens to represent these values. Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern; beguiled the rest of the evening with his bankers-book, He lived in chambers which had once belonged to his deceased partner, it must have run there when it was a young house, playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, and forgotten the way out again. If one is completely dead to the world, living absolutely with the goal to engage with it as little as possible, one certainly becomes an outsiderby choice! The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his. Instant PDF downloads. Before telling us the incident with the door knocker, In order to make this night stand out as a unique milestone in Scrooges routine existence, the narrator focuses first on Scrooge's sanity and the usual normality of his world. `Christmas a humbug, uncle! said Scrooges nephew. A great many very young girls grown into bold women before they had well ceased to be children. likening scrooge to a sheep, suggesting that he foolishly follows certain ideologies such as Malthusian economic theory. What reason have you to be morose? In contrast, Scrooges routine is deliberately isolated and miserable. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis (Stave 1 (() The register of his: A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis . a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. Indeed, Scrooge has become a new man. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! "If they would rather die", said scrooge ,"they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population". A doornail is notably small and insignificant, but it can be used to build things. This might seem like a small detail, but regardless of whether or not the reader consciously juxtaposes these similes, they underscore Scrooge's transformation and provide evidence of a true change of heart. Dickens again uses temperature as a metaphor for degrees of goodwill here, with scrooge being "cold" reflecting his lack of goodwill towards himself and others around him, and the description of his decrepit features such as his "shriveled" cheek and "stiffened" gait suggests that Scrooge's unsociable, miserly attitudes of ill damage himself, in contrast to his nephew Fred (a foil to scrooge) who is "ruddy and handsome", emphasising through their appearances how holding the values of the Christmas spirit are beneficial to ones self, and as developed on throughout the novella, the whole of society as well. Scrooge and Cratchit both live on routine. 1 / 4. Marley really makes things clear for Scrooge. Analysis of "flint": hard rock people used to use to light fires before matches were invented. I lived rough, that you should live smooth. It was cold, bleak, biting weather: foggy withal: and he could hear the people in the court outside, go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them. What projects have you done related to STEM? `What do you want with me?. The brightness of the shops where holly sprigs and berries crackled in the lamp heat of the windows, made pale faces ruddy as they passed. This is a great quote for highlighting the sort of character that Scrooge was in A Christmas Carol. By contrast, scenes of happiness and generosity are represented by large fires, such as that of a party in a scene from the past held by Fezziwig, where fuel was heaped upon the fire, so much so that the generous host had a positive light appeared to issue from Fezziwigs calves which shone like moons. "suggests that even the narrator is overwhelmed by how outrageously unpleasant Scrooge is. wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of strong imagination, he failed". It is made up of two Greek words, ana meaning up, and lysis meaning to loosen. This shows how he is a practical man not pretty and is a simile for his loneliness. (Dickens 6). He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. When will come to see me?' This makes me think that Scrooge would have very sharp features, a pointy nose and always has a scowl on his face. For characters like Fred and Bob Cratchit, Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but Scrooge is at his. Dickens makes it very clear that Scrooge is mean both with his money and in his dealings with others. "Oh! The Student Room and The Uni Guide are both part of The Student Room Group. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Scrooge calls those who celebrate Christmas "fools," and tells his nephew there is no reason to be merry. There is no doubt whatever about that. No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. Explain. A Christmas Carol is a widely studied book filled with memorable quotes. Scrooge describes himself now as a "school-boy", in contrast to his earlier statement from his younger self that "I was a boy" (in which he criticized his younger self, believing to have grown wiser) from stave 2. Leading up to this moment it appears as if Scrooge already fears that this is the case, but that does not detract from the tension that Charles Dickens can create here. Already, the poor townsfolk are elevated above Scrooge in moral standing he is a caricature of a lonely miser. Latest answer posted December 06, 2020 at 12:31:06 PM. If they would rather die, theyd better do it, and decrease the surplus population. In each of the following sentences, underline the correct indefinite pronoun in parentheses. In each stave Scrooge gradually changes his attitude to become a better person. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Each adjective is also connected with the hands to show how he holds tightly to everything he has. It is also a fact, that Scrooge had seen it, night and morning, during his whole residence in that place; also that Scrooge had as little of what is called fancy about him as any man in the city of London, even including -- which is a bold word -- the corporation, aldermen, and livery. Scrooge! The water-plug being left in solitude, its overflowing sullenly congealed, and turned to misanthropic ice. Which, you see, were a drawback on my learning. But you were always a good man of business, Jacob, faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself. The man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. Use correct capitalization. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." In other words, Scrooge is stingy and tough: he has no . Just as Scrooge seems unaffected by the cold and darkness, he also shuns his feelings of fear and refuses to trust his senses or give in to them. Once upon a time -- of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve -- old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. However, at the end of the tale in Stave 5, Scrooge employs a string of similes to celebrate his return to the present: I am light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call `nuts to Scrooge. And yet the way he denies the truth with joke-making, shows his fear. Scrooge represents the ignorant attitude of the wealthy classes that Dickens despised in his own society. Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. Christmas is a time of family, and despite his scary appearance, we get the feeling that Marley is here to help. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned -- they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there., `If they would rather die, said Scrooge, `they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. The mention of Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from. At Fezziwig's party (pp. "Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary as an oyster." Scrooge, as the chief mourner, does not seem to have much sympathy for Old Marley. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one lifes opportunity misused! That, and its livid colour, made it horrible; but its horror seemed to be in spite of the face and beyond its control, rather than a part or its own expression. Oysters are confined solitarily. went down a slide on Cornhill, at the end of a lane of boys, twenty times, in honour of its being Christmas Eve, and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt, to play at blindmans-buff. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." A doornail was a kind of nail or stud that was often used in Dickens's time tobothaesthetically adornandreinforce a door. In 1861, 35,000 children under 12 lived and worked in workhouses in Britain. Discipline was harsh and. It was double-locked, as he had locked it with his own hands, and the bolts were undisturbed. Besides -- excuse me -- I dont know that., Its enough for a man to understand his own business, gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge. In this way, Dickens universalizes his message. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Countrys done for. Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, `My dear Scrooge, how are you? Becoming immediately sensible of the impropriety, he poked the fire, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever. Refine any search. Scrooge never painted out Old Marleys name. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. "Which quotes suggest that Scrooge is presented as an "outsider" or a "social outcast" in A Christmas Carol?" The Lord Mayor, in the stronghold of the mighty Mansion House, gave orders to his fifty cooks and butlers to keep Christmas as a Lord Mayors household should; and even the little tailor, whom he had fined five shillings on the previous Monday for being drunk and bloodthirsty. He does not see the basic human value in all people. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! Here, readers are exposed to the ghost of Christmas yet to come. The ghost breaks the news to Scrooge that the person whose death has been talked about so callously was his own. 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