Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Why show me this, if I am past all hope! For the first time, the hand appeared to shake. - Narrator. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. Refine any search. 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. Let it also be borne in mind that Scrooge had not bestowed one thought on Marley, since his last mention of his seven years dead partner that afternoon. No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. This shows how he is a practical man not pretty and is a simile for his loneliness. Stave One. The exclamation mark in "Oh!" suggests that even the narrator is overwhelmed by how outrageously unpleasant Scrooge is. wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! The passage precisely states that Scrooge is "a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone" and "hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel struck out a generous fire." Furthermore, the passage shows greater detail by saying that he's "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner" and "solitary as an . 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. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. These cover themes like wealth, poverty, Christmas, and kindness. Nobody under the table, nobody under the sofa, a small fire in the grate; spoon and basin ready; and the little saucepan of gruel, Nobody under the bed; nobody in the closet; nobody in his dressing-gown, which was hanging up in a suspicious attitude against the wall. 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. -, "The ancient tower of a church whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge", Click here to study/print these flashcards. "Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary as an oyster." If you like this, we think you might also be interested in these related quotations. Accessed 2 March 2023. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. Each adjective is also connected with the hands to show how he holds tightly to everything he has. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. 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, He carried his own low temperature always about with him. 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. 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! Humbug!" I defy himif he finds me going there, in good temper, year after year, and saying, Uncle Scrooge, how are you? If it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, thats something. 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. 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. Scrooge and Cratchit both live on routine. Privacy Policy, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. Let him make a tool of me afresh and again? The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. Mind! Scrooge knew he was dead? A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. You are fettered, said Scrooge, trembling. This gives the perception of Scrooge being a very cold character, a word also associated with being mean. Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the most famous characters created by Charles Dickens and arguably one of the most famous in English literature. Scrooge is characterized as miserable and harmful to society in his attitudes here, as suggested by the dismissive connotations of "humbug!" `Are they still in operation?, `They are. I want to be an Architect, what GCSEs should I do? Many's the hard day's walking in rain and mud, and with never a penny earned. Hard and sharp as flint Shows Scrooge's inability to harness any other views that arent his. Scrooge=isolation. `Merry Christmas! "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". Whereas the line about being solitary as an oyster suggests that Scrooge refuses to let anybody into his life. Oh! It is a ponderous chain! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! The last line of A Christmas Carol is God bless us, everyone. Its spoken by the well-loved character Tiny Tim. In 1861, 35,000 children under 12 lived and worked in workhouses in Britain. 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.". `Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years, Scrooge replied. I dont mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. 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. "Hard and sharp as flint." BEFORE CHANGE Shows his personality. On this page, readers can explore the quotes, they are broadly separated into a few sub-categories. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. How is Scrooge portrayed as an outsider in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol? Be here all the earlier next morning. 806 8067 22 Registered Office: Imperial House, 2nd Floor, 40-42 Queens Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3XB, Taking a break or withdrawing from your course. And yet the way he denies the truth with joke-making, shows his fear. the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? ". (Dickens 3), Ebenezer Scrooge obviously has a reputation, and nobody wants to be around him. If the good Saint Dunstan had but nipped the Evil Spirits nose with a touch of such weather as that, instead of using his familiar weapons, then indeed he would have roared to lusty purpose. Scrooge is such a cold-hearted man that the sight of his late partner, who was earlier described as his only friend, does not touch his emotions, but instead makes him angry. The narrator reminds the reader that Scrooges ex-partner Marley has been dead several years. No, no, no. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. Much good may it do you! Further, he is "self-contained," meaning that he never reaches out to other people for any reason, and "solitary as an oyster"all packed up in his own little shell, so to speak. myPerspectives: American Literature, California Volume 2, Edge Reading, Writing and Language: Level B, David W. Moore, Deborah Short, Michael W. Smith, Holt McDougal Literature: Grade 9 (Common Core). 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." | **Example 1**. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. What have recent studies shown about a spirit of cooperation in nature? *(Many, Nobody)* is predicting rain for tomorrow. This then gives you an idea of what Scrooge looks like. In this way Dickens makes Scrooge's own coming punishment loom extremely large. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, "Secret, And Self-contained, And Solitary As An Oyster". When he gets home, Scrooge would rather save money and live in discomfort, keeping a very low fire for himself, described as nothing on such a bitter night to which he is forced to lean over just to extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. 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. 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. 'Hard and sharp as a flint.' Flint is a hard stone that was used with iron to create sparks before people used matches. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping,scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" science pearson edexcel end of unit test higher. Home Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Best Quotes. What reason have you to be morose? The word 'analysis' literally means to loosen something up. His stash of money could afford him a rich, luxurious Christmas but he avoids these traditions. Foul weather didnt know where to have 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. he walked through his rooms to see that all was right. Scrooge's dismissive, insulting (calling anyone who embraces Christmas and the values of the Christmas spirit an "idiot") and excessively violent (believing anyone who celebrates Christmas should be "boiled" and "buried") attitude to Christmas and those who celebrate it is aggressive to the point of comedy, but is also a daunting and serious reflection of how Scrooge's attitudes and rejection of the Christmas spirit's values leads to violence, strife and conflict within society. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. `I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. Already, the poor townsfolk are elevated above Scrooge in moral standing he is a caricature of a lonely miser. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse! similarly when other characters talk to Scrooge he often shouts at them. `A merry Christmas, uncle! This suggests his ability to hurt others. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping,scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" - Narrator. Struggling with distance learning? Scrooge's transformation is emphasized by him becoming a "second father" to Tiny Tim "who did not die", suggesting that the values of the Christmas spirit, encapsulating good will and generosity, leads to a supportive, charitable, family-like society in which everyone supports each-other and there is no suffering or plight (like Tiny Tim's death). The clock tower that looks down on. Dickens creates an echo in the story; first, the narrator providesunpleasant similes comparing Scrooge to flint and an oyster, and then at the end, Scrooge exhibits the power of self-determination by comparing himself to new things. 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. ragged men and boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture. Oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape. Marley represents a kind of family for Scrooge, even though they are not blood-related. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir., `And the Union workhouses demanded Scrooge. What does the quote hard and sharp as flint mean?Watch more videos for more knowledgeCharacter Analysis: Scrooge - 'A Christmas Carol . 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. In this way, Dickens universalizes his message. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. that's all.". His answer is, "Bah! I will live in the past, the present, and the future. Teachers and parents! I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. (c) Copyright 2012 - 2022 The Circumlocution Office | All Rights Reserved | Built by The Circumlocution Office using WordPress. Analysis of "flint": hard rock people used to use to light fires before matches were invented. ", "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Charles Dickens uses the imagery of fire to symbolise greed and generosity in the story of A Christmas Carol. hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire simile, he is hard and mean secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster sibilance, hissing, sinister, simile suggest he is hard to open up but may have a pearly within, foreshadowing Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. 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. `Dont be cross, uncle! said the nephew. Scrooge sat down upon a form, and wept to see his poor forgotten self as he used to be. Living conditions there were unpleasant and the work was tough such as 'picking out' old ropes. Taken from the following passage of Stave 1 (Marleys Ghost) of A Christmas Carol: Oh! 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