No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Why show me this, if I am past all hope! For the first time, the hand appeared to shake. Hes comparing Cratchits actual body temperature to Scrooges personality. Flint was traditionally used to start fires which may hint at Scrooges later change in attitude as the story unfolds. "So surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Second, he is uncharitable as shown by his inability to give something warm (the generous fire). 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. (c) Copyright 2012 - 2022 The Circumlocution Office | All Rights Reserved | Built by The Circumlocution Office using WordPress. He prefers to keep to the edges of society, away from the crowds or anyone who might reach out to him and away from the likelihood of having to speak to or engage with another person. I revise four hours a day. The mention of Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from. The word 'analysis' literally means to loosen something up. "suggests that even the narrator is overwhelmed by how outrageously unpleasant Scrooge is. Scrooge sees the workhouses as a solution to a problem, and shuts out the idea that their inhabitants are real feeling human beings. "Oh! Oh, no, no! The finger was still there. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. "hard and sharp as flint, from which no stel had ever struck out generous fire". 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. As Scrooge looked fixedly at this phenomenon, it was a knocker again. Scrooge is Hard and sharp as flint (p. 2). The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his. Scrooge signed it. "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. It is made up of two Greek words, ana meaning up, and lysis meaning to loosen. Label each adjective clause adj. "Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary as an oyster." He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. `I wonder you dont go into Parliament., `Dont be angry, uncle. Scrooge! In this way Dickens makes Scrooge's own coming punishment loom extremely large. Current Year 11 Official Thread (2022-2023)! Date: First published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. https://www.youtube. A merry Christmas to everyone.". A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlets Father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot -- say Saint Pauls Churchyard for instance -- literally to astonish his sons weak mind. Charles Dickens uses a number of comparisons (known as similes) to emphasize the characteristics of Ebenezer Scrooge early on in the novella, such as solitary as an oyster, and this one, hard and sharp as flint. The fireplace is adorned with tiles that illustrate stories from scripture but over all of these famous figures comes. 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 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. clause and each adverb clause adv. The Student Room and The Uni Guide are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. "Nothing" said scrooge "nothing. Though he never speaks this way about Marley, the reader can infer that Scrooge has similar thoughts. Of course he did. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you for many a year! `What do you want with me?. Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. Browse Library, Teacher Memberships How is the theme of isolation presented in A Christmas Carol? 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. The bells ceased as they had begun, together. Already, the poor townsfolk are elevated above Scrooge in moral standing he is a caricature of a lonely miser. Who is Belle in A Christmas Carol, and why was she important to Scrooge? The man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. Give your view on Hard and sharp as flint with a rating and help us compile the very best Charles Dickens quotations. Scrooge does not believe in Christmas and reluctantly allows Crachit a day off on Christmas Day and then returns to his house. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? Exam focus: Writing about 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. 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. and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! Why does the Ghost of Christmas Past show Scrooge the boarding school where he was left alone in A Christmas Carol? `He died seven years ago, this very night.. Once more? Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the most famous characters created by Charles Dickens and arguably one of the most famous in English literature. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. 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. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis (Stave 1 (() The register of his: A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis . Scrooge could have family, if only he would allow himself to. For characters like Fred and Bob Cratchit, Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but Scrooge is at his. Analysis of "flint": hard rock people used to use to light fires before matches were invented. Fred is the opposite of Scrooge in appearance and spirit. Flint is a form of the mineral quartz, which occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalk and limestones. who cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially. Dickens suggests that scrooge is lonely, unsociable and disconnected from society through this simile, however, the description of him as an "oyster" connoting a creature with a tough exterior but containing a valuable, beautiful pearl within, suggests that scrooge has sociability and goodwill for others (and other values of the Christmas spirit) that will allow him to reconnect with society buried within him. Scrooge bends over his weak fire. The hair was curiously stirred, as if by breath or hot air; and, though the eyes were wide open, they were perfectly motionless. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. `Tell me why?. He becomes nearly inebriated with joy. 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. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! Near the beginning of the book, as we are being introduced to Scrooge, we read, Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2023 Entry, Greta Thunberg detained protesting a windfarm, Official Cambridge Postgraduate Applicants 2023 Thread, Official Imperial College 2023 Undergraduate Applicants Thread. 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 . 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. Yet such was I! Name the six places the second spirit takes Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Privacy Policy, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. Be here all the earlier next morning. the extremity of scrooge's ill will and rejection of the Christmas Spirit's values are exemplified here by Dickens through the idea that the poor who cannot support themselves should die. Download. Instead of being hard and sharp, he is soft and light. Marleys face. Find full texts with expert analysis in our extensive library. 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. Yet we have heard that Marley was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. "Every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart". Youre rich enough., Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment. 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. | You are fettered, said Scrooge, trembling. 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. Join for Free Scrooge never painted out Old Marleys name. Cards. When will come to see me?' Click the card to flip . Living conditions there were unpleasant and the work was tough such as 'picking out' old ropes. _____Why did the puppy hide when Sebastian appeared? What reason have you to be morose? Teachers and parents! Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs Indeed, Scrooge has become a new man. It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. Oh! (including. the other rooms being all let out as offices. Complete the following sentences by writing appropriate titles on the line provided. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. This has a double meaning both as a sympathetic term of endearment and also the fact that thanks to Scrooge the man is literally poor. The door of Scrooges counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Introduction to analysis Analysis is an important. 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. , ana meaning up, and literature lovers light or burdensome ; a pleasure or a.. On your Essay right away Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to started. 1843. https: //www.youtube, my good fellow, than I have given you for a... The first time, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to that Star! 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