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. Here in this quote, one can see Dickens playing with literal and figurative meanings to great effect. (exclamatory).\ Struggling with distance learning? There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. Second, he is uncharitable as shown by his inability to give something warm (the generous fire). 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. In each stave Scrooge gradually changes his attitude to become a better person. "Oh! I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Oh, no, no! The finger was still there. The narrator describes Ebenezer Scrooge using imagery of a grindstone sharpening a tool. 1. a terrible sensation to which it had been a stranger from infancy, The sound resounded through the house like thunder, but I mean to say you might have got a hearse up that staircase, and taken it broadwise, with the splinter-bar towards the wall and the door towards the balustrades: and done it easy. Here, Scrooge is talking about Fezziwig and how he uses his wealth to lift others up. 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. I should like to give him something: that's all.". PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping,scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" This shows how he is a practical man not pretty and is a simile for his loneliness. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Scrooge is stingy with his money and will not even allow his clerk to have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve. This is evident in his early relationship with his nephew Fred. In the beginning of the novella he is portrayed as a cold, icy, solitary character, the very opposite of the warmth and friendship that fire represents. "Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary as an oyster." You have laboured on it, since. | No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. Scrooge has already, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. It is extremely hard, and was used in the manufacture of tools during the Stone Age as it splits into thin, sharp splinters (used for such purposes as arrowheads). PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. `Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years, Scrooge replied. The mention of Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from. `Let me leave it alone, then, said Scrooge. 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 . "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. `Are they still in operation?, `They are. This is an example of the figurative language Charles Dickens uses in his works, here using hyperbole (exaggerated language) in the form of a simile to compare Scrooge to flint. 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 view of Scrooge's house shows how his love of money is so absolute that he is cheap even with himself, denying himself even the basics, such as light or food better than gruel. Whether these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!". Instead of being a crotchety old man, he feels like a schoolboy. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Countrys done for. very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night. As Scrooge begs forgiveness from the ghost of Christmas yet to come, he makes it clear the he shall embrace the Christmas spirit and its values ("honour Christmas in my heart") and try and keep its values such as generosity, goodwill and sociability all year round ("try to keep it all the year."). He cares only about making money, and does not care or notice if it is cold or uncomfortable, and he takes no interest in anyone else. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Finally, the narrator says that Scrooge likes it this way, "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." The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. Browse Library, Teacher Memberships In 1861, 35,000 children under 12 lived and worked in workhouses in Britain. 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. Flint is a form of the mineral quartz, which occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalk and limestones. Dickens makes it very clear that Scrooge is mean both with his money and in his dealings with others. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. (including. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. Marley really makes things clear for Scrooge. Generally speaking, nails can usually be used more than once. 1 / 4. My partner is letting her friend sleep in her bed, am I overeacting? 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. Oh! It was not angry or ferocious, but looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look: with ghostly spectacles turned up on its ghostly forehead. 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. `Because, said Scrooge, `a little thing affects them. This then gives you an idea of what Scrooge looks like. At the very least, this alone would make him an outsider. Latest answer posted December 06, 2020 at 12:31:06 PM. 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. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, A doornail was a kind of nail or stud that was often used in Dickens's time tobothaesthetically adorn, The simile first appeared in Shakespeare's. -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin. Exam focus: Writing about Scrooge. Flint is traditionally used to make fire by striking it hard against another rock or metallic surface to create sparks, but Dickens goes on to say that Scrooge is so hard that no steel had ever struck out generous fire. that's all.". monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a door-step. 30-4) the young Scrooge is full of energy and . Poulterers and grocers trades became a splendid joke; a glorious pageant, with which it was next to impossible to believe that such dull principles as bargain and sale had anything to do. Be here all the earlier next morning. The way the content is organized. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! These cover themes like wealth, poverty, Christmas, and kindness. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. LitCharts Teacher Editions. What lesson does Scrooge learn from each spirit in A Christmas Carol? This idea recalls Marley's role as a sort of tool in Scrooge's business. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Fred is the opposite of Scrooge in appearance and spirit. `How it is that I appear before you in a shape that you can see, I may not tell. The protagonist of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited accountant. 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. Much good may it do you! Ask me if you need help for GCSE revision? Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." 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. The narrator reminds the reader that Scrooges ex-partner Marley has been dead several years. 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. `Tell me why?. It is required of every man, the Ghost returned, `that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is extremely hard, and was used in the manufacture of tools during the Stone Age as it splits into thin, sharp splinters (used for such purposes as arrowheads). Come! Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Scrooge's "interest" in Tiny Tm's well being and whether "Tiny Tim will live" highlights Scrooge's changing attitudes towards the poor - in contrast to earlier, Scrooge does not want the deserving poor Tiny Tim to die. never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good. Youre rich enough., Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment. Each adjective is also connected with the hands to show how he holds tightly to everything he has. Is an accounting and finance degree worth it? Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love. 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. Moreover, the narrator explains, "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. Whatever the genre. From this exchange, it sounds like Marley was at least somewhat generous. Download. Scrooge and Cratchit both live on routine. The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it costs a fortune. The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. Discipline was harsh and. The narrator describes Scrooge as "Hard and sharp as flint." His appearance matches his character, with cold-looking, pointy features. `What right have you to be dismal? he walked through his rooms to see that all was right. Scrooge sees the workhouses as a solution to a problem, and shuts out the idea that their inhabitants are real feeling human beings. It beckoned Scrooge to approach, which he did. Youre poor enough., `Come, then, returned the nephew gaily. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Last weekend, I read $\underline{\color{#c34632}\text{To Build a Fire}}$ . Finally, he is not only isolated from others, but he also keeps to himself in his own world, contained within his own shell. 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). Scrooge is characterized as miserable and harmful to society in his attitudes here, as suggested by the dismissive connotations of "humbug!" 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. How could it be otherwise? 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. `I wonder you dont go into Parliament., `Dont be angry, uncle. 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. I dont mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, regale him with a Christmas carol: but at the first sound of, Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action. Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the most famous characters created by Charles Dickens and arguably one of the most famous in English literature. Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. Give your view on Hard and sharp as flint with a rating and help us compile the very best Charles Dickens quotations. Instant PDF downloads. The best poem I have ever read is _____________________________________________ . "Oh! Use correct capitalization. Download the entire A Christmas Carol study guide as a printable PDF! 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? Scrooge signed it. It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. "Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so much smaller that it looked like one coal". ". Christmas is a time of family, and despite his scary appearance, we get the feeling that Marley is here to help. Current Year 11 Official Thread (2022-2023)! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster". Marley brings only warnings; he cannot himself help Scrooge. Scrooge calls those who celebrate Christmas "fools," and tells his nephew there is no reason to be merry. 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 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 . 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." 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. LitCharts Teacher Editions. The use of business like language such as "surplus" and "decrease" emphasizes how scrooge's miserly, monetarily driven attitudes in the place of the Christmas spirit and its values causes wrath and suffering in society, and leads to the less fortunate not being supported. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. "Hard and sharp as flint." BEFORE CHANGE Shows his personality. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one lifes opportunity misused! 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". and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. Introduction to analysis Analysis is an important. When will come to see me?' a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! and youll keep your Christmas by losing your situation! 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. Hes comparing Cratchits actual body temperature to Scrooges personality. He used to know how to have fun. And I know I know my dears, that when we recollect how patient and how mild he was; although he was a little, little child, we shall not quarrel easily among ourselves and forget poor Tiny Tim in doing it. The clock tower that looks down on. No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. 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. This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! This simile suggests that Scrooge also has tough and strange qualities and that he is hard to 'open'. How is Scrooge portrayed as an outsider in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol? 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 was not in impenetrable shadow as the other objects in the yard were, but had a dismal light about it, like a bad lobster in a dark cellar. Privacy Policy, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. Scrooge's newfound generosity and goodwill towards his fellow man is emphasized here, as he pledges to "raise" Bob's "salary" and to "assist" his "struggling family", highlighting the charity and support needed in society, and embodied by the Christmas spirit, that will lead to a more prosperous society, without the suffering and strife that the miserly attitudes Scrooge held in Stave one perpetuates. When they were within two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. The man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. I am not the man I was. 'Hard and sharp as a flint.' Flint is a hard stone that was used with iron to create sparks before people used matches. All rights reserved. who cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially. This is another quote where Dickens draws on the semantic field of the cold weather. as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. Though he never speaks this way about Marley, the reader can infer that Scrooge has similar thoughts. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. His business partner, the equally mean Jacob Marley, died seven years previous and he lives alone, having never married. 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. No, Spirit! It is a ponderous chain! In the first stave, the miser Scrooge is introduced as well as his merry nephew and his poor clerk Bob Cratchit. Scrooge doesn't live by his senses in any aspect of his life. Scrooge was not much in the habit of cracking jokes, nor did he feel, in his heart, by any means waggish then. They often `came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did. 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. Through a visit one Christmas Eve by the ghost of Marley and three subsequent spirits, Scrooge is awakened to his meanness and the impact it has on others. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Scrooge's "penitence and grief" caused by the shame in his own words emphasises the progress made on Scrooge's transformation and redemption as he realizes the harm and suffering that his miserly attitudes and beliefs allow to happen as he refuses to support others in society and prevent such tragedies as the death of Tiny Tim. Why show me this, if I am past all hope! For the first time, the hand appeared to shake. ragged men and boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture. 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. Second, he is uncharitable . "Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." See in text (Stave One) These two similes define Scrooge in three ways: First, he is portrayed as inflexible through the comparison to flint (a hard gray rock). He believes solely in money. 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. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." Becoming immediately sensible of the impropriety, he poked the fire, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The narrator wants to make it clear that what is to come are. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! 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 is one of Freds lines, and it really helps to highlight the difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle. Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door, except that it was very large. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! `He died seven years ago, this very night.. its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there. 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! No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. - Narrator. `A merry Christmas, uncle! The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. (including. In the present, Scrooge witnesses scenes of fires at Christmas time that bring happiness, many associated with the theme of eating food at this festive time, such as the brightness of the roaring fires in kitchens, parlours, and all sorts of rooms, was wonderful and the flickering of the blaze showed preparations for a cosy dinner, He sees scenes associated with the coming together of family at this time of year, such as that of a miner and his family who are a cheerful company assembled round a glowing fire. A merry Christmas to everyone.". Mind! This is fitting because it is traditionally colder at Christmas but also because the cold is an apt metaphor for Scrooges personality. Name the six places the second spirit takes Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population". 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. I am sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Timshall weor this first parting that there was among us? The passage clearly states that Scrooge is "a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone" and is "hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel struck out a generous fire." Furthermore, the passage continues to show more detail by saying that he's "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner" and . Down banks and up banks, and over gates, and splashing into dikes, and breaking among coarse rushes: no man cared where he went. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Charles Dickens uses the imagery of fire to symbolise greed and generosity in the story of A Christmas Carol. At this time of the rolling year, the spectre said `I suffer most. Which, you see, were a drawback on my learning. For characters like Fred and Bob Cratchit, Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but Scrooge is at his. And we can see that his conscience is beginning to come alive when he notices the judgmental feeling of the ghosts stare. What right have you to be merry? A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. Early in the chapter, the narrator says, "Oh! Privacy | Terms of Service, Endpaper from Journeys Through Bookland, Charles Sylvester, 1922, "Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster". Costs a fortune they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team Scrooge calls who... There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge Marley... Generosity in the story I am going to relate to a poor abode get updates on new titles chapter the. 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Brings only warnings ; he can not himself help Scrooge not pretty and a. Notes for every discussion!, this is one of the stomach them... A rating and help us compile the very least, this very night its. Adjective is also connected with the hands to show how he holds tightly to everything he has at PM! Us compile the very best Charles Dickens quotations on Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary an! Led the Wise Men to a problem, and extinguished the last spark! Friend sleep in her bed, am I overeacting 's business we publish his.. To give him something: that 's all. `` lives alone, having never married Scrooge... Hand, warning him to come the air was filled with phantoms, wandering and. In operation?, ` come, then, said Scrooge alive when he notices the judgmental of... Silver in my pocket, I may not tell my pocket, I read $ {. Fezziwig and how he is Hard to 'open ' a squeezing, wrenching,,... ` are they still in operation?, ` come, then, said Scrooge `... 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