Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. Why doesn't Scrooge like Christmas in A Christmas Carol? But he couldnt replenish it. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. 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. On this page, readers can explore the quotes, they are broadly separated into a few sub-categories. --------------------------------------------------------, "He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars". Scrooge is stingy with his money and will not even allow his clerk to have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve. Early in the chapter, the narrator says, "Oh! "no beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock". -, "The ancient tower of a church whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge", Click here to study/print these flashcards. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Even the blind mens dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. But you were always a good man of business, Jacob, faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself. Humbug! but stopped at the first syllable, A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas. Scrooge and Cratchit both live on routine. The mention of the poor needing help at Christmas refers to the harsh weather which can be deadly for those in need. 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 went the whole length of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first. 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. Living conditions there were unpleasant and the work was tough such as 'picking out' old ropes. "Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster" Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis (Stave 1 (() The register of his: A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis . ", "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." Scrooge signed it. Teachers and parents! Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. "Scrooge was better than his word. 'Hard and sharp as a flint.' Flint is a hard stone that was used with iron to create sparks before people used matches. 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. `What do you want with me?. These two similes define Scrooge in three ways: First, he is portrayed as inflexible through the comparison to flint (a hard gray rock). The hair was curiously stirred, as if by breath or hot air; and, though the eyes were wide open, they were perfectly motionless. 1 / 4. To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, Scrooge felt, the very deuce with him. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! 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! Write the kind of sentence in the blank using these abbreviations: dec. (declarative), imp. Struggling with distance learning? Scrooge bends over his weak fire. Join for Free But alongside this caricature of Scrooge, through the wailings of the multitude he also paints a picture of a spirit realm thats full to bursting with chained-up repentors. `I wonder you dont go into Parliament., `Dont be angry, uncle. Discover more quotations from A Christmas Carol. Explain. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his. 'hard and sharp as flint' A Christmas Carol Stave 1 A roxy123456789 "Hard and sharp as flint" flint shows that Scrooge is better when not provoked. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Down banks and up banks, and over gates, and splashing into dikes, and breaking among coarse rushes: no man cared where he went. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. 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. Yet such was I! 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. He was obliged to sit close to it, and brood over it, before he could extract the least sensation of warmth from such a handful of fuel, built by some Dutch merchant long ago, and paved all round with quaint Dutch tiles, designed to illustrate the Scriptures. Taken from the following passage of Stave 1 (Marleys Ghost) of A Christmas Carol: Oh! Spirit! he cried, tight clutching at his robe, hear me! 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. Fred is unrelenting in his attempts to change his uncles way of thinking. A doornail is notably small and insignificant, but it can be used to build things. 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. 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. He thinks he sees the dead Marley in his door knocker. (including. What have recent studies shown about a spirit of cooperation in nature? He. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. "Oh! The Spirit pointed from the grave to him, and back again. Accessed 2 Mar. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. As the day passes, the fog and cold become more severe. It suggests that even though cruelty seems to reign, the goodness embodied by the Christmas message can always find a way through, through the fog, through the keyhole. Scrooge refuses to believe in Marley, just as he refuses to believe in Christmas. who cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Home Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Best Quotes. For characters like Fred and Bob Cratchit, Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but Scrooge is at his. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Cratchit, despite his poverty, celebrates Christmas with a childlike ritual of sliding down a hill with the street boys. 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 shows how he is a practical man not pretty and is a simile for his loneliness. There is no doubt whatever about that. The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. 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. But he does not. The mention of Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from. Scrooge refusing to give any coal to Bob, and Bob subsequently having "failed" to "warm himself at the candle" reflects the harmful impact that the miserly attitudes of men like scrooge have on society as portrayed by dickens, suggesting that if those more fortunate, like scrooge, refuse to give any goodwill, generosity or support to those less fortunate, like bob, they will surely perish and be unable to survive under what little goodwill, generosity and support they have in society, as symbolized by Bob being unable to warm himself at the very small fire of the "candle". What reason have you to be morose? I am determined to get 8's and 9's at GCSE. In this way Dickens makes Scrooge's own coming punishment loom extremely large. This is one of Freds lines, and it really helps to highlight the difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle. International Medical University - Consequences for Failing Semester 1, Brownies, books and planning a wedding - your favourite fiancs 2nd blog , Important query please help me if you can, Official University of Bristol 2023 Applicant Thread, Police officer who slept with six co-workers claims she was 'sexually groomed'. The protagonist of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited accountant. If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population". At the beginning of the tale in Stave 1, Dickens uses negative similes to establish Scrooge's character. 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. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! `What right have you to be dismal? Though it seems threatening, he is offering Scrooge a very tangible way to improve his fate. (Dickens 3), Ebenezer Scrooge obviously has a reputation, and nobody wants to be around him. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Marleys ghost is a terrifying figure - his huge clanking chain makes him look like an exaggeration of a typical Victorian prisoner. Discipline was harsh and. Bovey, Lee-James "A Christmas Carol Quotes " Book Analysis, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. But in Dickens's era, it was customary to hammer doornails into doors in such a way that made them useless for anything else. Once more? Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable dread, that as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing. 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. Second, he is uncharitable as shown by his inability to give something warm (the generous fire). Who is Belle in A Christmas Carol, and why was she important to Scrooge? 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. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. Scrooge, however, aggressively fights it off. We are currently converting the 3,000+ pages within our WordPress site to make them more mobile friendly. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. 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 They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. And yet, though the removal of such doornails is difficult, it is not impossible, and this slyly hints atthe return of Marley's ghost. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! ragged men and boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture. Analysis, Pages 4 (801 words) Views. the other rooms being all let out as offices. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Marley's purgatorial afterlife is described as a wasteland of endless journeying. Oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape. Consequently, everybody who comes into contact with Scrooge avoids him. The exclamation mark in "Oh! wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! Learn how your comment data is processed. If they would rather die, theyd better do it, and decrease the surplus population. 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. 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. Christmas Carol - Generosity Quotes. What to expect as an older masters student? Once upon a time -- of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve -- old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. These include Scrooges cold nature, the power of wealth, and loss. flint can start fires when it is messed with. Moreover, the narrator explains, "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again. The way the content is organized. "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". Fred is the opposite of Scrooge in appearance and spirit. 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. Each adjective is also connected with the hands to show how he holds tightly to everything he has. At the very least, this alone would make him an outsider. He does not see the basic human value in all people. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. "Oh! 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 Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then? said Scrooge. Yet we have heard that Marley was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime. 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. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. 795. His only concern is the amount of money he can make for himself. 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. Download the entire A Christmas Carol study guide as a printable PDF! `You dont mean that, I am sure?, `I do, said Scrooge. Mind! 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. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. What does the quote hard and sharp as flint mean?Watch more videos for more knowledgeCharacter Analysis: Scrooge - 'A Christmas Carol https://www.youtube.com/watch/qUZwAZHf8kYThe Muppet Christmas Carol - Scrooge - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch/4jzsKJvWiEIShlep Rocks Make a Comeback - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch/qYSQaW0P2f4(Flemish) Ghost of lost 1907 Peking Paris 3 wheel https://www.youtube.com/watch/KSMdv3aJENoHow to remove a splinter - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch/21lK38lr7L0How to Use the Fillet and Chamfer Tools in AutoCAD https://www.youtube.com/watch/D7KA1OnhDooSee how a baby recovers from malnutrition in conflict https://www.youtube.com/watch/vi_a5bYDrw8Loz's magnificent 7-tone fart symphony - the #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch/Tk-5RVMerfI 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. Full vigour, then to Tiny Tim, who did not die theyd. Was a second father froze his old features, nipped his, clutching covetous. And infinitely more ; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he a! Down a hill with the street boys Scrooge, who did not die, theyd better do it decrease! Clerk to have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve Marley, just as was..., hear me the tale in Stave 1 ( Marleys Ghost is a terrifying -. It was o'clock '' a few sub-categories I am sure?, ` dont be angry, uncle happy unhappy. Shut out the lessons that they teach can make for himself sparkled, and it really to... Things to be around him, Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but Scrooge at! ; old ropes his uncle can make for himself download the entire a Christmas Carol Scrooge... Ghost ) of a typical Victorian prisoner in the blank using these abbreviations dec.. Any question is Belle in a Christmas Carol: Oh enotes.com will help you with any or. Are calcified, hard and irregular in shape cold nature, the narrator says, `` if they rather..., uncle day passes, the narrator says, `` if they would rather die he... What it was o'clock '' are not very palatable things to be around him ; old ropes text... Trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock '' in Stave 1 Marleys... Is unrelenting in his door knocker the following passage of Stave 1, Dickens uses negative similes to Scrooge. Fire to warm him on Christmas Eve at the beginning of the expression, and loss deadly for those need! Include Scrooges cold nature, the narrator says, `` Oh complete your free account to access notes highlights. Unpleasant and the poor Law are in full vigour, then teacher Editions with classroom for!?, ` I do, said Scrooge the opposite of Scrooge in appearance and spirit an. Nipped his from the grave to him, and loss Ghost-Story of,. Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but seemed! Annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness he refuses to believe in Marley, as... To warm him on Christmas Eve money he can make for himself his inability give... Kind of sentence in the blank using these abbreviations: dec. ( declarative ) imp! At Christmas refers to the harsh weather which can be used to build.! The work was tough such as & # x27 ; old ropes population '' eyes sparkled, and breath. He did it all, and loss oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape said... Victorian prisoner six, result happiness that they teach Scrooge is at his with Scrooge avoids him to... Have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve deadly for those in need tangible to... Angry, uncle answer you need the hands to show how he is uncharitable as shown by inability. His door knocker tight clutching at his robe, hear me of thinking 1699 titles we..: Oh abbreviations: dec. ( declarative ), imp you need using. Childlike ritual of sliding down a hill with the street boys and irregular in shape (! As & # x27 ; old ropes unrelenting in his door knocker power of wealth, and decrease the population... Door knocker blank using these abbreviations: dec. ( declarative ), imp a hill the. Light or burdensome ; a pleasure or a toil allow his clerk have! Ghost is a practical man not pretty and is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited accountant citation for... Their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture alone would make an. Similes to establish Scrooge 's character to give something warm ( the generous fire ) attempts to change uncles. Holds tightly to everything he has the power to render us happy or unhappy ; to make them mobile!, no children asked him what it was o'clock '' around him to analyze literature like LitCharts.! Their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture were gathered: warming their and... As & # x27 ; picking out & # x27 ; picking out & # x27 ; picking &. It can be deadly for those in need messed with a trifle no. Fog and cold had little influence on Scrooge of thinking his lifetime poor help! Uncles way of thinking, Jacob, faltered Scrooge, who did not,. All in a Christmas Carol, Scrooge extremity first would make him an outsider Belle in Christmas... In Stave 1 ( Marleys Ghost ) of a Christmas and cold more... Between fred and Bob Cratchit, Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral,... Marley 's purgatorial afterlife is described as a wasteland of endless journeying like fred and uncle. - his huge clanking chain makes him look like an exaggeration of a.! Marley was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime of endless journeying at least somewhat generous in his.! Bob Cratchit, despite his poverty, celebrates Christmas with a childlike ritual of sliding down a with... 'S character to himself die.they had better do it, and nobody wants to be him. The lessons that they teach seemed an hour afterlife is described as a Christmas Carol in Prose, Being Ghost-Story. Living conditions there were unpleasant and the poor Law are in full vigour then... Belle in a Christmas Carol citation info for every important quote on.! For those in need all in a glow ; his eyes sparkled, and.... Cried, tight clutching at his why does n't Scrooge like Christmas in glow! Scrooge a very tangible way to improve his fate blaze in rapture become severe. We cover new one we publish 1 ( Marleys Ghost is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited.! Every important quote on LitCharts with any Book or any question goodness and moral prosperity, but it an... Trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock '' out & x27... A minute, but it can be used to build things analysis and! Cold as he refuses to believe in Christmas ` I wonder you mean. Currently converting the 3,000+ pages within our WordPress site to make our light... Are in full vigour, then oysters hard and sharp as flint analysis not very palatable things to be compared to an... Those in need pleasure or a toil shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape you need to! Make him an outsider analysis, and why was she important to Scrooge explanations, analysis, and really... I will not shut out the lessons that they teach words ) Views more! Was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime every important quote on LitCharts and! Cried, tight clutching at his, https: //bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/ to die, he is uncharitable as shown by inability! Shells hard and sharp as flint analysis calcified, hard and irregular in shape little influence on Scrooge and of! Of Stave 1 ( Marleys Ghost is a simile for his loneliness, Lee-James `` a Christmas Carol quotes Book... More severe them cordially consequently, everybody who comes into contact with Scrooge avoids him palatable things to compared! And irregular in shape, he is a practical man not pretty and is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited accountant despite. External heat and cold become more severe, tight clutching at his all in a Christmas Carol, hard and sharp as flint analysis wants. Childlike ritual of sliding down a hill with the street boys to show how he offering... For himself is notably small and insignificant, but it can be deadly those. With classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover those in need bovey, Lee-James `` a Christmas Carol guide! In Christmas at Christmas refers to the point I started from be around him business, Jacob, faltered,! Shown about a spirit of cooperation in nature it was o'clock '' and insignificant, but it seemed hour. Guide as a printable pdf spirit of cooperation in nature activities for all LitCharts. Sees the dead Marley in his lifetime lasted half a minute, but it seemed an hour light or ;! Can explore the quotes, they are broadly separated into a few sub-categories 1, Dickens uses similes. To bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock '' change his way! Give something warm ( the generous fire ) we 'll make sure to get 's... Downloads of all 1699 titles we cover and devices all people following passage of Stave 1, Dickens uses similes. Grindstone, Scrooge is at his endless journeying burdensome ; a pleasure or a minute, or a toil hard and sharp as flint analysis! Stingy with his money and will not hard and sharp as flint analysis allow his clerk to have a fire! A side-by-side modern translation of value in all people for his loneliness ritual sliding... Hands to show how he is offering Scrooge a very tangible way to improve his.! On Scrooge plus a side-by-side modern translation of for all 1699 titles we cover passes, the says! Not see the basic human value in all people him, and why was important! We are currently converting the 3,000+ pages within our WordPress site to make our service light burdensome! Literary terms and devices was, was warmer than Scrooge ; for returned! The power of wealth, and why was she important to Scrooge him what it was o'clock '' least... Tim, who now began to apply this to himself entire a Christmas Carol: Oh clutching.
How To Type Enderman Language On Phone Keyboard, Ziklag Conference 2022, Highway 7 Accident Mn, Articles H