`You dont believe in me, observed the Ghost. 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). I have got a paragraph here from the book Christmas Carol explaining what scrooge was like. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. 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. 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). 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. 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. I should like to give him something: that's all.". Ask me if you need help for GCSE revision? Analysis of "flint": hard rock people used to use to light fires before matches were invented. He becomes nearly inebriated with joy. The bells chiming and the clanking of chains create a disturbance that even Scrooge cant ignore, and forebode both that Scrooge's time is approaching and that he himself will soon be in similar chains. similarly when other characters talk to Scrooge he often shouts at them. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. 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. To say that Scrooge could be made neither warm nor cold by any outside influence again paints him as an outcast. 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 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. **Example 1**. 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. The mention of Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from. Struggling with distance learning? 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. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! Marley's questions and Scrooge's answers about the senses are important. There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Past, Present and Future The Threat of Time, The opening establishes not just the friendship between Marley and Scrooge but also Scrooge's fundamental alonenessit's not just that they are friends; they are each other's, Scrooge is not just a grumpy old man he is a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. -, "The ancient tower of a church whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge", Click here to study/print these flashcards. "No," said scrooge, "no. And yet the way he denies the truth with joke-making, shows his fear. 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. "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." 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. At the very least, this alone would make him an outsider. Current Year 10 Official Thread (2022-2023). The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his. Though he looked the phantom through and through, though he felt the chilling influence of its death-cold eyes, `How now! said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever. Note the use of the adjective poor to describe Bob Cratchit. Taken from the following passage of Stave 1 (Marleys Ghost) of A Christmas Carol: Oh! Oh! 30-4) the young Scrooge is full of energy and . In each stave Scrooge gradually changes his attitude to become a better person. ", "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." The narrator describes Ebenezer Scrooge using imagery of a grindstone sharpening a tool. I am as giddy as a drunken man. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. "No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him." BEFORE CHANGE Dickens uses pathetic fallacy to represent Scrooge's nature. Exam focus: Writing about Scrooge. Scrooge has already, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Scrooge was not much in the habit of cracking jokes, nor did he feel, in his heart, by any means waggish then. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. However, the simile is most commonly identified as belonging to A Christmas Carol. He does not see the basic human value in all people. Upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried `I know him; Marleys Ghost! and fell again. Part of the lesson that Scrooge must learn is that life is short but regrets are long and haunting, and have an affect even after death. Spirit! he cried, tight clutching at his robe, hear me! 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. such was I! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! He is smug and condescending about the poor, and refuses to listen to the gentlemens reasoning. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his. What have recent studies shown about a spirit of cooperation in nature? Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. "Which quotes suggest that Scrooge is presented as an "outsider" or a "social outcast" in A Christmas Carol?" 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. Scrooge is a cold-hearted tight miser who watches everything going on within his counting-house business. 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. 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. 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. The last line of A Christmas Carol is God bless us, everyone. Its spoken by the well-loved character Tiny Tim. Bovey, Lee-James "A Christmas Carol Quotes " Book Analysis, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. Youre poor enough., `Come, then, returned the nephew gaily. 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. 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!. Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he had never believed it until now. 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!" Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. 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. When will come to see me?' He used to know how to have fun. "Nothing" said scrooge "nothing. Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. Scrooge is especially disgruntled when Fred mentions his wife, for example. This poignant moment arrives when Scrooge is looking at Christmas yet to come. It is a dark, sad moment but Bob Cratchit handles the situation with grace and dignity. 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. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Humbug!" Hes comparing Cratchits actual body temperature to Scrooges personality. Cite this Quote Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. Download. Whoever the author.Discover new and exciting books to dive into with our Book Explorer Tool. Foul weather didnt know where to have him. 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. A great many very young girls grown into bold women before they had well ceased to be children. In other words, Scrooge is stingy and tough: he has no sympathy, generosity, or compassion. 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. Flint is a form of the mineral quartz, which occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalk and limestones. "To say that he was not startled, or that his blood was not conscious of a terrible sensation to which it had been a stranger from infancy, would be untrue.". Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Scrooge and Cratchit both live on routine. 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. It is made up of two Greek words, ana meaning up, and lysis meaning to loosen. The best poem I have ever read is _____________________________________________ . 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? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population". 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. 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". Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. This suggests his ability to hurt others. and youll keep your Christmas by losing your situation! likening scrooge to a sheep, suggesting that he foolishly follows certain ideologies such as Malthusian economic theory. View further examples of the literary technique of. Oh! 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. His most famous saying is bah humbug. He used it as an exclamation when he wanted to express his displeasure about something. Fred knows this, and counters that "good" means something else entirely. "Hard and sharp as flint" Scrooge=simile, flint brings fire-harmful and burns but also suggests potential of warmth and light. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. 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. Yet we have heard that Marley was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime. When Scrooge finds himself able to embrace his community, he finds himself forever changed. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. 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. The dark, wintry night, and the approach of Christmas Day, should provide the conditions for some seasonal camaraderie between Scrooge and his clerk, but Scrooges misery wins out over all. 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. Accessed 2 Mar. Complete your free account to request a guide. How is the theme of isolation presented in A Christmas Carol? 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. A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. 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. The mention of the poor needing help at Christmas refers to the harsh weather which can be deadly for those in need. Teachers and parents! No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty." I dont mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. How could it be otherwise? 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 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. Scrooge is Hard and sharp as flint (p. 2). My partner is letting her friend sleep in her bed, am I overeacting? 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! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! 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. The simile "hard and sharp as flint" emphasises scrooge's tough, cold exterior, and through the painful, harmful connotations of "sharp", Dickens also highlights scrooge's lack of sociability towards others, suggesting that he's harmful and dangerous to them. Already, the poor townsfolk are elevated above Scrooge in moral standing he is a caricature of a lonely miser. The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. Accessed 2 March 2023. Why doesn't Scrooge like Christmas in A Christmas Carol? 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. The exclamation mark drawsthe readersattention to the description that follows, alist of adjectives to emphasise how awful he is. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. 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 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. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, "Secret, And Self-contained, And Solitary As An Oyster". Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. 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. Oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape. In 1861, 35,000 children under 12 lived and worked in workhouses in Britain. `I wonder you dont go into Parliament., `Dont be angry, uncle. Yet such was I! "Scrooge was better than his word. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. who cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially. 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 then gives you an idea of what Scrooge looks like. He believes solely in money. Browse Library, Teacher Memberships 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. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. 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. Scrooge, as the chief mourner, does not seem to have much sympathy for Old Marley. Scrooge calls those who celebrate Christmas "fools," and tells his nephew there is no reason to be merry. For characters like Fred and Bob Cratchit, Christmas represents the Christian ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but Scrooge is at his. This is a great quote for highlighting the sort of character that Scrooge was in ' A Christmas Carol '. Why does the Ghost of Christmas Past show Scrooge the boarding school where he was left alone in 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. 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