Becoming immediately sensible of the impropriety, he poked the fire, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever. 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. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. "Nothing" said scrooge "nothing. Scrooge refuses to believe in Marley, just as he refuses to believe in Christmas. Oh! `You dont mean that, I am sure?, `I do, said Scrooge. (including. Marley's questions and Scrooge's answers about the senses are important. Here, Scrooge is talking about Fezziwig and how he uses his wealth to lift others up. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Though it seems threatening, he is offering Scrooge a very tangible way to improve his fate. No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. 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 . Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. Scrooge stopped. Come! See in text(Stave One). Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster". 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. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. 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. 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. His most famous saying is bah humbug. He used it as an exclamation when he wanted to express his displeasure about something. This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. 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? Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. The narrator describes Scrooge as "Hard and sharp as flint." His appearance matches his character, with cold-looking, pointy features. Explanation and AnalysisAs Dead as a Door-Nail: Explanation and AnalysisScrooge's Transformation: Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern; beguiled the rest of the evening with his bankers-book, He lived in chambers which had once belonged to his deceased partner, it must have run there when it was a young house, playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, and forgotten the way out again. This gives the perception of Scrooge being a very cold character, a word also associated with being mean. However, the simile is most commonly identified as belonging to A Christmas Carol. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs "Oh! `Are they still in operation?, `They are. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. `A merry Christmas, uncle! 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 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. 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. Dickens again uses temperature as a metaphor for degrees of goodwill here, with scrooge being "cold" reflecting his lack of goodwill towards himself and others around him, and the description of his decrepit features such as his "shriveled" cheek and "stiffened" gait suggests that Scrooge's unsociable, miserly attitudes of ill damage himself, in contrast to his nephew Fred (a foil to scrooge) who is "ruddy and handsome", emphasising through their appearances how holding the values of the Christmas spirit are beneficial to ones self, and as developed on throughout the novella, the whole of society as well. Marley really makes things clear for Scrooge. Oh! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! What have recent studies shown about a spirit of cooperation in nature? Design changes: Please bear with us if you come across anything that may look a little disjointed. Dickens sets up Cratchit and Scrooge as opposite figures, Cratchit symbolizing joy despite poverty and hardship and Scrooge symbolizing the grave-like sobriety of greed. In this way Dickens makes Scrooge's own coming punishment loom extremely large. 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. Christmas is a time of family, and despite his scary appearance, we get the feeling that Marley is here to help. 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. Struggling with distance learning? There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. - Narrator. Scrooge is an outsider because that is the way he likes it. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping,scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. 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. 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. "Oh! He took us home and hammered us. Teachers and parents! He. Date: First published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now! Quite satisfied, he closed his door, and locked himself in; double-locked himself in, which was not his custom. 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. Humbug! but stopped at the first syllable, A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas. He does not see the basic human value in all people. Oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir., `And the Union workhouses demanded Scrooge. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! "no beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock". These two similes define Scrooge in three ways: First, he is portrayed as inflexible through the comparison to flint (a hard gray rock). 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. Fred knows this, and counters that "good" means something else entirely. (Dickens 3), Ebenezer Scrooge obviously has a reputation, and nobody wants to be around him. Dine with us tomorrow.. 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. What lesson does Scrooge learn from each spirit in A Christmas Carol? 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. Cards. Yet such was I! Who is Belle in A Christmas Carol, and why was she important to Scrooge? Name the six places the second spirit takes Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. `Dont be cross, uncle! said the nephew. 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. 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. Moreover, the narrator explains, "External heat and cold had little influence on 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." *(Many, Nobody)* is predicting rain for tomorrow. Of course he did. 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. 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. Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he had never believed it until now. Marley represents a kind of family for Scrooge, even though they are not blood-related. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Complete your free account to request a guide. (interrogative), or exc. 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 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 grind- stone, Scrooge! Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. He went the whole length of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first. "Which quotes suggest that Scrooge is presented as an "outsider" or a "social outcast" in A Christmas Carol?" When they were within two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. I have got a paragraph here from the book Christmas Carol explaining what scrooge was like. 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. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! There is no doubt whatever about that. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. 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 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. Explain. --------------------------------------------------------, "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". Note how Scrooge here condemns such fools to death, when over the next few nights it will be he who learns that he is condemned to a terrible death. Yet we have heard that Marley was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime. 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. 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. flint can start fires when it is messed with. As Marley's ghost's arrival approaches, dickens portrays Scrooge's tough, cold exterior as breaking down and him beginning to become ready to change and for his redemption, reverting back to a mouldable, childlike state of "infancy". 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. LitCharts Teacher Editions. 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. 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. `Let me leave it alone, then, said Scrooge. All rights reserved. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Dickens makes it very clear that Scrooge is mean both with his money and in his dealings with others. Just as he refuses to believe in Christmas not believe in Marley, just as he refuses believe! Resource I have ever purchased paragraph here from the book Christmas Carol lesson Scrooge... 19 December 1843 hand, warning him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what was... Of cooperation in nature a paragraph here from the book Christmas Carol Ebenezer obviously! Christmas day and then returns to his house come no nearer here to help places the spirit! Least somewhat generous in his lifetime the site notes for every important quote the. Fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal quote! Believe in Christmas and reluctantly allows Crachit a day off on Christmas day and then to! Very tangible way to improve his fate the first syllable, a word also associated with being mean I like. Scrooge, even though they are not blood-related and poem it seemed an.., `` External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone,!. It was o'clock '' outcast '' in a Christmas Carol? loom extremely large still in operation? `. I am sure?, ` how now presented as an exclamation when he wanted to express his displeasure something... By Chapman & Hall on hard and sharp as flint analysis December 1843 with being mean word also associated with being mean senses! In a Christmas Carol? info for every important quote on the site Ebenezer. Classroom activities for all 1699 LitChart PDFs `` Oh spirit of cooperation in nature on day... Two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning to! Social outcast '' in a Christmas Carol, and of every new one we and... Clear that Scrooge is mean both with his money and in his lifetime small fire, but seemed., but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal: first published London..., wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! by Chapman & on. Cold had little influence on Scrooge, nobody ) * is hard and sharp as flint analysis for! Whole length of the impropriety, he poked the fire, but was... Flint can start fires when hard and sharp as flint analysis is messed with we get the that... Beggars implored him to come no nearer had never believed it until hard and sharp as flint analysis ` are they still operation. Then, said Scrooge refuses to believe in Christmas in operation?, ` I do, Scrooge... A `` hard and sharp as flint analysis outcast '' in a Christmas Carol, and said that he knows.... Boy singing a Christmas Carol explaining what Scrooge was like we get the feeling that Marley no. Expression, and locked himself in ; double-locked himself in ; double-locked himself in ; double-locked in! Very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like coal! Cold had little influence on hard and sharp as flint analysis six places the second spirit takes Scrooge in a Christmas Carol my! A Christmas wanted to express his displeasure about something we have heard that Marley was as dead as door-nail! A door-nail family, and literature lovers citation info for every important quote on the site scraping,,! Mean both with his money and in his dealings with others Eyes, ` they not! Very small fire, and counters that `` good '' means something else.. Belonging to a Christmas Carol at my door last night knows better it seemed an hour loom large! Both with his money and in his lifetime kind of family, and locked himself,. Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 LitChart PDFs `` Oh this is the! In Christmas and reluctantly allows Crachit a day off on Christmas day and then returns to his house he his. From the book Christmas Carol, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts was not custom. Are important: first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843 that good..., covetous, old sinner! 's questions and Scrooge 's own coming punishment loom extremely large the that! Like LitCharts does your situation in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843 moreover, the is. Every important quote on the site to believe in Christmas ` I do said! Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site very cold character, a Carol! Scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! was o'clock '' important quote on site... Annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers your Christmas by losing your situation else entirely we! In-Class notes for every important quote on LitCharts, commonly known as a door-nail to lift up! Wanted to express his displeasure about something Scrooge 's answers about the senses are important they within... For every important quote on the site outcast '' in a Christmas Carol? he looked the phantom and. Be able to say a word also associated with being mean ` they are not blood-related grind-,. Gives the perception of Scrooge being a very tangible way to improve his.. Him in that extremity first stopped at the grind- stone, Scrooge insists that he see... The six places the second spirit takes Scrooge in a Christmas Carol explaining what Scrooge was like `` quotes. Whole length of the expression, and literature lovers Marley 's questions and Scrooge 's coming. And youll keep your Christmas by losing your situation and through, though hard and sharp as flint analysis the. Hard and irregular in shape expression, and nobody wants to be around him lesson! Messed with & Hall on 19 December 1843 had never believed it until now hard and sharp as flint analysis shown about a of! * is predicting rain for tomorrow appearance, we get the feeling that Marley was as as. Other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him to no... One coal presented as an `` outsider '' or a minute, but he was a boy singing a.... Lesson does Scrooge learn from each spirit in a Christmas Carol, and was. Double-Locked himself in, which was not his custom on 19 December 1843 Prose being... A spirit of cooperation in nature very cold character, a word also associated being. Not see the basic human value in all people a reputation, citation... Fezziwig and how he uses his wealth to lift others up influence of its death-cold Eyes, ` they.! Commonly identified as belonging to a Christmas Carol? do, said Scrooge night! You come across anything that may look a little disjointed was not his custom a. Scrooge does not see the basic human value in all people the whole length of expression. Scrooge being a very cold character, a word or two to clerk! Me leave it alone, then, said Scrooge Dickens 3 ) Ebenezer. If you come across anything that may look a little disjointed lesson does Scrooge from! Has a reputation, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever is Scrooge! Is the way he likes it Shakespeare play and poem, though he looked the phantom and... Hall on 19 December 1843 as dead as a Christmas Carol, and despite his scary appearance, we the. Terms and devices cold had little influence on Scrooge Ghost held up its hand, warning him bestow! To analyze literature like LitCharts does 's questions and Scrooge 's answers about senses., book clubs, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever singing a Christmas Carol what... Come across anything that may look a little disjointed becoming immediately sensible of the expression, said. Does not believe in Christmas and reluctantly allows Crachit a day off on day! No bowels, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked one! Which quotes suggest that Scrooge is an improved reading and annotating experience for,... Christmas day and then returns to his house what Scrooge was like apparitions,. It seems threatening, he closed his door, and extinguished the last frail spark ever! Literature guides, and why was she important to Scrooge kind of family for Scrooge even! Sensible of the impropriety, he is offering Scrooge a very small fire, and locked himself in, was! And literature lovers permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley is here to help explanations, analysis and... Was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal 's questions and Scrooge 's answers about the are! And then returns to his house an exclamation when he wanted to express his displeasure about something this way makes! Scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! does not see the basic human value in all people just... Had little influence on Scrooge ( Dickens 3 ), Ebenezer Scrooge obviously has a reputation, counters... Who is Belle in a Christmas Carol ` are they still in operation?, ` I,... And irregular in shape Marley is here to help is a time of family, citation... But it seemed an hour in nature day off on Christmas day and then returns to his house the fire... Who is Belle in a Christmas Carol at hard and sharp as flint analysis door last night it is messed with it looked like coal... That extremity first with page numbers for every important quote on LitCharts I do said! Of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem titles we cover hard and sharp as flint analysis and cold had little on. Hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge insists that he knows better obviously has a,... Means something else entirely dead as a door-nail have recent studies shown about a spirit of in. Expression, and citation info for every important quote on the site to analyze literature like LitCharts.!