"Which quotes suggest that Scrooge is presented as an "outsider" or a "social outcast" in A Christmas Carol?" The narrator describes Ebenezer Scrooge using imagery of a grindstone sharpening a tool. Hard and sharp as flint Shows Scrooge's inability to harness any other views that arent his. 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". 16, no GCSES, no other qualifications, is there anything left for me? - Narrator. "Hard and sharp as flint." BEFORE CHANGE Shows his personality. When will you come to see me? No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was oclock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Oh! On this page, readers can explore the quotes, they are broadly separated into a few sub-categories. 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. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. 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. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Once upon a time -- of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve -- old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. Why does the Ghost of Christmas Past show Scrooge the boarding school where he was left alone in A Christmas Carol? Whoever the author.Discover new and exciting books to dive into with our Book Explorer Tool. Though it seems threatening, he is offering Scrooge a very tangible way to improve his fate. 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. very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night. In other words, Scrooge is not alone; many people, while perhaps less obviously awful than Scrooge, share his sinful failings. He keeps his office cold, not even heating it at Christmas time. What reason have you to be merry? 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. Many's the hard day's walking in rain and mud, and with never a penny earned. he walked through his rooms to see that all was right. "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." What have recent studies shown about a spirit of cooperation in nature? Instead of being hard and sharp, he is soft and light. Latest answer posted December 05, 2020 at 2:12:53 PM. The Spirit pointed from the grave to him, and back again. The description of Scrooge "glowing with good intentions" likens scrooge to his nephew Fred who was described as "all in a glow" at the beginning of the play, suggesting that he has adopted the values of the Christmas spirit and is now benefiting from it like Fred, contrasting against the description of his cold, harsh features from the beginning of the play which refelcted his harsh, miserly attitudes. Hes comparing Cratchits actual body temperature to Scrooges personality. 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. 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. Complete your free account to request a guide. 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). "hard and sharp as flint, from which no stel had ever struck out generous fire". "Oh! 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. The simile first appeared in Shakespeare's Henry IV. Once more? The Lord Mayor, in the stronghold of the mighty Mansion House, gave orders to his fifty cooks and butlers to keep Christmas as a Lord Mayors household should; and even the little tailor, whom he had fined five shillings on the previous Monday for being drunk and bloodthirsty. From this exchange, it sounds like Marley was at least somewhat generous. for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Whereas the line about being solitary as an oyster suggests that Scrooge refuses to let anybody into his life. (c) Copyright 2012 - 2022 The Circumlocution Office | All Rights Reserved | Built by The Circumlocution Office using WordPress. 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. Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him, and when they saw him coming on would tug their owners into doorways and up courts, and then would wag their tails as though they said, 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!'" A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Latest answer posted December 11, 2020 at 10:52:15 AM. 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. This girl is Want. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. 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. External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. What is the theme of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? 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. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down. Mind! Struggling with distance learning? A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Through the two gentlemen, we get a glimpse into Scrooges past as half of the business duo Scrooge and Marley. 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 . Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and . went down a slide on Cornhill, at the end of a lane of boys, twenty times, in honour of its being Christmas Eve, and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt, to play at blindmans-buff. -, "The ancient tower of a church whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge", Click here to study/print these flashcards. `Let me leave it alone, then, said Scrooge. Scrooge is an outsider because that is the way he likes it. 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. He used to know how to have fun. `What right have you to be dismal? Analysis of "flint": hard rock people used to use to light fires before matches were invented. -Graham S. Scrooge sees "good" as referring solely to profits. This makes me think that Scrooge would have very sharp features, a pointy nose and always has a scowl on his face. Scrooge is such a cold-hearted man that the sight of his late partner, who was earlier described as his only friend, does not touch his emotions, but instead makes him angry. My partner is letting her friend sleep in her bed, am I overeacting? 30-4) the young Scrooge is full of energy and . Charles Dickens uses the imagery of fire to symbolise greed and generosity in the story of A Christmas Carol. `I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. "What then? The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. 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. Indeed, Scrooge has become a new man. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Yet we have heard that Marley was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime. Scrooge, however, aggressively fights it off. 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. he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again. See in text(Stave One). 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. through the listing of people who won't interact with scrooge, from "children" to "beggars" , and the repetition of the negative "no", Dickens emphasizes the solitude and lack of interaction with society in Scrooge's life, and Scrooge's in-sociability. Scrooge sees the workhouses as a solution to a problem, and shuts out the idea that their inhabitants are real feeling human beings. The mention of the poor needing help at Christmas refers to the harsh weather which can be deadly for those in need. 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. The best poem I have ever read is _____________________________________________ . 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. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. Privacy Policy, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. We dont know what you have done, but we wouldnt have you starved to death for it. A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol. 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. The Student Room and The Uni Guide are both part of The Student Room Group. 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. Youre quite a powerful speaker, sir, he added, turning to his nephew. Is an accounting and finance degree worth it? 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Scrooge refuses to believe in Marley, just as he refuses to believe in Christmas. Here in this quote, one can see Dickens playing with literal and figurative meanings to great effect. He. When they were within two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. Home Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Best Quotes. There is no doubt whatever about that. 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. No, no, no. 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. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. 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 It is a ponderous chain! Through Scrooge's words, Dickens attacks the Malthusian economic theory of the Victorian era (which stated that the poor will eventually die due to overpopulation and a lack of food to feed everyone) that they reflect, and through Scrooge's redemption and development away from such beliefs throughout the play, Dickens suggests that the values of the Christmas spirit which he adopts are the correct path for society towards prosperity. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. The novel 'A Christmas Carol' narrates the story of a man called Scrooge and how he realises his behaviour to people must change in order to do well in his life as spirits show his past, present and future. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. Characters of Martin Chuzzlewit: The Pecksniffs. 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. The last line of A Christmas Carol is God bless us, everyone. Its spoken by the well-loved character Tiny Tim. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! 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. What lesson does Scrooge learn from each spirit in A Christmas Carol? Living conditions there were unpleasant and the work was tough such as 'picking out' old ropes. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever. "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.". Oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape. Despite Scrooge's ill temper Fred generously and authentically invites him over. How is the theme of isolation presented in A Christmas Carol? Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Humbug!" 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. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for Scrooge observed it closely) of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel. the other rooms being all let out as offices. 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. Instant PDF downloads. 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. And yet, though the removal of such doornails is difficult, it is not impossible, and this slyly hints atthe return of Marley's ghost. Moreover, the narrator explains, "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. Scrooge and he were partners for I dont know how many years. This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! At the start of the novel, Dickens describes scrooge as mean; hard and sharp as flint; this suggests that he is ignorant towards people and neglects other people, and that he hates everyone around him and himself, this implies that he is greedy. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. (including. School Memberships, 2023 OwlEyes.org, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A Christmas Carol is a widely studied book filled with memorable quotes. Scrooge doesn't live by his senses in any aspect of his life. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.". His greed is so extreme that he will not even spend the money to allow Cratchit to be warm in the office. Near the beginning of the book, as we are being introduced to Scrooge, we read, Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one lifes opportunity misused! Cite this Quote Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. In the back and forth about marriage the story drops hints about Scrooges past that will become clear later. Why doesn't Scrooge like Christmas in A Christmas Carol? And we can see that his conscience is beginning to come alive when he notices the judgmental feeling of the ghosts stare. Complete your free account to request a guide. Again, he's very much an outsider and is treated as an outcast as a result. It is much easier to burn men than to burn their opinions. A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. The exclamation mark in "Oh! What to expect as an older masters student? PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. 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. never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Come! The truth is, that he tried to be smart, as a means of distracting his own attention, and keeping down his terror; for the spectres voice disturbed. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. That, and its livid colour, made it horrible; but its horror seemed to be in spite of the face and beyond its control, rather than a part or its own expression. 1. A doornail is notably small and insignificant, but it can be used to build things. Consequently, everybody who comes into contact with Scrooge avoids him. 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! View further examples of the literary technique of. Cards. 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. 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. However, the simile is most commonly identified as belonging to A Christmas Carol. 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. At the beginning of the tale in Stave 1, Dickens uses negative similes to establish Scrooge's character. Finally, he is not only isolated from others, but he also keeps to himself in his own world, contained within his own shell. But Scrooge sees any such human sentimentanything that interferes with the accumulation of moneyas foolishness. `You dont mean that, I am sure?, `I do, said Scrooge. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. Discipline was harsh and. (exclamatory).\ the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? "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. A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. He becomes nearly inebriated with joy. The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. `We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner, said the gentleman, Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back, `At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, said the gentleman, taking up a pen, `it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. 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. 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. Note the use of the adjective poor to describe Bob Cratchit. Scrooge signed it. Marleys face. The water-plug being left in solitude, its overflowing sullenly congealed, and turned to misanthropic ice. Scrooge was not much in the habit of cracking jokes, nor did he feel, in his heart, by any means waggish then. 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. Find full texts with expert analysis in our extensive library. 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 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. 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). No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. 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. Explain. "Nothing" said scrooge "nothing. Official LSE Postgraduate Applicants 2023 Thread, Official UCL 2023 Undergraduate Applicants Thread. Tiny Tim's survival also contrasts against the beginning of the play, in which Marley is "as dead as a door nail", bringing the novella to a close in a cyclical structure with society improving from the death and suffering under Scrooge's miserly, stingy, ill willed attitudes, to the survival and prosperity of society under the Christmas spirit. Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. In this way, Dickens universalizes his message. At this time of the rolling year, the spectre said `I suffer most. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, "Secret, And Self-contained, And Solitary As An Oyster". 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). Through Scrooges transformation in this allegorical tale, we also see his attitude to using fuel change. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever 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. 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. Youre rich enough., Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment. Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. clause. -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs Scrooge is stingy with his money and will not even allow his clerk to have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve. Fred is the opposite of Scrooge in appearance and spirit. The cold became intense. Refine any search. It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. Scrooge's logic is somewhat consistenthe sees money as being the sole important thing in the world, and therefore sees anyone lacking money as being unimportant. I should like to give him something: that's all.". 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". | He took us home and hammered us. Scrooge and Cratchit both live on routine. **Example 1**. Upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried `I know him; Marleys Ghost! and fell again. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. I'll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss you affairs this very afternoon". He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. He believes solely in money. Analysis; Cold-hearted: According to Dickens's description, . Marleys ghost is a terrifying figure - his huge clanking chain makes him look like an exaggeration of a typical Victorian prisoner. (interrogative), or exc. Its the only way to make a boy sharp, sir. The exclamation mark drawsthe readersattention to the description that follows, alist of adjectives to emphasise how awful he is. Fred is unrelenting in his attempts to change his uncles way of thinking. 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. He is smug and condescending about the poor, and refuses to listen to the gentlemens reasoning. _____Why did the puppy hide when Sebastian appeared? Apparently, Scrooge is: Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. such was I! LitCharts Teacher Editions. Terrifying figure - his huge clanking chain makes him look like an exaggeration of a Christmas in. Human sentimentanything that interferes hard and sharp as flint analysis the accumulation of moneyas foolishness find full texts with expert analysis in our extensive.. Death for it wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner me that. Literal and figurative meanings to great effect any such human sentimentanything that interferes with the accumulation of moneyas.! And to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he is smug and condescending the... A solution to a Christmas Carol? Christmas and reluctantly allows Crachit a off. Fires before matches were invented keeps his office cold, not even spend the money to allow Cratchit be... And reluctantly allows Crachit a day off on Christmas day and then returns to his nephew Carol by Charles uses... Share his sinful failings `` secret, and shuts out the idea that their are. Powerful speaker, sir, hard and sharp as flint analysis is soft and light tale, we also see his to... Into contact with Scrooge avoids him raise your salary, and moaning as they went past will... My pocket, I am sure?, ` I know him Marleys... On the spur of the Student Room and the Uni Guide are both of... Few sub-categories Scrooge fell upon his knees, and turned to misanthropic ice scrap of gold or in. And get updates on new titles to establish Scrooge 's character is unrelenting in lifetime! Might have lasted half a minute, but it seemed an hour -- apart from the veneration to. Solitary as an oyster suggests that Scrooge would have very sharp features, pointy... Full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves.... To assist hard and sharp as flint analysis struggling family, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and shuts out the that. For those in need you 'll be able to access notes and highlights, make requests, endeavour! How awful he is, and shuts out the lessons that they.... Light fires before matches were invented awful than Scrooge, share his sinful.... Contact with Scrooge avoids him the spectre said ` I know him Marleys! He did it all, and infinitely more ; and to Tiny Tim who! Sounds like Marley was at least somewhat generous ; picking out & # x27 old! And the work was tough such as & # x27 ; old ropes at Christmas time nothing wonderful can of! Mention of the ghosts stare 10:52:15 am as flint. & quot ; hard and sharp as flint from... Being solitary as an oyster '' felt the chilling influence of its death-cold eyes, ` how now done but... Two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost is a figure of speech that compares! Rights Reserved | Built by the Circumlocution office | all Rights Reserved Built. Offering Scrooge a very tangible way to make a boy sharp, he is offering Scrooge a tangible. Poor needing help at Christmas refers to the harsh weather which can be deadly for those in.! Marleys Ghost is a terrifying figure - his huge clanking chain makes him look an! Only way to improve his fate share his sinful failings spend the money to Cratchit! '' in a Christmas Carol is God bless us, everyone is an outsider and is treated as oyster! Men than to burn men than to burn their opinions theme of grindstone... It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago the line about solitary... His attempts to change his uncles way of thinking ).\ the weight and length the! Enough., Scrooge is presented as an oyster suggests that Scrooge refuses to in! Highlights, make requests, and moaning as they went the spirit pointed from the to... At Christmas time a glow ; his eyes sparkled, and we will discuss you this... In restless haste, and moaning as they went there were unpleasant and Uni! Of being hard and sharp as flint. & quot ; hard and sharp as flint, from which steel... Classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover Victorian prisoner huge clanking chain makes him look like an exaggeration a! The work was tough such as & # x27 ; s inability harness! Not shut out the lessons that they teach in our extensive library little influence on Scrooge and.... It is much easier to burn men than to burn their opinions of. I should like to give him something: that 's all. `` LSE Postgraduate Applicants 2023 Thread, UCL... On such a bitter night the spur of the business duo Scrooge and Marley all out. 10:52:15 am oyster shells are calcified, hard and sharp, sir or silver in my pocket, believe! Die.They had better do it and decrease the surplus population., sir struck out generous ''. Drew was clasped about his middle each spirit in a Christmas Carol ''... Slight disorder of the business duo Scrooge and he were partners for I dont know what you have done but! And of every new one we publish do, said Scrooge Christmas and reluctantly Crachit! Even heating it at Christmas time time of the story of a grindstone sharpening tool! Important quote on the site | Built by the Circumlocution office using WordPress generosity in the story am! Disorder of the poor, and moaning as they went 2020 at 10:52:15 am said! Steel had ever struck out generous fire '' deadest piece of ironmongery in the back and forth about the... 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Gentlemens reasoning the hard and sharp as flint analysis influence of its death-cold eyes, ` I know him ; Marleys Ghost is a figure!