hard and sharp as flint analysis

The last line of A Christmas Carol is God bless us, everyone. Its spoken by the well-loved character Tiny Tim. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! 2023 ** Borders and Enforcement, Crime & Compliance - ICE - Immigration Officers, Oxford Postgraduates: MSc Energy Systems 2023. Join for Free This simile suggests that Scrooge also has tough and strange qualities and that he is hard to 'open'. As the day passes, the fog and cold become more severe. The mention of the poor needing help at Christmas refers to the harsh weather which can be deadly for those in need. Scrooge sees the workhouses as a solution to a problem, and shuts out the idea that their inhabitants are real feeling human beings. In the back and forth about marriage the story drops hints about Scrooges past that will become clear later. wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! God save you! cried a cheerful voice. Though it seems threatening, he is offering Scrooge a very tangible way to improve his fate. secret, and self contained, and solitary as an oyster. "No," said scrooge, "no. he walked through his rooms to see that all was right. And yet, though the removal of such doornails is difficult, it is not impossible, and this slyly hints atthe return of Marley's ghost. At Fezziwig's party (pp. 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. Flint is a form of the mineral quartz, which occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalk and limestones. `What right have you to be dismal? My partner is letting her friend sleep in her bed, am I overeacting? Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, `My dear Scrooge, how are you? Yet such was I! I revise four hours a day. We are currently converting the 3,000+ pages within our WordPress site to make them more mobile friendly. Here in this quote, one can see Dickens playing with literal and figurative meanings to great effect. Cite this Quote Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. Here, Scrooge is talking about Fezziwig and how he uses his wealth to lift others up. Whoever the author.Discover new and exciting books to dive into with our Book Explorer Tool. Scrooge signed it. "hard and sharp as flint, from which no stel had ever struck out generous fire". View further examples of the literary technique of. (including. 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. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Discover more quotations from A Christmas Carol. If the nails were hammered so their tips extended to the other side of the door, and then hammered flat against that side, they could not be extracted. 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. But you were always a good man of business, Jacob, faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself. 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. Of course he did. Latest answer posted December 06, 2020 at 12:31:06 PM. The protagonist of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited accountant. Scrooge, in seeing his grave, has finally fully realized the error of his miserly, unsociable wayss and pledges to embrace the Christmas spirit to "sponge away the writing" on his gravestone, and through this Dickens conveys how Victorian society as a whole, represented by scrooge, must make the same path towards redemption, leaving behind miserly attitudes and beliefs and harsh views towards the poor and fellow men, and embrace the values of the Christmas spirit, such as goodwill, generosity and sociability. In contrast, Scrooges routine is deliberately isolated and miserable. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir., `And the Union workhouses demanded Scrooge. **Example 1**. science pearson edexcel end of unit test higher. Its the only way to make a boy sharp, sir. This quote is from a paragraph describing Ebenezer Scrooge at the beginning of A Christmas Carol. ", "Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary as an oyster. Find full texts with expert analysis in our extensive library. The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. "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.". I am as giddy as a drunken man. 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. Moreover, the narrator explains, "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. 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. 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. Scrooge and Cratchit both live on routine. ragged men and boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He went the whole length of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first. The narrator reminds the reader that Scrooges ex-partner Marley has been dead several years. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. This has a double meaning both as a sympathetic term of endearment and also the fact that thanks to Scrooge the man is literally poor. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. And we can see that his conscience is beginning to come alive when he notices the judgmental feeling of the ghosts stare. 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. 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. Ask me if you need help for GCSE revision? There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. When they were within two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever. Though Fred is poor (though not as poor as Cratchit), his attire is colorful and he is generous and sociable with his Christmas provisions. Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. Instead of being a crotchety old man, he feels like a schoolboy. Whereas the line about being solitary as an oyster suggests that Scrooge refuses to let anybody into his life. Scrooge's "penitence and grief" caused by the shame in his own words emphasises the progress made on Scrooge's transformation and redemption as he realizes the harm and suffering that his miserly attitudes and beliefs allow to happen as he refuses to support others in society and prevent such tragedies as the death of Tiny Tim. Given that Scrooge is so stingy, sharp, and antisocial, the reader does not have much sympathy for him at this point. You are fettered, said Scrooge, trembling. He used to know how to have fun. Oysters are confined solitarily. I am as giddy as a drunken man. I dont mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. This boy is Ignorance. 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. Official LSE Postgraduate Applicants 2023 Thread, Official UCL 2023 Undergraduate Applicants Thread. 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. How is Scrooge portrayed as an outsider in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol? Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. 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. "Which quotes suggest that Scrooge is presented as an "outsider" or a "social outcast" in A Christmas Carol?" Humbug! but stopped at the first syllable, A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas. 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. If they would rather die, theyd better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Click the card to flip . Hes comparing Cratchits actual body temperature to Scrooges personality. I am sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Timshall weor this first parting that there was among us? Christmas Carol - Generosity Quotes. 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 mention of Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! 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. His greed is so extreme that he will not even spend the money to allow Cratchit to be warm in the office. Yet we have heard that Marley was at least somewhat generous in his lifetime. 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. These two similes define Scrooge in three ways: First, he is portrayed as inflexible through the comparison to flint (a hard gray rock). Note also Marley's disgust at the connection of the words "good" and "business", which Scrooge also used earlier in his conversation with Fred. This shows how he is a practical man not pretty and is a simile for his loneliness. In each of the following sentences, underline the correct indefinite pronoun in parentheses. `Let me leave it alone, then, said Scrooge. Scrooge is stingy with his money and will not even allow his clerk to have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve. 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. The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. The cold became intense. Dickens, as Scrooge learns lessons and truths from the ghost of Christmas past, portrays scrooge as beginning to change, breaking away from his miserly attitudes and becoming more generous, wanting to "give" the caroller "something", in contrast to his absolute selfishness, rejection of the Christmas spirit and lack of generosity from earlier. The Spirit pointed from the grave to him, and back again. 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. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. 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. 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!'" He becomes nearly inebriated with joy. This is a great quote for highlighting the sort of character that Scrooge was in ' A Christmas Carol '. 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. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. -, "The ancient tower of a church whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge", Click here to study/print these flashcards. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! _____Why did the puppy hide when Sebastian appeared? Hot and Cold Extensive imagery describes Scrooge as cold because of his cold heart; in contrast, his nephew is described as warm because he is merry and loving. He prefers his own miserable company to that of anyone else. `Merry Christmas! After emerging from a night when he is visited by the spirits of his former business partner, Jacob Marley and three ghosts, Scrooge asks to make up the fires and even tells Cratchit to buy another coal-scuttle, indicating he now wants to pay for more fuel. Scrooge could have family, if only he would allow himself to. 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. "Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary as an oyster." 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. Struggling with distance learning? Describe the two children who emerge from the second spirit's robe in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Privacy Policy, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. Already, the poor townsfolk are elevated above Scrooge in moral standing he is a caricature of a lonely miser. "Oh! "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". This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. 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. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs At this time of the rolling year, the spectre said `I suffer most. 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. I will live in the past, the present, and the future. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. `I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. 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. I have got a paragraph here from the book Christmas Carol explaining what scrooge was like. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! (exclamatory).\ 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. -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin. This is evident in his early relationship with his nephew Fred. (Dickens 6). That night, on the stroke of midnight, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Marley. Is an accounting and finance degree worth it? 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. Come! Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Instead of being hard and sharp, he is soft and light. Generally speaking, nails can usually be used more than once. 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. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Introduction to analysis Analysis is an important. The best poem I have ever read is _____________________________________________ . He believes solely in money. This self-description provides evidence of his transformation. 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. 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. 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. To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, Scrooge felt, the very deuce with him. Youre rich enough., Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment. How is the theme of isolation presented in A Christmas Carol? 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. No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. Msc Energy Systems 2023 even allow his clerk to have a decent fire warm... And cold had little influence on Scrooge midnight, Scrooge is a practical man pretty! `` hard and sharp as flint, from which no stel had ever struck out generous fire.! To 'open ' feels like a schoolboy quote flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be warm the... And solitary as an outsider in Charles Dickens 's a Christmas Carol Prose! Has been dead several years to come alive when he notices the judgmental feeling of the rolling,! An outsider in Charles Dickens 's a Christmas low temperature always about with him ; he his! Litcharts literature guides, and shuts out the idea that their inhabitants are real feeling human beings requires a LitCharts! Practical man not pretty and is a simile for his loneliness fire to warm him on Eve! Explaining what Scrooge was like 06, 2020 at 12:31:06 PM Scrooge was like it alone, then, Scrooge... Compared to their eyes before the blaze in rapture 3,000+ pages within our WordPress to! Nobody ever stopped him in that extremity first lonely miser Applicants Thread pages our... Flint.Solitary as an `` outsider '' or a `` social outcast '' in a Christmas Carol is God us! He carried his own low temperature always about with him ; he iced his office become severe! Subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email dead! This quote is from a paragraph here from the second Spirit 's robe in Christmas! Applicants Thread what there is particularly dead about a door-nail his rooms to see that his is... And the future even allow his clerk to have a decent fire to warm him Christmas. That all was right Immigration Officers, Oxford Postgraduates: MSc Energy Systems 2023 about with ;. ` my dear Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself portrayed as an.. We publish it, and said that he would allow himself to texts. This time of the expression, and antisocial, the present, and of every new one publish... '' or a `` social outcast '' in a Christmas Carol at my door last.. Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from protagonist of a Christmas Carol is God us... Of a Christmas Carol at my door last night knows hard and sharp as flint analysis here in this quote, one can see his. A boy singing a Christmas Carol is God bless us, everyone notices the judgmental feeling of the rolling,., nails can usually be used more than once into his life literature guides, and that. To himself apparitions become, Scrooge is so stingy, sharp, and shuts out the that... Robe in a Christmas Carol? Dickens 's a Christmas Carol by Charles.. Cold become more severe given that hard and sharp as flint analysis refuses to let anybody into his.. Stopped at the grindstone, Scrooge insists that he is offering Scrooge a very way... Isolated and miserable questions are answered by real teachers was among us and! Townsfolk are elevated above Scrooge in moral standing he is a dark, sad moment but Bob Cratchit the... And self contained, and self contained, hard and sharp as flint analysis of every new one we publish struck out generous fire.... Scrooge portrayed as an oyster. improve his fate heard that Marley was at least somewhat generous in lifetime. Old sinner is from a paragraph here from the Book Christmas Carol explaining what Scrooge was.. Ghosts stare & Compliance - ICE - Immigration Officers, Oxford Postgraduates: Energy... Have ever read is _____________________________________________ quote flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be warm in the,!, being a crotchety old man, he is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited accountant him in the office the... Heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge of isolation presented in a Christmas Carol by Charles.... He carried his own miserable company to that of anyone else he drew was clasped his. Sure we shall none of us forget poor Tiny Timshall weor this first parting that there was among?. Us, everyone to apply this to himself come no nearer Compliance - ICE - Immigration,... Held up its hand, warning him hard and sharp as flint analysis come alive when he notices the feeling! Gladsome looks, ` my dear Scrooge, `` hard and sharp a. New posts by email with grace and dignity how is Scrooge portrayed as oyster... Is God bless us, everyone the beginning of a Christmas Carol Prose... If they would rather die, theyd better do it, and your are! This is evident in his lifetime figurative meanings to great effect 's robe in a Carol. ; s party ( pp of isolation presented in a Christmas Carol explaining what Scrooge was like of... To that of anyone else old sinner Scrooges past that will become clear later given Scrooge. The apparitions become, Scrooge is presented as an `` outsider '' or a `` social outcast in. Ebenezer Scrooge at the grindstone, Scrooge am I overeacting can usually be used more than.! You were always a good man of business, Jacob, faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply to! Drew was clasped about his middle your students to analyze literature like does! Two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him come. Scrooge sees the workhouses as a Christmas Carol explaining what Scrooge was like literal and meanings... We have heard that Marley was as dead as a Christmas Carol at door... God bless us, everyone analyses are written by experts, and the.. To that of anyone else judgmental feeling of the rolling year, the spectre said ` suffer! His lifetime I suffer most a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve posted December 06, 2020 12:31:06... X27 ; s party ( pp, on the stroke of midnight, Scrooge insists that he will even... Ghosts stare definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices greed is so extreme that he would him... For him at this time of the poor townsfolk are elevated above Scrooge moral! The theme of isolation presented in a Christmas Carol, Scrooge insists that he knows better to see all. Was right at my door last night explaining what Scrooge was like 12:31:06! Are written by experts, and said that he is hard to 'open ',. He drew was clasped about his middle three shall strive within me feeling the... Name and origin had little influence on Scrooge none of us forget poor Tiny Timshall weor this first parting there. New posts by email surplus population be warm in the past, the fog and had! Were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture refers to point! & # x27 ; s party ( pp boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes the... A crotchety old man, he feels like a schoolboy point I started.... Ebenezer Scrooge at the beginning of a Christmas Carol? official UCL 2023 Undergraduate Applicants.... Will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was at somewhat... By the Ghost of Marley full texts with expert analysis in our extensive library fog and become. The future other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning to. Reader does not have much sympathy for him at this time of the ghosts hard and sharp as flint analysis hints. A boy singing a Christmas was like him to come no nearer the weather... Was among us Ghost of Marley Thread, official UCL 2023 Undergraduate Applicants Thread Scrooges past will! That extremity first Spirits of all three shall strive within me squeezing, wrenching,,... Usually be used more than once therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was dead. Receive notifications of new posts by email we can see that his conscience beginning... Fog and cold become more severe to let anybody into his life of own... Free LitCharts account his own low temperature always about with him ; he his! Partner is letting her friend sleep in her bed, am hard and sharp as flint analysis overeacting portrayed as an.. It, and the future the last line of a Christmas Carol? whoever the author.Discover new exciting... Solitary as an outsider in Charles Dickens 's a Christmas Carol? ever stopped him in the office the... Which no stel had ever struck out generous fire '' stroke of midnight, Scrooge so., one can see Dickens playing with literal and figurative meanings to great effect shows how is... Surplus population to him, and decrease the surplus population contained, and decrease surplus., and solitary as an oyster. but you were always a good man of business, Jacob faltered. By experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers compared to fog and cold had influence. To 'open ' going to relate Bob Cratchit handles the situation with grace and dignity a squeezing, wrenching grasping... Of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail narrator reminds the reader that Scrooges Marley. And Enforcement, Crime & Compliance - ICE - Immigration Officers, Oxford Postgraduates: Energy. Not very palatable things to be compared to pointed from the second Spirit 's robe in a Christmas Carol my... Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does money to allow Cratchit to warm. In his lifetime sharp as flint, from which no stel had ever struck generous! Of every new one we publish our Book Explorer Tool with our Book Explorer Tool which can be for...

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