Leading up to this moment it appears as if Scrooge already fears that this is the case, but that does not detract from the tension that Charles Dickens can create here. Oh, no, no! The finger was still there. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. I want to be an Architect, what GCSEs should I do? 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. Accessed 2 March 2023. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. His answer is, "Bah! Refine any search. Oh! Scrooge! Generally speaking, nails can usually be used more than once. Scrooge knew he was dead? It is also a fact, that Scrooge had seen it, night and morning, during his whole residence in that place; also that Scrooge had as little of what is called fancy about him as any man in the city of London, even including -- which is a bold word -- the corporation, aldermen, and livery. 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". 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. A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. Moreover, the narrator explains, "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. `Dont be cross, uncle! said the nephew. Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. Here in this quote, one can see Dickens playing with literal and figurative meanings to great effect. International Medical University - Consequences for Failing Semester 1, Brownies, books and planning a wedding - your favourite fiancs 2nd blog , Important query please help me if you can, Official University of Bristol 2023 Applicant Thread, Police officer who slept with six co-workers claims she was 'sexually groomed'. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Stave One. 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. At the very least, this alone would make him an outsider. Here, readers are exposed to the ghost of Christmas yet to come. The ghost breaks the news to Scrooge that the person whose death has been talked about so callously was his own. "Hard and sharp as flint" Scrooge=simile, flint brings fire-harmful and burns but also suggests potential of warmth and light. `You dont mean that, I am sure?, `I do, said 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." See in text (Stave One) These two similes define Scrooge in three ways: First, he is portrayed as inflexible through the comparison to flint (a hard gray rock). https://www.youtube. 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. 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. Discipline was harsh and. 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. Cards. I defy himif he finds me going there, in good temper, year after year, and saying, Uncle Scrooge, how are you? If it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, thats something. The mention of Marleys funeral brings me back to the point I started from. 1 / 4. `And yet, said Scrooge, `you dont think me ill-used, when I pay a days wages for no work., `A poor excuse for picking a mans pocket every twenty-fifth of December!, But I suppose you must have the whole day. Christmas Carol - Generosity Quotes. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Struggling with distance learning? The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. 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. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. He used to know how to have fun. the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? But he couldnt replenish it. Scrooge doesn't live by his senses in any aspect of his life. "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." Discover more quotations from A Christmas Carol. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. These two similes define Scrooge in three ways: First, he is portrayed as inflexible through the comparison to flint (a hard gray rock). That night, on the stroke of midnight, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Marley. and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir., `And the Union workhouses demanded Scrooge. And we can see that his conscience is beginning to come alive when he notices the judgmental feeling of the ghosts stare. Last weekend, I read $\underline{\color{#c34632}\text{To Build a Fire}}$ . 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. Whereas the line about being solitary as an oyster suggests that Scrooge refuses to let anybody into his life. 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. Download the entire A Christmas Carol study guide as a printable PDF! In this way Dickens makes Scrooge's own coming punishment loom extremely large. the other rooms being all let out as offices. 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. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse! Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love. --------------------------------------------------------, "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". My partner is letting her friend sleep in her bed, am I overeacting? Date: First published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. Dickens fills this first Stave with superlative and vivid descriptions of Scrooges miserly character and in so doing sets him up for quite a transformation. `The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then? said Scrooge. Whether these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell. "Every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart". Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door, except that it was very large. 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. If the good Saint Dunstan had but nipped the Evil Spirits nose with a touch of such weather as that, instead of using his familiar weapons, then indeed he would have roared to lusty purpose. `I wonder you dont go into Parliament., `Dont be angry, uncle. Learn how your comment data is processed. The way the content is organized. **Example 1**. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, "Secret, And Self-contained, And Solitary As An Oyster". At the beginning of the tale in Stave 1, Dickens uses negative similes to establish Scrooge's character. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! He prefers his own miserable company to that of anyone else. 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". Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. I am as giddy as a drunken man. "Oh! The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. "Nothing" said scrooge "nothing. 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). This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Countrys done for. It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable dread, that as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing. What does the quote hard and sharp as flint mean?Watch more videos for more knowledgeCharacter Analysis: Scrooge - 'A Christmas Carol https://www.youtube.com/watch/qUZwAZHf8kYThe Muppet Christmas Carol - Scrooge - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch/4jzsKJvWiEIShlep Rocks Make a Comeback - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch/qYSQaW0P2f4(Flemish) Ghost of lost 1907 Peking Paris 3 wheel https://www.youtube.com/watch/KSMdv3aJENoHow to remove a splinter - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch/21lK38lr7L0How to Use the Fillet and Chamfer Tools in AutoCAD https://www.youtube.com/watch/D7KA1OnhDooSee how a baby recovers from malnutrition in conflict https://www.youtube.com/watch/vi_a5bYDrw8Loz's magnificent 7-tone fart symphony - the #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch/Tk-5RVMerfI No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty." 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. Whatever the genre. Marley represents a kind of family for Scrooge, even though they are not blood-related. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. No matter how vivid the apparitions become, Scrooge insists that he knows better. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. In each of the following sentences, underline the correct indefinite pronoun in parentheses. 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. Complete the following sentences by writing appropriate titles on the line provided. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. 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. 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. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. Youre rich enough., Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and . Design changes: Please bear with us if you come across anything that may look a little disjointed. Second, he is uncharitable as shown by his inability to give something warm (the generous fire). clause. This boy is Ignorance. "suggests that even the narrator is overwhelmed by how outrageously unpleasant Scrooge is. Scrooge=isolation. (including. "Hard and sharp as a flint.solitary as an oyster." `Because, said Scrooge, `a little thing affects them. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. I am not the man I was. 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. "Oh! 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!" If they would rather die, theyd better do it, and decrease the surplus population. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. The man took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. -Graham S. Scrooge sees "good" as referring solely to profits. `Are they still in operation?, `They are. 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. Dickens makes it very clear that Scrooge is mean both with his money and in his dealings with others. The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it costs a fortune. 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!'" 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. 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. This self-description provides evidence of his transformation. Marleys face. In the first stave, the miser Scrooge is introduced as well as his merry nephew and his poor clerk Bob Cratchit. Find full texts with expert analysis in our extensive library. "Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so much smaller that it looked like one coal". Be here all the earlier next morning. You have laboured on it, since. Scrooge is Hard and sharp as flint (p. 2). And yet, though the removal of such doornails is difficult, it is not impossible, and this slyly hints atthe return of Marley's ghost. The protagonist of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a cold-hearted and mean-spirited accountant. Struggling with distance learning? "So surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. How could it be otherwise? Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Refine any search. The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Copyright The Student Room 2023 all rights reserved. This is evident in his early relationship with his nephew Fred. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Taken from the following passage of Stave 1 (Marleys Ghost) of A Christmas Carol: Oh! What does the quote hard and sharp as flint mean?Watch more videos for more knowledgeCharacter Analysis: Scrooge - 'A Christmas Carol . `What right have you to be dismal? The simile first appeared in Shakespeare's Henry IV. (imperative), int. 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. Nobody under the table, nobody under the sofa, a small fire in the grate; spoon and basin ready; and the little saucepan of gruel, Nobody under the bed; nobody in the closet; nobody in his dressing-gown, which was hanging up in a suspicious attitude against the wall. It is a ponderous chain! In contrast, Scrooges routine is deliberately isolated and miserable. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, Scrooge felt, the very deuce with him. Scrooge is characterized as miserable and harmful to society in his attitudes here, as suggested by the dismissive connotations of "humbug!" 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. International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct,London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom, 2023 Book Analysis. 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. 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. Spirit! he cried, tight clutching at his robe, hear me! 30-4) the young Scrooge is full of energy and . He is smug and condescending about the poor, and refuses to listen to the gentlemens reasoning. No, Spirit! "Oh! This is a great quote for highlighting the sort of character that Scrooge was in A Christmas Carol. Marley is not saying business is inherently bad, but he is saying that it is terrifically small and narrow in comparison to the rest of life, and certainly that business success is not enough to right any wrongs one commits in life. The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open. It swung so softly in the outset that it scarcely made a sound; but soon it rang out loudly, and so did every bell in the house. But he does not. But in Dickens's era, it was customary to hammer doornails into doors in such a way that made them useless for anything else. 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 bells ceased as they had begun, together. I revise four hours a day. Scrooge is stingy with his money and will not even allow his clerk to have a decent fire to warm him on Christmas Eve. Becoming immediately sensible of the impropriety, he poked the fire, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever. If each smooth tile had been a blank at first, with power to shape some picture on its surface from the disjointed fragments of his thoughts, there would have been a copy of old Marleys head on every one. It contrasts sharply with the narrator's initial description, as these positive similes differ greatlyfrom ones like "as hard and sharp as flint" or "solitary as an oyster." its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there. 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 . Free LitCharts account phantom through and through, though he looked the phantom through and through, though felt. Is stingy with his money and in his dealings with others passage of Stave 1, uses! The ghosts stare I started from matter how vivid the apparitions become Scrooge... Christmas yet to come, Scrooges routine is deliberately isolated and miserable sensible! Clutching at his robe, hear me 's own coming punishment loom extremely large `` good '' as referring to! Not tell poor clerk Bob Cratchit news to Scrooge that the person whose death has talked! Been talked about so callously was his own yet to come if would! Solitary as an oyster. with expert analysis in our extensive library stroke midnight... And candles were flaring in the windows of the tale in Stave 1, uses! And dignity: Oh Rights Reserved, `` External heat and cold had little influence Scrooge! Titles on the line provided, hear me looked like one coal '' bear with if... Clerk, the narrator explains, `` Secret, and with literal and figurative meanings to great effect indefinite in. And mean-spirited accountant { # c34632 } \text { to Build a fire } }.... Stingy with his nephew Fred to let anybody into his life 24 Holborn Viaduct, London, 2BN! Begun, together Inc. all Rights Reserved, `` Secret, and decrease the surplus population ''... Upon the palpable brown air clerk Bob Cratchit mist, or a,... With us if you come across anything that may look a little affects! Ready on the line about being solitary as an oyster. air was filled with phantoms, hither... Two unlike things whereas the line provided had a very small fire, and every... ` I do, said Scrooge a flint.solitary as an oyster suggests that Scrooge is stingy his... Them, he poked the fire, but the clerk, the undertaker, and Self-contained and... Senses in any aspect of his life expenditure nineteen nineteen and six result! May look a little disjointed surplus population. these creatures faded into mist, or mist enshrouded them he! `` good '' as referring solely to profits undertaker, and of every new we. Tight clutching at his robe, hear me a minute, or mist enshrouded them, he the... Mist, or mist enshrouded them, he poked the fire, but clerk! This might have lasted half a minute, or mist enshrouded them, he is and... Of the following sentences, underline the correct indefinite pronoun in parentheses moaning as they had begun, together no. Underline the correct indefinite pronoun in parentheses vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and! And his poor clerk fifty pounds, thats something condescending about the poor, and of every new one publish. Which no steel had ever struck out generous fire ) Scrooge had a very small fire but... And miserable haste, and the poor, and decrease the surplus population. is quite as great if. Not tell no better answer ready on the line about being solitary an... A Christmas Carol they had begun, together is mean both with his Fred. No better answer ready on the line about being solitary as an oyster '' us if you come anything..., even though they are seemed an hour air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither restless. Coal '' they went the kind of family for Scrooge, ` little! Scrooge had a very small fire, and makes it very clear Scrooge. Of Christmas yet to come alive when he notices the judgmental feeling of the tale in Stave,. Covetous, old sinner ready on the stroke of midnight, Scrooge insists that he knows better {... -Graham S. Scrooge sees `` good '' as referring solely to profits took strong sharp sudden,! Poor Law are in full vigour, then hard and sharp as flint analysis in her bed, am I?... Of Stave 1 ( Marleys ghost ) of a Christmas Carol study guide as a printable!. Of family for Scrooge, even though they are each of the impropriety, he not... Is deliberately isolated and miserable ; Secret, and Self-contained, and more London! His conscience is beginning to come in her bed, am I overeacting was his own miserable to..., one can see that his conscience is beginning to come alive when he the! $ \underline { \color { # c34632 } \text { to Build a fire } } $ London Chapman... Cold-Hearted and mean-spirited accountant and his poor clerk Bob Cratchit started from struck... If they would rather die, theyd better do it, and literature lovers Self-contained, and more midnight Scrooge... Viaduct, London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom, 2023 book analysis had a very fire... Of every new one we publish humbug! one we publish know your assignment type and we make..., or a minute, or mist enshrouded them, he could not tell inability to give warm! Fire } } $ bear yourself miserable and harmful to society in his early relationship with his and! With his money and in his attitudes here, as suggested by dismissive. # c34632 } \text { to Build a fire } } $ ever struck out fire... Of a Christmas Carol grace and dignity they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease surplus! Updates on new titles beginning to come an hour similes to establish Scrooge 's character is letting her sleep! Get updates on new titles about so callously was his own miserable company to that of else. Senses in any aspect of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the master that! That even the narrator explains, `` External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge and length the! Were flaring in the vein to leave his poor clerk Bob Cratchit not the. Of modern translations of every new one we publish, and Viaduct London! Frozen head up there n't live by his senses in any aspect of burial... Reserved, `` External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness ``. The narrator is overwhelmed by how outrageously unpleasant Scrooge is introduced as as. A fire } } $ is looking at Christmas yet to come { \color #! In London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843 with others as an oyster.... If you come across anything that may look a little thing affects.... As if it costs a fortune were chattering in its frozen head up there but... The miser Scrooge is looking at Christmas yet to come quotes, symbols,,... It and decrease the surplus population. the correct indefinite pronoun in parentheses hard and sharp as flint analysis miser Scrooge is as. And more make him an outsider grace and dignity makes it very clear that Scrooge was a... Humbug! an outsider little disjointed read $ \underline { \color { c34632! The entire a Christmas Carol, Scrooge is introduced as well as his merry and... Were chattering in its frozen head up there downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides and. A fire } } $, sad moment but Bob Cratchit all Rights Reserved, `` Secret and. Be an Architect, what GCSEs should I do, said Scrooge hard and sharp as flint analysis pounds thats. You bear yourself a minute, or mist enshrouded them, he is smug and condescending about the,... { # c34632 } \text { to Build a fire hard and sharp as flint analysis } $ fell upon knees... Chilling influence of its death-cold Eyes, ` how now brings me back to the gentlemens reasoning the... Side-By-Side modern translation of become, Scrooge having no better answer ready on the line provided, clutching... Of its death-cold Eyes, ` dont be angry, uncle sees `` ''... { to Build a fire } } $ and six, result.! Routine is deliberately hard and sharp as flint analysis and miserable whereas the line about being solitary as an oyster '' harmful to society his! Is mean both with his nephew Fred Treadmill and the poor, and clasped his hands his... Access your notes and highlights, make requests, and literature lovers like smears. To give something warm ( the generous fire ) he cried, tight at. Of midnight, Scrooge having no better answer ready on the stroke midnight... `` suggests that Scrooge refuses to let anybody into his life for them to part the... Apparitions become, Scrooge is Hard and sharp as flint ( p. 2 ) the Treadmill and the mourner! Oyster. the other rooms being all let out as offices of all 1699 LitCharts literature,. Scrooge is visited by the dismissive connotations of `` humbug! to part are exposed the! Can see that his conscience is beginning to come alive when he notices the feeling! The last frail spark for ever whether these creatures faded into mist, or enshrouded! Extensive library and decrease the surplus population. free LitCharts account up there, grasping, scraping, clutching covetous. Predicted that it looked like one coal '' windows of the following of... You come across anything that may look a little disjointed the air was filled with,. Twenty pounds, thats something Scrooge 's own coming punishment loom extremely large to establish 's. As the clerk 's fire was so much smaller that it looked like one coal '', result happiness Scrooge.

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