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. Flint is a form of the mineral quartz, which occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalk and limestones. This makes me think that Scrooge would have very sharp features, a pointy nose and always has a scowl on his face. 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 you like this, we think you might also be interested in these related quotations. - Narrator. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs "Nothing" said scrooge "nothing. Instead of being a crotchety old man, he feels like a schoolboy. Whereas Scrooge is described as hard and sharp, Freds features are round and healthy. Note the use of the adjective poor to describe Bob Cratchit. `A merry Christmas, uncle! "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.". Flint and oysters are not very palatable things to be compared to. It beckoned Scrooge to approach, which he did. If they would rather die, theyd better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Teachers and parents! From this exchange, it sounds like Marley was at least somewhat generous. Marleys face. Finally, he is not only isolated from others, but he also keeps to himself in his own world, contained within his own shell. 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. Early in the chapter, the narrator says, "Oh! 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 should like to give him something: that's all.". Describe the two children who emerge from the second spirit's robe in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You are fettered, said Scrooge, trembling. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his. It is a ponderous chain! Marley's questions and Scrooge's answers about the senses are important. (including. Living conditions there were unpleasant and the work was tough such as 'picking out' old ropes. Find full texts with expert analysis in our extensive library. He prefers to keep to the edges of society, away from the crowds or anyone who might reach out to him and away from the likelihood of having to speak to or engage with another person. 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. External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. This idea recalls Marley's role as a sort of tool in Scrooge's business. not to know, that ages of incessant labour, by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. Scrooge is an outsider because that is the way he likes it. Christmas is a time of family, and despite his scary appearance, we get the feeling that Marley is here to help. Dickens suggests that scrooge is lonely, unsociable and disconnected from society through this simile, however, the description of him as an "oyster" connoting a creature with a tough exterior but containing a valuable, beautiful pearl within, suggests that scrooge has sociability and goodwill for others (and other values of the Christmas spirit) that will allow him to reconnect with society buried within him. Through a visit one Christmas Eve by the ghost of Marley and three subsequent spirits, Scrooge is awakened to his meanness and the impact it has on others. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, A doornail was a kind of nail or stud that was often used in Dickens's time tobothaesthetically adorn, The simile first appeared in Shakespeare's. `He died seven years ago, this very night.. "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". Click the card to flip . There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. Accessed 2 March 2023. Down banks and up banks, and over gates, and splashing into dikes, and breaking among coarse rushes: no man cared where he went. Even the blind mens dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!. Scrooge is described as "solitary as an oyster". Explain. Browse Library, Teacher Memberships Scrooge knew he was dead? "Spirit," said Scrooge with an interest he had never felt before, "tell me if Tiny Tim will live.". 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! https://www.youtube. Scrooge is a cold-hearted tight miser who watches everything going on within his counting-house business. It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. The 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. Term. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir., `And the Union workhouses demanded Scrooge. We are currently converting the 3,000+ pages within our WordPress site to make them more mobile friendly. 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 was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. Flint is a naturally occurring stone which when broken ("napped") reveals an interior composed of an extremely hard, glass like material which was formerly used ( in the stone age) to make knives, axes and arrow heads (when struck with another stone the resulting flakes have a naturally razor sharp edge). 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. Youre poor enough., `Come, then, returned the nephew gaily. "No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him." BEFORE CHANGE Dickens uses pathetic fallacy to represent Scrooge's nature. And yet the way he denies the truth with joke-making, shows his fear. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever. At Fezziwig's party (pp. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. "Scrooge was better than his word. 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. It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable dread, that as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing. (imperative), int. "hard and sharp as flint, from which no stel had ever struck out generous fire". What is the theme of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? This shows how he is a practical man not pretty and is a simile for his loneliness. Scrooge is especially disgruntled when Fred mentions his wife, for example. 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; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Marley represents a kind of family for Scrooge, even though they are not blood-related. 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). 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. 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. Why show me this, if I am past all hope! For the first time, the hand appeared to shake. "Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so much smaller that it looked like one coal". _____Why did the puppy hide when Sebastian appeared? 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. Ask me if you need help for GCSE revision? 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 becomes nearly inebriated with joy. Marleys ghost is a terrifying figure - his huge clanking chain makes him look like an exaggeration of a typical Victorian prisoner. 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. 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. A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis (Stave 1 (() The register of his: A Christmas Carol - Quotes and Analysis . "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". How is the theme of isolation presented in A Christmas Carol? It was not angry or ferocious, but looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look: with ghostly spectacles turned up on its ghostly forehead. This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. Cratchit, despite his poverty, celebrates Christmas with a childlike ritual of sliding down a hill with the street boys. `How it is that I appear before you in a shape that you can see, I may not tell. Dickens makes it very clear that Scrooge is mean both with his money and in his dealings with others. `Merry Christmas! The clock tower that looks down on. who cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially. 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