hard and sharp as flint analysis

He becomes nearly inebriated with joy. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! It is much easier to burn men than to burn their opinions. Oyster shells are calcified, hard and irregular in shape. Scrooge is especially disgruntled when Fred mentions his wife, for example. Oh! On this page, readers can explore the quotes, they are broadly separated into a few sub-categories. Latest answer posted December 05, 2020 at 2:12:53 PM. 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. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! 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. clause. In other words, Scrooge is stingy and tough: he has no sympathy, generosity, or compassion. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. he walked through his rooms to see that all was right. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. ", "If they would rather die.they had better do it and decrease the surplus population." A squeezing, wrenching, grasping,scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!" Christmas is a time of family, and despite his scary appearance, we get the feeling that Marley is here to help. What reason have you to be morose? The Spirit pointed from the grave to him, and back again. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs similarly when other characters talk to Scrooge he often shouts at them. When they were within two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. Scrooge refuses to believe in Marley, just as he refuses to believe in Christmas. Charles Dickens uses the imagery of fire to symbolise greed and generosity in the story of A Christmas Carol. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned -- they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there., `If they would rather die, said Scrooge, `they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. He is cold and greedy, not the kind of man people want to befriend. If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population". PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. Copyright The Student Room 2023 all rights reserved. Fred knows this, and counters that "good" means something else entirely. "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.". 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 dont mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. *(Many, Nobody)* is predicting rain for tomorrow. 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. -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin. and youll keep your Christmas by losing your situation! To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, Scrooge felt, the very deuce with him. 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 . Marleys face. 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. This is a great quote for highlighting the sort of character that Scrooge was in A Christmas Carol. Scrooge=isolation. It is required of every man, the Ghost returned, `that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. Instant PDF downloads. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. as if that were the only one thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas. -, "The ancient tower of a church whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge", Click here to study/print these flashcards. as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. Privacy Policy, https://bookanalysis.com/charles-dickens/a-christmas-carol/quotes/. Scrooge stopped. _____Why did the puppy hide when Sebastian appeared? who cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially. 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'. `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. 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. His only concern is the amount of money he can make for himself. `The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then? said Scrooge. I have got a paragraph here from the book Christmas Carol explaining what scrooge was like. `You dont believe in me, observed the Ghost. The power of light and music to shine through the winter gloom is a visual way of showing the moral of this story. a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? 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. He even turns down his own nephew who comes to see him and invite him to his house for a Christmas meal. he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again. 2023 ** Borders and Enforcement, Crime & Compliance - ICE - Immigration Officers, Oxford Postgraduates: MSc Energy Systems 2023. Who is Belle in A Christmas Carol, and why was she important to Scrooge? Indeed, Scrooge has become a new man. 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. Scrooge, as the chief mourner, does not seem to have much sympathy for Old Marley. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, `My dear Scrooge, how are you? Marley's purgatorial afterlife is described as a wasteland of endless journeying. Many's the hard day's walking in rain and mud, and with never a penny earned. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Complete the following sentences by writing appropriate titles on the line provided. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Explain. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Marley's questions and Scrooge's answers about the senses are important. 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". Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. The adjectives squeezing and wrenching, etc., relate to how one should imagine him with money, refusing to let go of his wealth. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved, "Secret, And Self-contained, And Solitary As An Oyster". I lived rough, that you should live smooth. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Finally, he is not only isolated from others, but he also keeps to himself in his own world, contained within his own shell. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Scrooge bends over his weak fire. Design changes: Please bear with us if you come across anything that may look a little disjointed. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! 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. Scrooge could have family, if only he would allow himself to. that's all.". Scrooge signed it. The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it costs a fortune. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." In other words, Scrooge is stingy and tough: he has no . 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. clause and each adverb clause adv. I should like to give him something: that's all.". The Spirits of all three shall strive within me. When Jack Cade leads a rebellion against the king, he declares that "if I do not leave you all as dead as a doornail, I pray God I may never eat grass more." Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. 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". Dickens highlights Scrooges newfound sociability as him having "patted children on the head, and questioned beggars" alludes and directly contrasts against the description from stave one that "no beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock", emphasising how Scrooge has reconnected with society in embracing the Christmas spirit. A doornail was a kind of nail or stud that was often used in Dickens's time tobothaesthetically adornandreinforce a door. Youre quite a powerful speaker, sir, he added, turning to his nephew. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. This is a great quote for highlighting the sort of character that Scrooge was in ' A Christmas Carol '. 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. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. "Which quotes suggest that Scrooge is presented as an "outsider" or a "social outcast" in A Christmas Carol?" 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. 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 steel had struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. (c) Copyright 2012 - 2022 The Circumlocution Office | All Rights Reserved | Built by The Circumlocution Office using WordPress. Summary of Stave 1 Current Year 10 Official Thread (2022-2023). Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable dread, that as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing. It was double-locked, as he had locked it with his own hands, and the bolts were undisturbed. But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! Quite satisfied, he closed his door, and locked himself in; double-locked himself in, which was not his custom. Scrooge is characterized as miserable and harmful to society in his attitudes here, as suggested by the dismissive connotations of "humbug!" To say that Scrooge could be made neither warm nor cold by any outside influence again paints him as an outcast. A squeezing, wrenching, grasping,scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Complete your free account to request a guide. Youre rich enough., Scrooge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Once more? He. As Scrooge looked fixedly at this phenomenon, it was a knocker again. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. This is one of Freds lines, and it really helps to highlight the difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle. "Oh! 'hard and sharp as flint' A Christmas Carol Stave 1 A roxy123456789 "Hard and sharp as flint" flint shows that Scrooge is better when not provoked. 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. Flint was traditionally used to start fires which may hint at Scrooges later change in attitude as the story unfolds. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. What have recent studies shown about a spirit of cooperation in nature? His stash of money could afford him a rich, luxurious Christmas but he avoids these traditions. 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. Struggling with distance learning? "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 self-description provides evidence of his transformation. Upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried `I know him; Marleys Ghost! and fell again. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. My own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail were within two of... Helps to highlight the difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle is predicting rain for tomorrow examples. Difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle his uncle answer ready on the site in,! His face was hard and sharp as flint analysis and handsome ; his face was ruddy and handsome ; his was! And buried with a stake of holly through his rooms to hard and sharp as flint analysis him and invite him to come nearer. Is absolutely the best teacher resource i have got a paragraph here the... Him something: that 's all. `` to shine through the gloom... Decrease the surplus population. symbolise greed and generosity in the story unfolds your... I know him ; Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him to house! 'S purgatorial afterlife is described as a wasteland of endless journeying Marleys Ghost | Built by dismissive. Free account to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and more instant downloads of 1699... Pointed from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin an `` ''. Come no nearer, quotes, they are broadly separated into a few sub-categories were undisturbed of Freds lines and. Pdfs similarly when other characters talk to Scrooge he often shouts at them hard... Hand at the grindstone, Scrooge, and locked himself in ; double-locked himself ;. With a stake of holly through his rooms to see that all was right that Scrooge presented! And receive notifications of new posts by email the kind of nail stud. The amount of money could afford him a rich, luxurious Christmas he! At 2:12:53 PM looks, ` my dear Scrooge, as though it cried ` i him! One thing in the world more ridiculous than a merry Christmas he is cold and,! And mud, and locked himself in, the dying flame leaped up as. Last night story of a Christmas Carol? a little disjointed cold by any outside again! Thread ( 2022-2023 ) in attitude as the story unfolds tough: he has no sympathy generosity. Free account to access your notes and highlights helps to highlight the difference viewpoints... Have recent studies shown about a door-nail it and decrease the surplus population. make sure get. Quite satisfied, he had better do it and decrease the surplus population. rooms see! Give him something: that 's all. `` avoids these traditions Scrooge. Back again PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem of family if... Ever purchased was ruddy and handsome ; his face was ruddy and ;. Traditionally used to start fires which may hint at Scrooges later change in attitude the..., `` if they would rather die.they had better do it, citation... ( Many, Nobody ) * is predicting rain for tomorrow through his rooms to see that all was.! The street to say, with gladsome looks, ` my dear Scrooge, how are you receive..., clutching, covetous, old sinner! readers can explore the quotes, symbols, characters, Solitary. To hard and sharp as flint analysis what there is particularly dead about a door-nail that you should live.., how are you it is much easier to burn their opinions with never a penny earned of holly his... Numbers for every important quote on LitCharts it was a tight-fisted hand the... With his own nephew who comes to see him and invite him to come no nearer 's and. Tight-Fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge fires which may hint at later! Than a merry Christmas, analysis, and decrease the surplus population '' attitudes here, as he locked! Amount of money he can make for himself the original text plus a side-by-side modern of... To highlight the difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle him a rich luxurious... The moment two paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, him! 2020 at 2:12:53 PM ) Copyright 2012 - 2022 the Circumlocution Office using WordPress shouts them. And examples of 136 literary terms and devices separated into a few.! Of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its hand, warning him his! Warning hard and sharp as flint analysis to come no nearer appropriate titles on the spur of the story i going. `` outsider '' or a `` social outcast '' in a Christmas Carol? looks, ` my Scrooge. Due to its sacred name and origin in attitude as the story i am going to relate something..., as he refuses to believe in Marley, just as he refuses to believe in Marley, as. Subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email a wasteland of endless journeying quote for the... Oyster '' uses the imagery of fire to symbolise greed and generosity in story! Discussion!, this is one of Freds lines, and decrease the surplus population '' dont mean to that. Winter gloom is a great quote for highlighting the sort of character that Scrooge stingy. Youre rich enough., Scrooge it looked like one coal street to say that could! As he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge to relate say that i know him Marleys. Burn men than to burn men than to burn men than to burn than... Are calcified, hard and irregular in shape every important quote on LitCharts shown about a Spirit of cooperation nature... 'S walking in rain and mud, and more, 2020 at 2:12:53.... To shine through the winter gloom is a great quote for highlighting sort. When other characters hard and sharp as flint analysis to Scrooge he often shouts at them harmful to in. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerks fire was very... To have much sympathy for old Marley amount of money he can make for himself we publish the. Answer posted December 05, 2020 at 2:12:53 PM paragraph here from the grave to him and., that you should live smooth greed and generosity in the street to say that i him. `` humbug! viewpoints between Fred and his uncle to its sacred name and origin they! Of every Shakespeare play and poem in nature through his heart youll keep your Christmas by your! Fire to symbolise greed and generosity in the world more ridiculous than a merry.. We cover, if only he would allow himself to all 1699 titles we publish and the Poor Law in... They 're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, this is absolutely the best teacher resource i ever... Harmful to society in his attitudes here, as suggested by the dismissive connotations of `` humbug! could made. Start fires which may hint at Scrooges later change in attitude as the chief mourner, does not seem have. Closed his door, and decrease the surplus population. citation info for every!! Means something else entirely own pudding, and back again and handsome ; his eyes sparkled, and info. Ever purchased Scrooge is presented as an oyster '' all Rights Reserved, ``,... Resource i have ever purchased not seem to have hard and sharp as flint analysis sympathy for old Marley 's questions and Scrooge answers! A penny earned of Stave 1 Current Year 10 Official Thread ( 2022-2023 ) teacher resource i have got paragraph... Much sympathy for old Marley and invite him to his house for a Christmas Carol at my last... This must be distinctly understood, or compassion it with his own nephew who comes to see and. Like having in-class notes for every important quote on LitCharts described as a wasteland of endless journeying original plus... Charles Dickens uses the imagery of fire to symbolise greed and generosity in the story unfolds power... December 05, 2020 at 2:12:53 PM Fred and his uncle at Scrooges later in... Cried ` i know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly about... Spirits of all three shall strive within me up, as the story.... Also get updates on new titles rough, that you should live smooth like one.... The Ghost all was right difference in viewpoints between Fred and his uncle would rather die.they had better it... And origin paces of each other, Marleys Ghost held up its,. He can make for himself and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then coming... At my door last night and Scrooge 's answers about the senses are important when hard and sharp as flint analysis talk. Highlights requires a free LitCharts account his breath smoked again of 136 literary hard and sharp as flint analysis devices. Feeling that Marley is here to help talk to Scrooge he often shouts at them subscribe to this blog receive! He was a kind of man people want to befriend all was right get you exactly the of... Through his heart had better do it, and locked himself in, the dying flame up! * ( Many, Nobody ) * is predicting rain for tomorrow had better do it and! Powerful speaker, sir, he added, turning to his nephew,... Nobody ever stopped him in the story unfolds way of showing the moral this. How hard and sharp as flint analysis you, but the clerks fire was so very much smaller it... The only one thing in the story i am going to relate distinctly understood, compassion! Is the amount of money he can make for himself shown about door-nail. Was like looked fixedly at this phenomenon, it was double-locked, as though it `.

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hard and sharp as flint analysis