A Christmas Carol Quotes - Scrooge Flashcards
“hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire”
Simile “hard and sharp as flint” emphasises scrooge’s tough, cold exterior.
“flint” suggests that, although he has never given “generous fire” he has the potential to be good-willed, sociable, generous and the other attributes encapsulated by the Christmas spirit, as portrayed by the recurring symbol of “fire” used by dickens to represent these values.
Painful, harmful connotations of “sharp” - highlights scrooge’s lack of sociability towards others, suggesting that he’s harmful and dangerous to them.
“solitary as an oyster”
Scrooge is lonely, unsociable and disconnected from society through this simile
Imagery of “oyster” = 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
“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”
Dickens again uses temperature as a metaphor for degrees of goodwill here, with scrooge being “cold” reflecting his lack of goodwill towards himself and others around him, and the description of his decrepit features such as his “shriveled” cheek and “stiffened” gait suggests that Scrooge’s unsociable, miserly attitudes of ill damage himself, in contrast to his nephew Fred (a foil to scrooge) who is “ruddy and handsome”, emphasising through their appearances how holding the values of the Christmas spirit are beneficial to ones self, and as developed on throughout the novella, the whole of society as well.
“no beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o’clock”
Through the listing of people who won’t interact with scrooge, from “children” to “beggars” , and the repetition of the negative word “no”, Dickens emphasises the solitude and lack of interaction with society in Scrooge’s life, and Scrooge’s in-sociability.
“Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s fire was so much smaller that it looked like one coal”
Quote also for Bob
Through the metaphor “fire”, symbolising goodwill and generosity (the values of the Christmas spirit), Dickens suggests that Scrooge, having “a very small fire” for himself, has little goodwill and generosity to be spent on himself, but, as suggested through Bob’s fire being “so much smaller”, he has even less goodwill and generosity for those around him
“So surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. 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”
Quote also for Bob
Scrooge refusing to give any coal to Bob, and Bob subsequently having “failed” to “warm himself at the candle” reflects the harmful impact that the miserly attitudes of men like scrooge have on society as portrayed by dickens, suggesting that if those more fortunate, like scrooge, refuse to give any goodwill, generosity or support to those less fortunate, like bob, they will surely perish and be unable to survive under what little goodwill, generosity and support they have in society, as symbolized by Bob being unable to warm himself at the very small fire of the “candle”
“Bah!” said Scrooge “Humbug!”
Scrooge is characterised as miserable and harmful to society in his attitudes here, as suggested by the dismissive connotations of “humbug!” (meaning rubbish or nonsense) suggesting that scrooge is dismissive of Christmas and the values that come with it, and the animalistic onomatopoeia of “bah!” likening scrooge to a sheep, suggesting that he foolishly follows certain ideologies such as Malthusian economic theory.
“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”
Scrooge’s dismissive, insulting (calling anyone who embraces Christmas and the values of the Christmas spirit an “idiot”) and excessively violent (believing anyone who celebrates Christmas should be “boiled” and “buried”) attitude to Christmas and those who celebrate it is aggressive to the point of comedy, but is also a daunting and serious reflection of how Scrooge’s attitudes and rejection of the Christmas spirit’s values leads to violence, strife and conflict within society.
“If they would rather die”, said scrooge ,”they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”
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 use of business like language such as “surplus” and “decrease” emphasizes how scrooge’s miserly, monetarily driven attitudes in the place of the Christmas spirit and its values causes wrath and suffering in society, and leads to the less fortunate not being supported. Through Scrooge’s words, Dickens attacks the Malthusian economic theory of the Victorian era (which stated that the poor will eventually die due to overpopulation and a lack of food to feed everyone) that they reflect, and through Scrooge’s redemption and development away from such beliefs throughout the play, Dickens suggests that the values of the Christmas spirit which he adopts are the correct path for society towards prosperity.
“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.”
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”.
“Nothing” said scrooge “nothing. There was a boy singing a Christmas carol at my door last night. I should like to give him something: that’s all.”
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.
“No,” said scrooge, “no. I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now! that’s all.”
Through 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.
“Spirit,” said Scrooge with an interest he had never felt before, “tell me if Tiny Tim will live.”
Scrooge’s “interest” in Tiny Tm’s well being and whether “Tiny Tim will live” highlights Scrooge’s changing attitudes towards the poor.
In contrast to earlier, Scrooge does not want the deserving poor Tiny Tim to die.
“What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”
Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief”
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.
