But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol. Scrooges mean and harsh nature is described. Favorite. At the ominous word liberality, Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back. Hedidpause, with a moments irresolution, before he shut the door; and hedidlook cautiously behind it first, as if he half expected to be terrified with the sight of Marleys pigtail sticking out into the hall. Dead, right reverends and wrong reverends of every order. The office was closed in a twinkling, and the clerk, with the long ends of his white comforter dangling below his waist (for he boasted no great-coat), 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. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. He went the whole length of the expression, and said that he would see him in that extremity first. What a fine thing capital punishment is! The repetition of the statement "Marley was dead" causes readers to question why the statement "MARLEY WAS DEAD," is not "MARLEY IS DEAD." Once someone has died they are quite dead, or as Dickens puts it in the first paragraph, "Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail", after which the narrative voice goes off on an almost comical . The clerk in the Tank involuntarily applauded. and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode! The narrator here certainly doesnt know what it means, as he reflects on it and wonders what it could mean: Marley was dead, to begin with. Use as many words as you can that begin with your initial. Couldnt I take em all at once, and have it over, Jacob? hinted Scrooge. It was a very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night. Incessant torture of remorse.. Phrase of four words The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlets Father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot -- say Saint Pauls Churchyard for instance -- literally to astonish his sons weak mind. Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there. Scrooge resumed his labours with an improved opinion of himself, and in a more facetious temper than was usual with him. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Learn how your comment data is processed. Scrooge signed it. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Marley was dead: to begin with. Scrooge appears old, stiff, and shriveled, but authorities on Dickenss work estimate his age at no more than 57, implying that his inner chill has aged him prematurely. Date: First published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. Half-a-dozen gas-lamps out of the street wouldnt have lighted the entry too well, so you may suppose that it was pretty dark with Scrooges dip. There is no doubt whatever about that. Dickens emphasizes the single fact of Marleys death to prepare readers to be as astonished as Scrooge is when Marleys Ghost appears. Please wait while we process your payment. The cold became intense. Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door, except that it was very large. Marley was dead: to begin with. He is bitter that no one did for him what he is doing for Scrooge. A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every year. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. Remember to se You may talk vaguely about driving a coach-and-six up a good old flight of stairs, or through a bad young Act of Parliament; 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. He ventured to raise his eyes again, and found his supernatural visitor confronting him in an erect attitude, with its chain wound over and about its arm. I dont mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. Which Charles Dickens novel opens with the line Marley was dead to begin with there is no doubt whatever about that the register of his burial was signed by the clergyman the clerk the undertaker and the chief mourner? The clerk in the Tank involuntarily applauded. This suggests to the reader that changing to be more charitable is good thing. Want 100 or more? This is an example of a colon being used to break up two elements of a sentence. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. I'LL GIVE 15 PTS HELP PLS Here is your goal for this assignment: But you might know it, observed the gentleman. Nor can I tell you what I would. And the Union workhouses? demanded Scrooge. Free trial is available to new customers only. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. But he couldnt replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer., You were always a good friend to me, said Scrooge. 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Monologue Analysis, I Am Armd And Well Prepared Monologue Analysis, I Know A Bank Where The Wild Thyme Blows Monologue Analysis, I Must Eat My Dinner Monologue Analysis, Like To The Pontic Sea Monologue Analysis, My Mistress With A Monster Is In Love Monologue Analysis, O, Reason Not The Need Monologue Analysis, Once More Unto The Breach Dear Friends Speech Analysis, Romans, Countrymen and Lovers! `Because, said Scrooge, `a little thing affects them. There is no doubt whatever about that. Scrooge and Marleys, I believe, said one of the gentlemen, referring to his list. Write a shaped poem. FALSE Create your own pen Chapter 1 - Marley's Ghost. Oh! How could it be otherwise? When the story begins, Scrooge is asked about his partner Marley by the men collecting money for charity. Dont be flowery, Jacob! There is no doubt whatever about that. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooges name was good upon Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Scrooge fell upon his knees, and clasped his hands before his face. 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. The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. (c) Copyright 2012 - 2023 The Circumlocution Office | All Rights Reserved | Built by The Circumlocution Office using WordPress. The door of Scrooges counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Christmas a humbug, uncle! said Scrooges nephew. As he threw his head back in the chair, his glance happened to rest upon a bell, a disused bell, that hung in the room, and communicated for some purpose now forgotten with a chamber in the highest story of the building. Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! Seeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue their point, the gentlemen withdrew. `You dont believe in me, observed the Ghost. Scrooge signed it. It held up its chain at arms length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief, and flung it heavily upon the ground again. Hear me! cried the Ghost. Write your poem and decorate it as imaginatively as possible. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. There is no doubt whatever about that. The cold became intense. My time is nearly gone., I will, said Scrooge. And so, what is it about a doornail that is so dead? It comes from other regions, Ebenezer Scrooge, and is conveyed by other ministers, to other kinds of men. Dine with us tomorrow.. wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! Mind! I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot linger anywhere. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.. Scrooge knew he was dead? There is no doubt that Marley was dead. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medications, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product. His nephew left the room without an angry word, notwithstanding. It was double-locked, as he had locked it with his own hands, and the bolts were undisturbed. It also has that d-alliteration and a nice iambic rhythm. Marley was dead, to begin with. Contact us 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. At length the hour of shutting up the counting-house arrived. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Marley won't be interrupted, meaning he truly believes he is doing the right thing. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. Second, it emphasizes that this is the FIRST thing we are to know. Marleys ghost visits Scrooge on Christmas Eve at the beginning of the story. Marley and Scrooge were business partners once. Youre quite a powerful speaker, sir, he added, turning to his nephew. Oh! Scrooge glanced about him on the floor, in the expectation of finding himself surrounded by some fifty or sixty fathoms of iron cable: but he could see nothing. In fact, they are dead. At this time of the rolling year, the spectre said, I suffer most. Marley has been dead these seven years,' Scrooge replied. Dickens introduces the character of the ghost of Marley into the story to warn Scrooge of the consequences of his selfish life, for example how Marley says he is condemned to wander the world bound by chains, chains he says he forged in life (suggesting to Scrooge that he has a choice). Marley shows Scrooge the horror that awaits Scrooge is he dosent change his way. "Marley was dead, to begin with. But he put his hand upon the key he had relinquished, turned it sturdily, walked in, and lighted his candle. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again. What reason have you to be morose? But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come roundapart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from thatas 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. Because the sentence is doing two different things. Theres more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!. `Christmas a humbug, uncle! said Scrooges nephew. Old fire-guard, old shoes, two fish-baskets, washing-stand on three legs, and a poker. 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. Most idiomatic expressions have some poetry in them along with a vivid image. Look on me well: I have eat no meat these five days; yet, come thou and thy five men, and if I do not leave you all as dead as a doornail, I pray God I may never eat grass more. They often came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did. Were there no homes to which [the Christmas star's] light would have conducted me! 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.
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