In A Christmas Carol, why does Scrooge like the darkness? Latest answer posted January 12, 2021 at 5:08:54 PM. eNotes Editorial, 18 Apr. As we head into the Christmas season, where reflective thinking becomes this very theme. The Ghost responds, "I am!," in a voice the narrator notes is "singularly low, as if instead of being so close beside [Scrooge], it were at a distance." Thank you for visiting nature.com. Most intriguingly, the 2023 campaign included observations at the challenging wavelength of 0.87 millimetres, which should further improve the resolution. 947, L7 (2023). But Scrooge cannot now unfeel what he has been made to feel: that he should have given the boy at his door something, that he should be kinder to his employee Bob, that he ought to embrace his nephew Fred, as the only child of his beloved sister, who is no longer living. Latest answer posted April 21, 2020 at 4:27:31 PM. Confronting the shadows of his past is agonizing for Scrooge. However, as he travels back into his past, he sees many bright and happy moments, memories of goodness and good times and good, generous people, long gone. The moment is small, but it seems to jolt Scrooge into recognizing that his nephew is his only remaining tie to Fan. A "bright, clear jet of light" springs from the figure's head; Scrooge surmises that the large cap under the figure's arm serves at times as "a great extinguisher." Latest answer posted December 03, 2020 at 4:13:31 PM. This Ghost's behavior, as well as that of the Ghost of Christmas Present, finds biblical precedent in the prophet Nathan's confrontation of King David, in which he goaded the king into confessing his own sin (see 2 Samuel 12). The ghost wore a white tunic to represent purity and innocence. Yet the narrator tells us-and we can safely assume that he is a reliable source-that Scrooge gives no further thought to Marley until the strange apparitions at his lodgings begin. By themselves, black holes do not emit any radiation, so the orange doughnut (representing radio-wavelength emissions) must have been produced not directly by the black hole, but by matter in its vicinity that is superheated and twisted by magnetic fields. In this case, Ebeneezer and Fezziwig are both business owners with employees, but where they diverge is in their treatment of others and in their outlook on life. "In A Christmas Carol, why does the Ghost of Christmas Past appear as a bright light source?" Dickens uses Scrooge's response to the light to show us that he is uncomfortable in the presence of this being. As his fellow-feeling grows, and he begins to recognize the errors of his miserly ways, the spirit's light grows too so that it has become so bright. . In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghost with no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by any effort of its adversary, Scrooge observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head. The light represents the events of the past. He is witnessing the life that might have been his. What is the theme of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? This could be symbolic of the truth which is found in Scrooge's memories. Charles Dickens' enduring holiday tale "A Christmas Carol" features three ghosts who visit Ebenezer Scrooge, a crotchety man who detests the yuletide holiday. Unfortunately, in the play A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge believes just this. For the purposes of Dickens' tale . As he was begging, he saw that the light was burning high and bright. He fought to cover the light. The Ghost now takes Scrooge to a city, bustling with activity as its residents prepare to celebrate Christmas. "The darkness and the mist had vanished with it, for it was a clear, cold, winter day with snow upon the ground". During Christmastime there is a lot of charity and for being such a wealthy man that Scrooge is, he hates to give money to charity. "What!" The Ghost does not allow Scrooge to cling to this misconception: "No. How does Dickens present ideas about joy and happiness in chapter 2 of A Christmas Carol? By showing Scrooge joyful memories of his past, the spirit reminds Scrooge of the feeling of excitement and happiness. To extinguish this beacon of light, the spirit carries "a great extinguisher for a cap" under its arms. It was challenging to link the image to the larger-scale pictures of the jet. You have just attended a reception at the home of a British official. This is where the clerk lives. Scrooge believes that the way he looks at life, at the poor, is the right way to look at life. In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles You can also search for this author in PubMed Suddenly, it would be whoe again, "distinct and clear as ever." () The famous phrase Humbug really means either shame or hoax. How does Dickens present Scrooge's character in stave 1? This light functions as a symbol of hope and of goodness in the world. The curtains of his bed were drawn aside, I tell you, by a hand. It orders Scrooge to stand up and walk with him. Fan announces that Scrooge's school days have ended; he "is to be a man" now. Scrooge's effort, however, is unsuccessful: "But though Scrooge pressed it down with all his force, he could not hide the light, which streamed from under it, in an unbroken flood upon the ground.". While Dickens refers to this being as the first of three "spirits," the term "ghost" must now be understood as a synonym-not, as in the previous chapter, the word with which we are familiar, an immortal soul haunting the world of the living. Is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap?". Accessed 1 May 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. It is at this point that readers first learn that Scrooge's first name is Ebenezer, a Hebrew word meaning "stone of help." The book is a very descriptive christmas novel. Article Please check back weekly to see what we have added. Scrooge. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. The Ghost reminds him, "That [these shadows of the past] are what they are, do not blame me!" But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm. It also has features of an old man to show that time has gone by but also to show how the past experiences make us wiser. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its . ', Stave 5: 'No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold;', Stave 5: 'He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.'. Scrooge's obsession with earning money in his present has obscured the light shining from the valuable lessons to be learned from his past. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its . The joy he feels in this moment causes the ghosts light to burn very clear. This detail shows how the light symbolizes the ghosts role in revealing the beauty of the world to Scrooge. When the ghost of Christmas Past comes to Scrooge, he tries to show Scrooge scenes from his childhood. What is the symbol of the light. Immediately, Scrooge finds himself in a country field. The curtains of his bed were drawn aside; and Scrooge, starting up into a half-recumbent . But although astrophysicists had theories, there was no clear indication on the basis of that image alone as to the origin of the radiation. His father was sent to a Debtors prison taken his son Charles with him "[T]here he sat alone," Belle's husband tells her. One painful vision shows Scrooge parting with a former lover over money. He does not know that there is more than one way to look at life, most of all he believes there is only one correct way to look at reality. As the Ghost surely intended, Scrooge's remarks make him wish he could "say a word or two" to his clerk. and JavaScript. eNotes Editorial, 1 Dec. 2009, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-is-the-strangest-thing-about-the-way-the-119789. A Christmas Carol - quotation analysis. At the point of exhaustion, Scrooge falls asleep, Novelguide.com is the premier free source for literary analysis on the web. Latest answer posted January 12, 2021 at 5:08:54 PM. Its strangest quality, Dickens concedes, is the ghost's ability to fluctuate in corporal distinctness; at one time it has "one arm, now with one leg, now with twenty legs, now a pair of legs without a head, now a head without a body. Both networks use a technique called interferometry, which combines data taken simultaneously at multiple locations. The ghost has a flame of light above his head and a cap that he carries to put the light out. What is the theme of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? The figure has bare arms and legs but wears a white tunic and shining belt, and carries "a branch of fresh, green holly," even though the being's garb is "trimmed with summer flowers." The Ghost, somewhat impishly, forces Scrooge to acknowledge his nephew: the Ghost states that Fan left "children" behind when she died, and Scrooge must amend the plural form to the singular. Explain Ignorance and Want, who appear in stave 3 of A Christmas Carol. Young Ebenezer and Dick quickly clear the warehouse floor, and soon a festive party fills the space. "What is the strangest thing about the way the Ghost of Christmas Past looks?" eNotes Editorial, 16 Jan. 2016, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/christmas-carol-how-does-scrooge-try-extinguish-376571. Clearly, Scrooge's transformation-first signaled with that unfinished "Humbug" at Stave One's close-is continuing at a rapid pace. In the book a Christmas carol there is a boy named Fred who is Ebenezer scrooges nephew and there are many differences to him from another version of a christmas carol which is a movie made by the muppets so here i will state the differences, old sinner! A Christmas Carol was published. A "bright, clear jet of light" springs from the figure's head; Scrooge surmises that the large cap under the figure's arm serves at times as "a great extinguisher." The figure is the Ghost of Christmas Past. In A Christmas Carol, how does Scrooge try to "extinguish the light"? ISSN 1476-4687 (online) pages of a Christmas Carol? How remarkable that the same man who could spare no thought to his deceased business partner on the anniversary of his death now trembles and tears up when confronted with the memories of his youth! In other words-to borrow language from that carol's absent, last stanza (see the discussion in Stave One)-he would have liked to "embrace" that boy "with true love and brotherhood.". Scrooge, seeing that the Ghost intends to lead him through the same window by which Marley exited earlier, protests that he will fall. Postdoctoral fellowship in vascular biology at UT Southwestern, studying the endothelial basis of cardiometabolic disease. Revise and learn about the characters in Charles Dickens's novella, A Christmas Carol with BBC Bitesize GCSE English Literature (AQA). . . The way in which Scrooge keeps himself at a distance from his "fellow-passengers to the grave" (see Scrooge's conversation with his nephew in Stave One) will not be allowed to stand. Is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap, and force me through whole trains of years to wear it low upon my brow!". Explain Ignorance and Want, who appear in stave 3 of A Christmas Carol. Having seen and understood his past for the first time in years, if not in his entire life, Scrooge cannot now go back to willful ignorance or denial of it. Scrooge soon realizes that he can't put the light out. This short novel has a "Singularly low, as if, instead of being so close behind him, it were at a distance". A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens tells the story of a Young Scrooge is still alone in the schoolhouse, which has grown darker and dirtier. Dickens wished to educate people about the personal consequences of maintaining such an attitude, Scrooge's former staff can be seen selling of his old things as they were not paid sufficiently when he was alive, Stave 1/3: 'If he be like to die, he better do it and decrease the surplus population', Stave 3: 'wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable', Stave 3: 'The girl is ignorance, the boy is want', 'it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. What quotes describe how Scrooge changes in stave 3 ofA Christmas Carol. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. It is the light of the spirit of Christmas, and he says that the it is the passions (or perhaps negative attitudes) of people like Scrooge who created the hat in the first place. "What does the light coming from the head of the Ghost of Christmas Past symbolize?" The Ghost assures him that, should Scrooge "bear but a touch of my hand" upon his heart, he will be "upheld in more than this." In 1 Samuel 7:12, the prophet Samuel gives the name to a rock that commemorates an Israelite victory over their enemies the Philistines, saying, "Hitherto hath the LORD helped us" (KJV). Example: the Mullinses theMullinsers\underline{\textit{the Mullinsers}}theMullinsers. This brightness now, and Scrooge's recognition of how he has hurt others and himself, missing so many opportunities to feel or to give happiness, is painful to him, and so he tries to extinguish it with the spirit's cap. Whether deliberately crafted to do so or not, the scene echoes Genesis 32:24-31, in which the biblical patriarch Jacob wrestles with a mysterious figure (variously interpreted as an angel or as God himself), and emerges from the struggle as a man with a new name, a new identity, and a blessing. He sits with a young woman (here unnamed; compare the absence of name for the clerk and Scrooge's nephew in Stave One) who is dressed in mourning clothes; significantly, the tears in her eyes are illuminated by the light from the Ghost. observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head. This strong hand belongs to a delicately-built being who is like both a child and an old man, with long white hair and no blemish of age on its face. How does Dickens present ideas about joy and happiness in chapter 2 of A Christmas Carol?
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