The name "Scrooge" has become synonymous with "cheap." The brightness of the shops where holly sprigs and berries crackled in the lamp heat of the windows, made pale faces ruddy as they passed. Many people dread the approach of the winter holidays because it means cold weather, crowded stores, heavy traffic, choosing presents, spending money, pretending to be friendly and cheerful, visiting boring relatives, and realizing, as Scrooge says, that we are a year older and haven't really accomplished much in that yearbut then mysteriously the spirit of the holidays takes hold of us, and we find ourselves feeling good will towards others as they, surprisingly, display good will towards us. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there., Many can't go there; and many would rather die., If they would rather die, said Scrooge, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Finally, he is not only isolated from others, but he also keeps to himself in his own world, contained within his own shell. It is doomed to wander through the worldoh, woe is me!and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!. The number seven, considered lucky or powerful in many cultures, combined with the anniversary of his death with the holiday, sets the scene for something supernatural to occur. Plenty of prisons, said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. He did pause, with a moment's irresolution, before he shut the door; and he did look cautiously behind it first, as if he half-expected to be terrified with the sight of Marley's pig-tail sticking out into the hall. Why has Marley's ghost visited Scrooge on Christmas Eve? He declares that if they cannot go to prison or the workhouses the poor should die and decrease the surplus population. It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. The Ghost brings Scrooge to a number of other happy Christmas dinners in the city, as well as to celebrations in a miner's house, a lighthouse, and on a ship. "They are Mans," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. Are there no prisons? said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. The expression Dickens is hinting at here is see you in Hell. As such, Scrooges retort is a rather comical onewhile Fred is bidding him to come see him at Christmas, Scrooge states that he will see him in that extremity (Hell) first. Foul weather didn't know where to have him. It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. They were a gloomy suite of rooms, in a lowering pile of building up a yard, where it had so little business to be, that one could scarcely help fancying it must have run there when it was a young house, playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, and have forgotten the way out again. A Christmas Carol is an allegorical story (a story with a moral lesson) and Dickens cleverly calls the five chapters staves as a means of creating an extended metaphor for his novel. Christmas a humbug, uncle! said Scrooge's nephew. Dickens personifies the weather as an entity casting fog and frost at London. Are there no prisons? And union workhouses, are they still in operation? Mystic54 Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff What evidence would you have of my reality beyond that of your senses?, Because, said Scrooge, a little thing affects them. You are fettered, said Scrooge, trembling. The sound resounded through the house like thunder. Our mission is to provide the possible best answers for your questions. He was the first of the patriarchs of the Bible and known for his obedience and loyalty to God. In the fevered haunting of the second night, Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present visit the holiday celebration of Bob Cratchit, with its tiny pudding to serve a family of seven. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Ebenezer: Are there no prisons? I am not the man I was. Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in! Every one of them wore chains like Marley's Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge's name was good upon Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. "Are they still in operation?" I am here tonight to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. Scrooge awakes when the bell strikes one, and is immediately prepared for the second Ghost's arrival. Scrooge resumed his labours with an improved opinion of himself, and in a more He says this in the first stave of the story. Gruel is a meal made by boiling cereal or oats in water. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. How to Market Your Business with Webinars. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Yet such was I! But I see it, said the Ghost, notwithstanding., Well! returned Scrooge, I have but to swallow this, and be for the rest of my days persecuted by a legion of goblins, all of my own creation. 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. Are there no prisons in A Christmas Carol? Scrooge said that he would see himyes, indeed he did. May nothing you dismay!. The bell's watching Scrooge, and its connection to the passing of time, suggests that Scrooge's time may be running out, foreshadowing future events. WebAre there no workhouses? Scrooge suggests that the poor go to the Union workhouses, or to the Treadmill, or that they be taken care of by the Poor Law. The same face: the very same. 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Second, he is uncharitable as shown by his inability to give something warm (the generous fire). Christa March. On the one hand, a shade can mean a small amount of differencetypically in reference to a difference in color. The Prophets rod refers to the staff that God transforms into a snake for Aaron, the brother of Moses, in the book of Exodus. They were succeeded by a clanking noise, deep down below; as if some person were dragging a heavy chain over the casks in the wine-merchant's cellar. Nobody under the table, nobody under the sofa; a small fire in the grate; spoon and basin ready; and the little saucepan of gruel (Scrooge had a cold in his head) upon the hob. WebSeeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue their point, the gentlemen withdrew. Yes. Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. It is unclear if Scrooge has read Malthus or not, but he seems to have been influenced by this popular belief that population control should start with the poor. Plenty of prisons, said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; 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? He supported the Poor Law to create workhouses for the poor, as people who were unable to sustain themselves did not have the right to live. Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels, but he had never believed it until now. When the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered that all newborn Jewish boys be killed, Mosess mother Jochebed built a small ark and sent the baby Moses down the Nile River so that he might be saved. Are there no workhouses? Rhetorical Questions suggesting the poor are at fault for having no money and that they have a place in society (even though we know prison and workhouses were terrible places) If. On the wings of the wind, replied the Ghost. WebAre there no prisons? said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. In the first stave (or chapter) of A Christmas Carol, we meet Marley, Scrooges deceased business partner, who is encased in heavy chains. said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. Saint Dunstan was an English archbishop of Canterbury during the 10th century. Scrooge stopped. "Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC. Here, if he can get all the "work" done more efficiently, then he saves his time for himself. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned--they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. Plenty of prisons, said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. But don't be hard upon me! Are there no workhouses ? The spirit disappears as the clock strikes midnight and Scrooge eyes a hooded phantom coming He looked out. Scrooge needs to learn that there is more in life than transactions and debt. All as they should be. It held up its chain at arm's length, as if that were the cause of all its unavailing grief, and flung it heavily upon the ground again. They often came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did. This rhetorical question from Scrooge in relation to workhouses highlights the ignorance of the wealthy or middle classes and reinforces Dickens fear that ignorance (by the rich) of poverty in society was as dangerous as the poverty itself. What does Scrooge say to the two gentlemen? Marley was dead: to begin with. The people carry their dinners off with them and occasionally bump each other accidentally and argue. There is no doubt whatever about that. Not so much in obedience, as in surprise and fear: for on the raising of the hand, he became sensible of confused noises in the air; incoherent sounds of lamentation and regret; wailings inexpressibly sorrowful and self-accusatory. Are there no prisons asked Scrooge analysis? Is that the chance and hope you mentioned, Jacob? he demanded, in a faltering voice. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Dickens alludes to Shakespeares famous play Hamlet in order to set the reader up for a ghost story of redemptionone that contrasts the seemingly cheerful title of A Christmas Carol. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. At this the spirit raised a frightful cry, and shook its chain with such a dismal and appalling noise, that Scrooge held on tight to his chair, to save himself from falling in a swoon. But I suppose you must have the whole day. Into the 19th century, this word "fancy" was synonymous with "imagination" and represented a person's ability to creatively conjure images in their minds. said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. Humbug!" Are there no prisons? said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him. A strange voice tells him to enter, and when he does, he sees his room has been decked out with Christmas decorations and a feast. And travelling all the time?, The whole time, said the Ghost. After Fred leaves, some gentlemen enter the office to request Scrooge a generous charity donation to help the needy. Humbug, I tell you-humbug!. As the story goes, there were three wise men who followed a star to the baby Jesus, who was born to poor parents in destitute conditions. While it's possible that Scrooge's nephew does place value on being wealthy, his upbeat attitude in spite of his poverty suggests that he believes many things are worth being merry about besides just money. This line provides us a further glimpse into his character. ", "Many can't go there; and many would rather die. Youre quite a powerful speaker, sir, he added, turning to his nephew. To put these figures in context, if a school had 25-50% of its pupils who achieved no GCSEs, OFSTED would be called in and the management sacked, yet for some reason we tolerate these levels of failure where prison is concerned. The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Since bells are nonliving things, this is an example of personification. Are they still in operation? They are. The narrator is establishing that Scrooge, like any man in London, lacks imagination. "Those who are badly off must go there." Scrooge suggests that the poor go to the Union workhouses, or to the Treadmill, or that they be taken care of by the Poor Law. This belief reinforces how much value Scrooge places on physical wealth, and it serves as another example of how greed affects all aspects of Scrooge's life. "Will he live? The clever ones reach their goal in life. But why? cried Scrooge's nephew. This hyperbolic statement underlines Scrooges dramatic refusal to join his nephews family for Christmas celebrations, and again shows Scrooge choosing isolation over togetherness, loneliness over family. Now, in the afterlife, his material assets trap and bind him. A chance and hope of my procuring, Ebenezer., You were always a good friend to me, said Scrooge. When they told scrooge that hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, Srooge directly asked this question! What do Chinese red noodle beans taste like? Ebenezer: And the union workhouses - are they still in operation? A very little more is all permitted to me. "Lord bless us everyone"-Tiny Tim 6. 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 wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. WebUnion workhouses a place for people who were desperate, the workhouses gave shelter and food but inmates had to do tedious work. This phrase is commonly employed at the very beginning of fairy tales. According to Genesis, Abraham obeyed this and other various requests from God without question and was ultimately rewarded by God for being a devout and dutiful. That is, Scrooge helped the funeral ceremony occur with very few expenses. Scrooge's trembling affirms that he is becoming aware of the similarities between himself and the Ghost. Dickens makes a point of associating the color of the candles with a healthy connotation to contrast with the bleak cold. Are there no prisons said the spirit turning on him for the last time with his own words Are there no workhouses? A Christmas Carol literature essays are academic essays for citation. https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=A_Christmas_Carol&oldid=3253165, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. "Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. Seven years dead, mused Scrooge. What shall I put you down for?, I wish to be left alone, said Scrooge. This simile depicts Marley's face on the knocker as having a kind of dull illumination. I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course, said Scrooge. This The water-plug being left in solitude, its overflowings sullenly congealed, and turned to misanthropic ice. St. Dunstan is most well known for his significant part in the restoration of the monastery and the reformation of the English Church. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names: It was all the same to him. The words combined with descriptive action ("leap up") creates a mental image of a dying fire suddenly jumping to life and announcing the arrival of the spirit. "And the Union workhouses?" II think Id rather not, said Scrooge. The truth is, that he tried to be smart, as a means of distracting his own attention, and keeping down his terror; for the spectre's voice disturbed the very marrow in his bones. "Are they still in operation? Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk's fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. Upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried, I know him! Dickens thus eliminates the potential for readers to conclude that significant change is hopeless and this ultimately functions to hold the reader accountable. The owner of one scant young nose, gnawed and mumbled by the hungry cold as bones are gnawed by dogs, stooped down at Scrooge's keyhole to regale him with a Christmas carol: but at the first sound of, God bless you, merry gentleman! Dickens describes them as pleasant to behold. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever. Without their visits, said the Ghost, you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. This quote suggests Scrooge thinks poverty is a crime. Scrooge inquires if nothing can be done to help them. 19 Are there no prisons? Not only has he established that Marley is dead, but he also wants readers to understand that Scrooge was the only person in Marley's life. When Scrooge asks, the Ghost informs him that, unless the future is altered, Tiny Tim will die. That is, the weather was not only cold, bleak, and biting, but it was also foggy. Half-a-dozen gas-lamps out of the street wouldn't have lighted the entry too well, so you may suppose that it was pretty dark with Scrooge's dip. The Queen of Sheba is another biblical figure who visits King Solomon, believed to be a great scholar, in her search for wisdom. This might have lasted half a minute, or a minute, but it seemed an hour. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. You see this toothpick? said Scrooge, returning quickly to the charge, for the reason just assigned; and wishing, though it were only for a second, to divert the vision's stony gaze from himself. While "bowels" likely refers to mercy or compassion, Dickens cleverly uses it with multiple meanings here. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! the list of adjectives emphasise how awful he is. It's not my business, Scrooge returned. When it had said these words, the spectre took its wrapper from the table, and bound it round its head as before. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Fred Scrooges nephew whose party invitation Dickens has established that Scrooge is like the winter weathercold and abrasive. Both very busy, sir. Oh! Malthus later supported the institution of workhouses since separating families was thought to decrease reproduction and increase industrial productivity. He lived in chambers which had once belonged to his deceased partner. Webare there no prisons, no workhouses? Dickens makes a direct criticism of Victorian politics by illustrating Scrooge is a supporter of the Poor Law. Scrooge and he were partners for I don't know how many years. Recall how the bell in the clocktower was depicted as watching Scrooge. The snake immediately swallows up all of the staves that Pharaoh's men carried during the Plagues of Egypt. His description of this feeling calls to mind the festive "Christmas spirit." Speak comfort to me, Jacob!, I have none to give, the Ghost replied. Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of a strong imagination, he failed. More books than SparkNotes. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. My spirit never walked beyond our counting-housemark me!in life my spirit never roved beyond the narrow limits of our money-changing hole; and weary journeys lie before me!. Scrooge knew this by the smart sound its teeth made, when the jaws were brought together by the bandage. Basically most prisoners are unemployable before they go inside, and they are doubly unemployable when they come out with a criminal record. His colour changed though, when, without a pause, it came on through the heavy door, and passed into the room before his eyes. When they were within two paces of each other, Marley's Ghost held up its hand, warning him to come no nearer. Who said Are there no prisons in Scrooge? *. The word "ruddy" means that something is a healthy, reddish color, particularly from outdoor life. Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. Are there no workhouses? If you think, this answer is doesn't really help or is somehow harmful, please mind, this made with EDUCATIONAL purpose. The harsh system of the workhouse became synonymous with the Victorian era, an institution which became known for its terrible conditions, forced child labour, long hours, malnutrition, beatings and neglect. And the Union workhouses? demanded Scrooge. There was something very awful, too, in the spectre's being provided with an infernal atmosphere of its own. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not.". Often the poor, sick, mentally ill, or orphaned would end up in a union workhouse. These workhouses were established by the British Governments Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 in order to offer food and shelter to the poor in exchange for work. In the first stave (or chapter) of A Christmas Carol, we meet Marley, Scrooges deceased business partner, who is encased in heavy chains. Scrooge refuses to give them a donation, claiming that the prisons and workhouses should provide for such people. Mine occupies me constantly. Workhouses were where you ended up Why give it as a reason for not coming now?, I want nothing from you; I ask nothing of you; why cannot we be friends?, I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. A boy and girl, looking ragged, unhealthy, and impoverished, crawl out from his robes. External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. Sitting-room, bed-room, lumber-room. 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. However, if left to rot or decompose in a cellar over time, the bacteria can grow to the point where it would faintly glow. The number of people in jail has been increasing especially rapidly since Michael Howard declared that Prison Works in 1993 a mantra adopted by successive governments. But why do spirits walk the earth, and why do they come to me?, 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. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. The apparition walked backward from him; and at every step it took, the window raised itself a little, so that when the spectre reached it, it was wide open. "He died seven years ago, this very night.". Let it also be borne in mind that Scrooge had not bestowed one thought on Marley, since his last mention of his seven years' dead partner that afternoon. In addition to the echoes, this flight of stairs is meant to convey how large Scrooge's home is. f= G [Content_Types].xml ( KO@&2[0vc&e;m6$0sLfVQYq2bi3e=osa&5 M&Hm0ees%hu`h%^@NQ ?& q=trXV!~-EuV PF8W))LGoR6`:OW>BluwTN2B:_[}'_p.
