Isolation in A Christmas Carol

Scrooge is alone by choice. Shut like an oyster. The ghosts show him what alone looks like at the end.

The quotes

8 quotes, in the order they happen.

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge!

Narrator · Stave One · greed · isolation

Scrooge holds on to money hard. He grinds people down.

Hard and sharp as flint

Narrator · Stave One · isolation · greed

Flint is a cold stone. It can make a spark, but Scrooge never lets one out.

solitary as an oyster

Narrator · Stave One · isolation

Shut tight. Alone. But an oyster can hold a pearl. Dickens leaves that hope in.

Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!"

Scrooge · Stave One · christmas · isolation

Humbug means nonsense. Scrooge thinks Christmas is nonsense.

A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.

Ghost of Christmas Past · Stave Two · isolation · family

Young Scrooge, alone at school at Christmas. We see why he became cold.

Another idol has displaced me

Belle · Stave Two · greed · isolation

His young love leaves him. Money has taken her place.

Old Scratch has got his own at last, hey?

A businessman · Stave Four · isolation · greed

Men joke about a dead man. The devil has him now. It is Scrooge, but he does not know yet.

It's likely to be a very cheap funeral

A businessman · Stave Four · isolation

No one will go to the funeral unless lunch is free. That is what his life adds up to.