Wonderful comments this last week! For those who would still like to participate, you can still make comments on week one. It is alright if you are behind. The reading is short enough that you should be able to catch-up if you wanted to.
Reading for Week 2: Read chapter 2 by December 13th.
Reading for Week 2: Read chapter 2 by December 13th.
I felt sorry for Scrooge as he sees himself as a child left behind on Christmas, yet he does not become bitter because of this. We see him years later as a happy young man going home with his sister and then working merrily for Mr. Fezziwig. We find out later, with his Finance, that it is his rise of wealth that starts to destroy him. It is sad!
ReplyDeleteOne part that I thought a little funny was when he shoves the cap upon the Ghost of Christmas Past's head. It demonstrates his great remorse of his past decisions.
I think it is cool how this ghost, who forces Scrooge to look at his past, is showing him how free and happy he once was. Scrooge slowly became the miser he is now, he wasn't just born that way. Dickens shows us quite well how painful it is for Scrooge to watch as his past self makes wrong choices. However it seems Scrooge is unwilling or unable to see yet his mistakes and wants to forget by covering the spirits light. I feel sorry for him. I think he knows how miserable he really is, but can't admit it to himself. He has been blinded by greed - traded his happiness for money. One thing is for sure, I wouldn't want to watch my past mistakes over again!
ReplyDeleteDitto!
ReplyDeleteRosena Said...
ReplyDeleteWow, What a chapter. It may be short but it took a while to consume it all. I have several comments to make.
First I was impressed with the fact that while he was viewing himself at the old school house that he was aware of every little detail and every sound and yet in his life he shuts out everyone and every thing around him except accumulating wealth. How sad.
When he was viewing the party Fezziwig (what a fun name) was giving, he defended him saying that even though he didn't spend much money the happiness he gave was quite as great as if it cost a fortune. How often do we hold back giving because we feel we can't do much as someone else and yet the smallest of gifts given sometimes bring the greatest comfort or joy. Some times it only our time we fail to give.
At one time he was poor and it drove him to seek wealth. He knew what it was like to be poor. Now that he is wealthy he has no compassion for the poor. I guess that comes from thinking only of yourself.
It was fun reading about his old girlfriend and the children. I loved it when he described the children playing. He said "they were not forty children conducting themselves like one, but every child was conducting itself like forty." Emily, does this remind you of teaching a Primary class?
Finally I was really touched when at the end of the chapter he could bear no more and asked the spirit to remove him. The spirit tells him, “I told you these were shadows of things that have been. That they are what they are, do not blame me!” We live in a world that there seems to be an excuse for everything and yet what our live have been are an accumulation of choices. We can’t go back and change our past no matter how much we would like to but we can use to past to help us make better choices for the future. He is setting up the direction of the story and pointing a way for his readers.
Oh wow, That just said everything I felt! Amazingly put. I agree completely, that it so sad and yet common for people in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteI found something very interesting in the back of my book. I just happened to run into it. There's a Glossery, a character page, and a whole section about the book and the author. The Glossery had some interesting things written in it!
Porter: Bitter; a dark brown, malty beer
That was just one of the words I looked up and ended up finding in the back! It makes the reading so much easier sometimes.
I like Rosena's comment about Scrooge defending Fezziwig, and how we tend to hold back giving because we feel we can't do much. Isn't that the usual misconception for change also. We may recognize our mistake or faults but feel like we don't have it in us to be any better. Why do we always short change ourselves? Just trying already makes us better than we were.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how painful it would be to see your past blatantly true—no rationalizations or half truths to shadow it. It must have been hard to witness his happy self change into the Scrooge. I think Scrooge covers the spirit's light because when it is too painful to admit when we're wrong, we fool ourselves into thinking it would be easier to just ignore the problem altogether. As if some how that will make it all go away.
Like Rosena, I also like how the spirit reminds Scrooge that these painful things are no ones fault but his own. We live in a day and age where it is always somebody else's fault.
Did you know that Ebenezer means “stone of help.” I thought that was interesting. Right now he is a Scrooge, but by the end he will become an Ebenezer.
Lana, that is very interesting about the meaning of his name. I have never heard that before!
ReplyDelete