Question

What method of characterization does the following character description use?

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas. from: ~A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Select one:
a.indirect characterization
b.direct characterization

Answer 1

The character description of Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” uses direct characterization. Direct characterization is when the author explicitly tells the reader about the character’s traits and personality. In this passage, Dickens directly describes Scrooge as a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone,” “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner,” and “hard and sharp as flint,” among other things. These descriptions directly tell the reader about Scrooge’s personality and character traits.

Step-by-step explanation: