The Chimes: A Goblin Story

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I know there is a sea of Time to rise one day, before which all who wrong us or oppress us will be swept away like leaves. I see it, on the flow! I know that we must trust and hope, and neither doubt ourselves, nor doubt the good in one another." Twas the Night Before Christmas: Edited by Santa Claus for the Benefit of Children of the 21st Century" (2012) being Pamela McColl "smoke-free" edit of Clement Clarke Moore's poem Trotty thanks the chimes for these lessons and then wakes up a new man (like Scrooge does) and like Scrooge, you feel such joy and relief that Trotty has a second chance to live life in a different way....in a more hopeful and joyful manner. A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", 1823) attributed to Clement Clarke Moore So may the New Year be a Happy one to You, Happy to many more whose Happiness depends on You! So may each Year be happier than the last, and not the meanest of our brethern or sisterhood debarred their rightful share, in what our Great Creator formed them to enjoy."

On New Year's Eve, Trotty, Meg and Richard have an encounter with some arrogant terrible men who are a higher social class than Trotty & co. These men make Trotty, Meg and Richard feel like they do not have a right to exist because they are so poor and a burden on society. Their words to Trotty and Meg just boiled my blood! At the end of the book, Trotty finds himself awakening at home as if from a dream as the bells ring in the New Year of the day Trotty originally climbed the tower. Meg and Richard have chosen to wed, Will discovers that their kind landlady is the old family friend he was in search of and thus presumably he and Lilian will now be all right, and all of their friends have spontaneously chosen to provide a wedding feast and celebration. The author explicitly invites the reader to decide if this "awakening" is a dream-within-a-dream. The reader must choose between the harsh consequences of the behaviour of the upper classes in Trotty's vision, or the happiness of the wedding.arm’s-length, and looking in her face imploringly.‘The worst of all, the worst of all! Strike me old, They had always been his clients, they had never been forgotten in any of his books, but here nothing else was to be remembered ... he had come to have as little faith for the putting down of any serious evil, as in a then notorious city alderman's gabble for the putting down of suicide. The latter had stirred his indignation to its depths just before he came to Italy, and his increased opportunities of solitary reflection since had strengthened and extended it. When he came therefore to think of his new story for Christmas time, he resolved to make it a plea for the poor ... He was to try and convert Society, as he had converted Scrooge, by showing that its happiness rested on the same foundations as those of the individual, which are mercy and charity not less than justice. [2] The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man".

The little book is now, as far as I am concerned, all ready. One cut of Doyle's and one of Leech's I found so unlike my ideas, that I had them both to breakfast with me this morning, and with that winning manner which you know of, got them with the highest good humour to do both afresh. They are now hard at it. Stanfield's readiness, delight, wonder at my being pleased with what he has done is delicious. Mac's frontispiece is charming. The book is quite splendid; the expenses will be very great, I have no doubt." Heaven preserve us, sitting snugly round the fire! It has an awful voice, that wind at Midnight, singing in a church!" Even though this tale was a dark one, it had so much to say about how we view those less fortunate than ourselves. So often we forget to view people who have fallen on hard times as just that: people. They are no different than us except in the fact that they have to struggle more to obtain less than we’ve been blessed with. And as I stated earlier, there was a happy ending, which I was thankful for; because even in the midst of darkness and pain, there should always be hope. Isn’t that the promise that a new year brings?To jail with him, for he's a vagrant, and a jail-bird known; and jail's the only home he's got ... don't set Jail, Jail, Jail 'afor us everywhere we turn." The final words of The Chimes seem fitting So may the New Year be a happy one to you, happy to many more whose happiness depends on you! So may each year be happier than the last, and not the meanest of our brethren or sisterhood debarred their rightful share, in what our Great Creator formed them to enjoy. In this frame of mind, Trotty echoes the opinions of the wealthy and the aristocrats who use Malthusian political economy to argue that the working class are troublesome and perhaps far too numerous. was, if it smelt like this,’ said Meg, cheerfully.‘Make haste, for there’s a hot potato besides, and

He is also told to try to improve conditions in the here and now, not to sorrowfully remember a fictitiously "better" time in years past. More seriously, Trotty debates who is worthy of time—that is, who is worthy of life. On a New Year’s Eve, he considers himself and his working-class fellows and muses that they are perhaps unworthy, We seem to give a deal of trouble; we are always being complained of and guarded against … supposing it should really be that we have no right to a New Year. observed Sir Joseph, glancing at the poor man present.‘As such I may be taunted. As such I have been Things get worse and worse for Meg, until she finds herself standing at the edge of the river, preparing to throw herself and her baby into the cold waters below. At that point, like Ebenezer Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Trotty begs the Spirits to relent, saying, “I know that we must trust and hope, and neither doubt ourselves, nor doubt the good in one another” (p. 106). And the manner in which the story resolves itself may seem somewhat familiar to readers of A Christmas Carol. At the end of the book, Trotty finds himself awakening at home as if from a dream as the bells ring in the New Year of the day Trotty originally climbed the tower. Meg and Richard have chosen to wed, and all of her friends have spontaneously chosen to provide a wedding feast and celebration. The author explicitly invites the reader to decide if this "awakening" is a dream-within-a-dream. The reader must choose between the harsh consequences of the behaviour of the upper classes in Trotty's vision, or the happiness of the wedding.

CHAPTER II—The Second Quarter.

And with Trotty’s words, the chimes of the nearby church “took up the words so suddenly – burst out so loud, and clear, and sonorous – that the Bells seemed to strike him in his chair” (p. 54). And on that note, the haunting of Trotty by possibly supernatural forces begins. Later on, Trotty meets a man and his little orphaned niece. The homeless man is very poor and is on the verge of going to jail for some petty crime. Trotty invites the man and girl to come home with him and spends the little money he has on a hearty New Year’s Eve dinner for them. During the night, Trotty has a dream that the Chimes call to him and they are actually goblins that are very disappointed in him for losing faith in humanity. They tell Trotty he is dead and he must learn about the true nature of humankind by watching his daughter's life unfold. Trotty is once again convinced that people are indeed innately good and circumstances drive them to desperation and the poor are not a plague on society and they do have a right to exist. He also learns that poor like their "betters" are constantly trying to improve their lives... just like Trotty did during his life. Yet, the poor seem to always be fighting a losing battle because of the structure of society.