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How Does Dickens Use The Circus To The Antithesis Of Utilitarianism

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Dickens saturates Hard Times with fairytale allusions, distinct character descriptions, and Mr. Sleary's outspoken philosophies to eradicate utilitarianism. Dickens intends for the Sleary's Circus to the antithesis of utilitarianism, and therefore its emphasis on imagination and Gradgrind's obsession with fact directly contradict, and that imagination is clearly the better of the two. After all, imagination indicates change, as it causes the people to uproot previously established conventions. Utilitarianism, on the other hand, derives from the fear of change, as innovation proves fatal to established fact. Therefore, Dickens uses the Circus as a symbol of change, the one thing utilitarianism truly fears. As might be expected, Dickens, his

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