Introduction :
Hard Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, The book appraises English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressures of the times. Hard Times is not a delicate book . has not usually been regarded as one of Dickens 's finest novels and It is also not a difficult book: Dickens wanted all his readers to catch his point exactly, and the moral theme of the novel is very explicitly articulated time and again. There are no hidden meanings in Hard Times, and the book is an interesting case of a great writer subordinating his art to a moral and social purpose. Even if it is not Dickens’s most popular novel, it is still an important expression of the values he thought were fundamental to human
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Sissy serves as a foil, or contrast, to Louisa: while Sissy is imaginative and compassionate, Louisa is rational and, for the most part, unfeeling. Sissy embodies the Victorian femininity that counterbalances mechanization and industry. Through Sissy’s interaction with her, Louisa is able to explore her more sensitive, feminine sides
Thomas (Tom) Gradgrind, Junior :is the oldest son and second child of the Gradgrinds. Initially sullen and resentful of his father 's Utilitarian education, Tom has a strong relationship with his sister Louisa. He works in Bounderby 's bank (which he later robs), and turns to gambling and drinking. Louisa never ceases to adore Tom, and she aids Sissy and Mr. Gradgrind in saving her brother from arrest.
Stephen Blackpool : is a worker at one of Bounderby 's mills. He has a drunken wife who no longer lives with him but who appears from time to time. He forms a close bond with Rachael, a co-worker, whom he wishes to marry. After a dispute with Bounderby, he is dismissed from his work at the Coketown mills and, shunned by his former fellow workers, is forced to look for work elsewhere. While absent from Coketown, he is wrongly accused of robbing Bounderby 's bank. On his way back to vindicate himself, he falls down a mine-shaft. He is rescued but dies of his injuries.
Bitzer : is a very pale classmate of Sissy 's and brought up on facts and is taught to operate according to self-interest. He takes
1) This passage in the nineteenth chapter in the book. This passage explains how Sissy treated Francie like her daughter when she went up to Mrs. Briggs to tell her that she has a severe kidney problem and that she can drop dead in class time if she doe not go out.
Representation of Different Social and Cultural Forces in The Handmaid's Tale by Atweeon and Hard Times by Dickens
Throughout history, a divide has always existed between the rich and poor in society. However, during the Industrial Revolution in Victorian England, this rift reached its peak. The working class labored for long hours and received miniscule wages, whereas the bourgeoisie grew abundantly wealthy through the labor of the working class. Published in 1848 and 1854 respectively, Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto and Charles Dickens’ Hard Times both comment on these troubles. While Hard Times is a novel which tells a story and The Communist Manifesto is a short publication which tries to bring about social change, both writings offer a sharp critique of the class antagonism brought about by capitalism at the height of the Industrial
Charles Dickens is one of the most renowned British writers with well-known and widespread work. Dickens was born in England in 1812 and died in 1870. During this time, Victorian England experienced an Industrial Revolution, which impacted his life tremendously. New factories and industrial machinery changed many lives of the lower class citizens. The family grew up impoverished and struggled to maintain a good lifestyle. The family’s financial situation was strained as John Dickens, Charles’s father, spent money that the family didn’t have. These societal factors were influential in Charles Dickens’s life, and the same themes present themselves in his works. When an author creates a work, frequently themes of their life events are incorporated into the theme of the book, consciously or unconsciously. Victorian Age industrial-influenced strife was a common theme in Dickens’s life and presented itself throughout Dickens’s books.
Written by Dickens in 1815, Hard Times attempts to convince readers by illustrating the fact that life during the Industrial Revolution was anything but pleasant for human beings. Centred around Mr. Gradgrind and his moderately sized family, Dickens succeeds at giving the reader a up close and personal view of what it meant to be a father, mother, man, woman, and child during the industrial revolution. Dickens also provides the reader with three central themes: the mechanization of human beings, the conflict of fact versus fantasy, and the significance of the female figure. Dickens set out with a goal in writing this novel to expose the truth on how grim the Industrial Revolution really was for the human race. I therefore think that, through examining various examples sprawled throughout the text in connection to the three themes, there should definitely be enough evidence to conclude that Dickens interpretations of the Industrial Revolution were believably similar and, in a sense, true to what people were faced with during the 18th
Sissy seemed to be the only one who knew that Louisa felt no form of love towards Mr. Bounderby. She felt extremely sympathetic for Louisa, mourning the loss of freedom that she never truly had. At this moment, Louisa could not bring herself to look at Sissy. She felt coldness and pride that prohibited her from having any real feelings. Sissy was able to experience life in completely different way that Louisa was not.
In history, a woman was the one who would nurture the bodies and minds of her children and husband. Dickens story takes a turn when he makes Mr. Gradgrind take on this role. Mrs. Gradgrind is barely mentioned but continues to have a strong message in her character. Through hard facts Gradgrind teaches both his students and children the same things and removes the burden of ideal femininity from his daughter, Louisa. Unfortunately, this leaves her unprepared for entering the world outside her own progressive family. She is unable to fulfill the idealized roles of wife and mother, and has no other options for adulthood outside of these. This book shows the constant need of a female role model in the household but fails to show it’s proceed
English author Charles Dickens has written many well known novels such as Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, of which both have a recurring theme: the expectations of society. During the Victorian Era, England was over populated and had terrible living conditions, with an enormous gap between the rich and the poor. Generally, people during the Victorian Era were not allowed to talk about things such as sex and crime, and had to live by strict social rules set by society. With the social disparities came many other concerns as well. Charles Dickens eloquently displays issues such as child abuse, prostitution, poverty, and crime in such a way that readers are able to understand and view them from diverse perceptions. By creating characters that have been through hell and back, Charles Dickens executes a great display of struggle especially within the lower classes. In the works of Charles Dickens, the wide variety of social issues of the Victorian Era are presented in a way such that readers are able to see specific issues from the perspectives of people from contrasting social classes, while speaking from his own experience through the characters. By doing so, Dickens is able to compare and contrast issues deemed controversial in the Victorian Era, especially regarding the disadvantaged.
Western literature is historically and inherently rooted in a masculine bias largely as a part of the past millennia of patriarchal order. Amongst the abundance of works of which can be attributed to reflect this bias, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is most suiting. Written in the Victorian Age, Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities seems historical, as to the plot revolves around the French Revolution, with its bloody guillotine blade, the poor, starving bourgeoisie, and the indifferent aristocrats/aristocracy of whom/which inevitably fall/s. Yet, from a critical perspective, Dickens’ seems to be critiquing society. Throughout the work, he encompasses the idea that as long as violence and inequality exist, human suffering will notoriously
he self conscious and wants to know who he is before he shares it with
Louisa tries to communicate to her father that the marriage would be a mistake, but Gradgrind refuses to hear of anything that speaks of love or sentiment. Only Sissy, who discontinues her education because she is thought "unteachable," but who stays on in the Gradgrind household, understands Louisa's plight. But Louisa is too proud to accept Sissy's compassion. When the wedding takes place, only Tom Gradgrind is truly happy, thinking his life at the Bounderby bank will be much easier with his sister around to defend him.
Through the novel, Hard Times, Charles Dickens reflects the many matters that are in need of managing in his present society. He illustrates the movement of the societal dystopia through the interaction of morally lost characters and their demanding surroundings. He addresses many controversial issues, but the most prevalent are the flaws in the class system, utilitarianism and the detrimental effects of industrialization.
Charles Dickens novel “Hard Times” is set during the Industrial Revolution and reflects life at that period of time. The novel reveals Dickens disapproval of the utilitarian education system, which involves teaching children nothing but facts. He shows his dislike through his language and tones the various settings of the main action and through spiraling character development. Dickens uses Mr. Gradgrind and Mr. McChoakumchild as examples of characters who teach children only facts. This is clearly demonstrated even in their names. The word Grind indicates that he is grinding down the children’s imaginations. It also illustrates that he is being very
The death of God for many in the Victorian era due to scientific discoveries carried with it the implication that life is nothing more than a kind of utilitarian existence that should be lived according to logic and facts, not intuition or feeling – that without God to impose meaning on life, life is meaningless. Charles Dickens, in Hard Times, parodies this way of thought by pushing its ideologies and implications to the extreme in his depiction of the McChoakumchild School.
Hard Times is a novel, so this work can be regarded as a fiction; however, it is also a novel that reflects facts and satirizes facts. Though the story is fancy, the background really shows British social conditions at that time. Therefore, in his