Charles Dickens - Hard Times

Background information:
- Victorian society was divided into classes: aristocracy and royalty, the middle class and the
working class (skilled workers, servants).
- The higher middle class became more important and powerful during this period.
- In Hard Times characters are from the middle and the working classes.
- Victorian values: conservative and patriarchal.
- New inventions were an important part of Victorian society.
- This building (the Crystal Palace) was state-of-the-art in those times.
- Industrial revolution - slums in Victorian Manchester.
- Victorian cities were polluted.
- The abolishing of the Corn Laws in 1846 (that’s why people moved from rural to urban
areas).

1. Realism is a literary movement which focuses on:

- Struggles of ordinary people,
- Represents literary realism (descriptions of places, language)
- Tries to be objective (sometimes) and provide an objective picture of the social life
(provides a social commentary)

2. Language - imaginative, full of elaborate descriptions, creates an impression of an accurate

description of human life.

a. Analyse the description of Coketown in the opening of chapter V.

It’s gloomy, there’s smog and dust everywhere. Everything looks the same. Red brick is a symbol of
industrial cities. So, what is important in description is the red brick. Every material is the same, all
the big buildings are the same, there is also pollution and smoke that pollute the red bricks.They are
no longer read. And there are tall chimneys and powerful machinery. Industrial aspect of coal town
is represented in a negative way.

3. Narration:
- 3rd person,
- omniscient narrator,
- subjective (he gives his opinion about characters and he provides the reader with his
judgement).
4. How are the characters presented (round/flat, individuals/types)?
Round characters change and develop (Tom, Louisa, Mr. Gradgrind)
Flat characters represent a simple idea (Mr M'Choakumchild, Mr. Bounderby’s mother)

5. What is the life philosophy of:

a. Mr. Gradgrind - represents the middle class. He owns a school, he is a teacher. He is associated
with the philosophy of fact. According to him everything can be measured and nothing else matters.

b. Mr. Bounderby - a factory and bank owner

c. Sissy - she challenges the philosophy of fact. Completely opposite, funny, a symbol of
imagination.

6. Criticism of the Victorian world.

a. What are the aspects of the Victorian world and its values that Dickens represents? Think
of the institutions present in Coketown.

Factory: bad working conditions, long hours and low pay.

Circus: represents the philosophy of heart. (It’s the complete opposite of Coketown)
School: Children in school are taught according to Utilitarianism philosophy – they should accept
and live according to facts and facts alone, they are not allowed to fantasize or think for themselves.

b. Is it a positive or negative picture of the Victorian world?

Dickens presents only the dark side of utalitarianism. Philosophy of facts causes people to sacrifice
their presonal happiness.

c. What are the major institutions in Coketown?

- Bank,
- School,
- Factory

d. How does Dickens describe the life and values of the middle classes and factory workers?
People from the working class are the victims of capitalist exploitation. In the novel there is tension
between the capitalists who are rich, who exploit the working class and the working class people
who are treated like tools and machines. They are called “the hands”. Middle class: the most
important value is the capital that they own, conservative values. The father rules in the family,
patriarchal values, very little individual freedom for children.

f. How is life in the circus different?

Circus represents a different philosophy and life. Children are described as machines. They are
controlled and limited by adults. Their imagination is suppressed. Circus: completely opposite, fun,
symbol of imagination.

g. Who challenges the philosophy of the world?

The philosophy of facts in the book is a parody of utilitarianism. It tells the characters to sacrifice
their happiness (Luisa will sacrifice her personal happiness to fulfil her father's wishes. She has to
marry Mr Bounderby so that the family can become richer). She loses her individuality. The novel
is a bit didactic. Dickens uses the parody to show that in the formative years affection,
individualism and imagination are crucial in a child’s development.

The character of Sissy Jupe represents the personification of fact vs. fancy conflict, she tries hard to
learn facts, but is unable to, she freely thinks and imagines. She is the most stable character because
she succeeds to find balance between the two. Sissy accepts the situation she found herself in, but
never accepts the factual world, she keeps her inner value, she is the mediator between two worlds
(fact and fancy).