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Hard Times opens with a look at a Utilitarian educational system. The readers are introduced to a method of teaching that is centered only on facts and nothing else: no imagination, and “unnecessary” information (Hard Times…..2006). Schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind fully supports the Utilitarian system, and has brought up his children Tom and Louisa ( and… View Article “NOW, what I want is, Facts”, and so starts Charles Dickens novel Hard Times which first appeared as a serial publication in 1854. Dickens regularly took inspiration from the prevailing conditions as topics of his writings and proceeds to make social commentaries through his brand of creative fiction. Examples of these are Oliver Twist (Dickens,… View Article 9. Although marriage is not central to this novel's theme, Dickens offers no less than three examples of "failed" or "failing" marriages: the Gradgrinds', the Bounderbys', and the Blackpools'. Compare the dysfunctional nature of these relationships, identifying the causes of marital breakdown in each case. What steps to write an essay for college, implies Dickens, is the "formula" or secret to a happy marriage? Which character in the book best knows this "secret"? Explain. 7. "Hard" (as in "firm and unyielding") occurs in such expression as "hard-hearted" ("unfeeling or harsh"), and in the sense of indigent in "hard up." We talk of "hard facts" to meaning "data unadorned or unembroidered with subjectivity" and a "hard nut to crack" for an especially difficult problem compare contrast english papers, riddle how to make research paper, enigma, or conundrum. Somebody who is "hard of hearing" is nearly deaf. Somebody who insists upon a "hard line" is severe and judgmental; a "hard winter" is unpleasantly or unseasonably cold; a "hard bargain" implies no concession to sentimental or personal considerations. "Hard" times are necessarily "trying times," especially in terms of availability of employment. To what extent may the title of the novel, Hard Times For These Times. be applied to three of the novel's principal characters? Consider the social, educational, monetary, and personal implications of the phrase "hard times." 4. Both "Frauds on the Fairies" (text ) and Hard Times defend imagination and fancy (which, for Dickens, seems to include popular entertainments such as dancing, plays, circuses and fairytales, as well as pictures, literature, and music) against abuse by Utilitarians and propagandists. Discuss the forces and characters mentioned in the novel and in the Household Words editorial that Dickens contends are opposed to "fancy," and describe the various methods that Dickens uses to defend "fancy." 2. Nemesis or Poetic Justice has been the guiding principle behind literature since the Greek New Comedy, and was the device for socially acceptable closure in many Victorian novels: virtuous characters are rewarded (with money, with elevated social status or increased social acceptance, and with good marriages and flourishing families) while scurrilous characters are appropriately punished (by death, prison transfer of assignment, exile abroad, bankruptcy, or loss of friends and social status). 14. Surveillance and control are pervasive patterns in the book: characters are observing and reporting on other characters as a means of social control. Which characters serve as watchers, and how do they differ in their intentions? Which characters are observed and reported on, and why? 5. Note that on p. 202 (II, 12). Louisa tells her father she married Bounderby to be "useful" to Tom. Is she, therefore, a self-deluded victim of Utilitarian thinking? Is she a victim (consciously or unconsciously) of the sexist attitude that sees women's most important function as their being "useful" to men? Has Louisa--at any level--consciously chosen to pursue a life of apparent misery to which she then consciously resigns herself? 19. Consider Dickens' use of names. What similarities and differences do there appear to be between his practice and that of other novelists we have considered? 14. Why has Dickens painted so uncomplimentary a picture of Slackbridge, the union organizer? 6. Is Bounderby (and by extension, capital) at the "top" of the Coketown system? What appear to be the "moral standards" and the prevailing value system of Coketown society? 17. Consider Bitzer's comment that "the whole social system" is based entirely upon "self-interest" (p.268) and Sleary's response that it is not (p. 272). Given the context of the novel as a whole, who is right? Proof? 7. Note Bounderby's definition of "education" (p. 225). How does it relate to Gradgrind's? The Dickens Page . This is a huge and somewhat unwieldy miscellany of Dickensiana, with everything from electronic texts to press releases about Dickens sites. It is arranged in reverse chronology of postings, beginning with the most recent. This is a great place to browse . but it is probably not the place to begin any serious searching. 20. Dickens dedicated Hard Times to Thomas Carlyle. Why? Does it matter that when the novel first appeared, serialized in Dickens' own journal, Household Words. it was call not just Hard Times but Hard Times for These Times ? 9. What does Bounderby assume to be a wife's "duties"? What does he assume to be a husband's "duties"? 12. What are we to make of Stephen Blackpool anyway? He certainly is something of an enigmatic character. Why has Dickens included him (and his history) in the novel? Consider this one very carefully--look for both thematic and structural functions. The Charles Dickens site on Victorian Station . This site may look unimpressive at first, since the opening page is simply a brief biographical notioce of Dickens. But explore the links at the bottom of the page for a wealth of profusely illustrated information about Victorian culture. Especially good are the links for Architecture, Arts and Literature, Interior Design, and Lifestyles.
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