HARD TIMES

FULL TITLE · Hard Times for These Times

AUTHOR · Charles Dickens

TYPE OF WORK · Novel

GENRE · Victorian novel; realist novel; satire; dystopia

LANGUAGE · English

TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · 1854, London

DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION · Published in serial installments in Dickens’s

magazine Household Words between April 1 and August 12, 1854

PUBLISHER · Charles Dickens

NARRATOR · The anonymous narrator serves as a moral authority. By making moral judgments

about the characters, the narrator shapes our interpretations of the novel.

POINT OF VIEW · The narrator speaks in the third person and has a limited omniscience. He knows

what is going on in all places and at all times, but he sometimes speculates about what the characters

might be feeling and thinking, suggesting, at those times, that he does not actually know.

TONE · The narrator’s tone varies drastically, but it is frequently ironic, mocking, and even satirical,

especially when he describes Bounderby, Harthouse, and Mrs. Sparsit. When describing Stephen and

Rachael, his tone is pathetic, evoking sympathy.

TENSE · The narrative is presented in the past tense; however, at the end, the narrator reveals what

the future will bring to each of the main characters.

SETTING (TIME) · The middle of the nineteenth century

SETTING (PLACE) · Coketown, a manufacturing town in the south of England

PROTAGONIST · Louisa Gradgrind

MAJOR CONFLICT · Louisa Gradgrind struggles to reconcile the fact-driven self-interest of her

upbringing with the warmth of feeling that she witnesses both in Sissy Jupe and developing within

herself. As this attitude changes, Louisa is caught between allegiances to her family and loveless

marriage and her desire to transcend the emotional and personal detachment of her past.

RISING ACTION · Sissy joins the Gradgrind household, and Louisa marries Mr. Bounderby

unwillingly, only to satisfy her father’s sense of what would be most rational for her.

CLIMAX · Mr. Harthouse joins Gradgrind’s political disciples and attempts to seduce Louisa.

Louisa, confused, leaves Bounderby and returns to her father’s house, where she collapses.

FALLING ACTION · Sissy informs Harthouse that Louisa will never see him again, and Louisa

attempts to amend her life by appealing to her father and offering assistance to the alleged perpetrator

in Bounderby’s bank robbery.

THEMES · The mechanization of human beings; the opposition between fact and fancy; the

importance of femininity

MOTIFS · Bounderby’s childhood; clocks and time; mismatched marriages

SYMBOLS · Staircase; pegasus; fire; smoke serpents

FORESHADOWING · Stephen’s claim that factory Hands have only death to look forward to

foreshadows his own death in the mine shaft. Bitzer’s run-in with Mr. Gradgrind at the circus at the

beginning of the novel, when he has been taunting Sissy, foreshadows his run-in with Mr. Gradgrind

at the circus at the end of the novel, when Tom is fleeing the country.

Text 1

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HARD TIMES

FULL TITLE · Hard Times for These Times AUTHOR · Charles Dickens TYPE OF WORK · Novel GENRE · Victorian novel; realist novel; satire; dystopia LANGUAGE · English TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · 1854, London DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION · Published in serial installments in Dickens’s magazine Household Words between April 1 and August 12, 1854 PUBLISHER · Charles Dickens NARRATOR · The anonymous narrator serves as a moral authority. By making moral judgments about the characters, the narrator shapes our interpretations of the novel. POINT OF VIEW · The narrator speaks in the third person and has a limited omniscience. He knows what is going on in all places and at all times, but he sometimes speculates about what the characters might be feeling and thinking, suggesting, at those times, that he does not actually know. TONE · The narrator’s tone varies drastically, but it is frequently ironic, mocking, and even satirical, especially when he describes Bounderby, Harthouse, and Mrs. Sparsit. When describing Stephen and Rachael, his tone is pathetic, evoking sympathy. TENSE · The narrative is presented in the past tense; however, at the end, the narrator reveals what the future will bring to each of the main characters. SETTING (TIME) · The middle of the nineteenth century SETTING (PLACE) · Coketown, a manufacturing town in the south of England PROTAGONIST · Louisa Gradgrind MAJOR CONFLICT · Louisa Gradgrind struggles to reconcile the fact-driven self-interest of her upbringing with the warmth of feeling that she witnesses both in Sissy Jupe and developing within herself. As this attitude changes, Louisa is caught between allegiances to her family and loveless marriage and her desire to transcend the emotional and personal detachment of her past. RISING ACTION · Sissy joins the Gradgrind household, and Louisa marries Mr. Bounderby unwillingly, only to satisfy her father’s sense of what would be most rational for her. CLIMAX · Mr. Harthouse joins Gradgrind’s political disciples and attempts to seduce Louisa. Louisa, confused, leaves Bounderby and returns to her father’s house, where she collapses. FALLING ACTION · Sissy informs Harthouse that Louisa will never see him again, and Louisa attempts to amend her life by appealing to her father and offering assistance to the alleged perpetrator in Bounderby’s bank robbery. THEMES · The mechanization of human beings; the opposition between fact and fancy; the importance of femininity MOTIFS · Bounderby’s childhood; clocks and time; mismatched marriages SYMBOLS · Staircase; pegasus; fire; smoke serpents FORESHADOWING · Stephen’s claim that factory Hands have only death to look forward to foreshadows his own death in the mine shaft. Bitzer’s run-in with Mr. Gradgrind at the circus at the beginning of the novel, when he has been taunting Sissy, foreshadows his run-in with Mr. Gradgrind at the circus at the end of the novel, when Tom is fleeing the country.

Text 1

What philosophy underlies Gradgrind’s speech? The best philosophy to describe Mr Gradgrind is utilitarianism the word “facts” the clue. This philosophy, underline the Victorian novel style.

What connotations do you find in the expression “reasoning animals”? It’s refer to we have the reason in the first place and demonstrate that upon facts (practical education). For Dickens this definition is incomplete to define the human, because the person has something more a part or reason like feelings, the capacity of laugh, etc.

(^) Is Gradgrind’s descriptions by the narrator objetive or subjective) Are these any connections between the character’s physical description and his personality? Explain the meaning and the connotations of the word “square”. Subjective. The word “square” means conventionally. This man represents the dominant values of conventional society.
Can Gradgrind be considered a flat character according to what you have read about him in the passage? Yes, he is a flat character. He is not good or bad is just reasonable man.
What have you learnt about the typical classroom in a utilitarian school and about utilitarian pedagogy? That the only important is the facts. A logical way to do everything. And also, is very important that they think children are like robots, empty container (you can put in them everything).
Describe the narrator’s stylistic devices. What are the motives behind Dicken’s style? The style of the narrator is metaphor and repetitions. He uses the metaphor with satiric intentions to manipulate the realist. He uses many adjectives, and the names have and symbolic mean. Dickens have the pessimist idea of everyone cannot do what they want do in their self because the conventional society alienate the person.
What kind of narrator do you identify in the passage? Omniscient narrator. He is not present but we can see he owns views.
Taking into account that repetition was one of the key factors in utilitarian pedagogy, do you detect any ironical effect whose victim is Dickens himself? The ironical effect is that he is very critical with the repetitive style of the utilitarian pedagogy but he is using in his style of literature the same methodology: repetitions all the time. So he says he don’t like it but use it.

Text 3

What part of the text describes pollution in Coketown? What imagery does the narrator use and what are the connotations? In the very beginning of the text. Describe smoke in the air, rattling, and chimney. Use the image of the jungle with different animals.
How are the citizens of Coketown described? Can you relate such a description with the concept of alienation bellow? Is there any word in the passage that you can particularly connect with this concept? Can Dickens be considered a socialist given his criticism of capitalism? They haven’t an individual personality. They are like robots. This is a consequence about the utilitarian pedagogy.

It’s not exclusively but it’s characteristic of Victorian novel. And the authors of Victorian style have several characteristics exclusively of this style, like express a system of values.

The circus women show the characteristic modesty of Victorian women. False
In spite of their peculiar activity, the circus people lead an orderly life. Charles Dickens a very orderly man so he can identify when exits order or not. Of course, Dickens thought that circus is not a model of order, of course, but show that a mix between two models can be the ideal society
The circus is a good example of a community formed by alienated individuals.
The circus people are particularly fond of literature.
The recurrent allusion to “fathers” and “mothers” implies a comparison with the conventional middle-class family. True. He treats to compare for show the contrast. Circus’s people is like a big family. 13. The narrator shows the same respect and admiration for the circus as for the utilitarian school. False 14. Nowadays the circus continues to be a reference for people who believe in radically alternative society.

Answer the following question: Which among the following features mentioned or suggested in the passage you consider positive or negative? Find features of the Victorian society that oppose these features.

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HARD TIMES