An Analysis of “The Key-note” in
Hard Times
by Dickens
In this extract, “The Key-note” included in the novel
Hard
Times
by Charles Dickens, the writer describes the fictional
city of Coketown.
From the beginning Dickens remarks that Coketown is a city
of facts, that is to say, a city where everything is counted or
measured with numbers. A fact is something that can be
proved, something that is true and exists. In other words, the
money is the most important. Then, it is not a city of “fancy”,
Dickens says, which makes us think that it is not a city where
its inhabitants have many opportunities to use their
imagination, to have dreams or good expectations; to have
fun and enjoy.
Immediately the reader understands that Coketown is an
industrial city where there are a lot of factories with
machines that work all day long and also during the night.
The buildings in Coketown were originally made of red bricks
but now they have become black because of the smoke and
ashes of the factories. As a consequence, the air is also
polluted / contaminated and even on a sunny day it is
impossible to see the bright light in the sky, as everything is
grey.
The river in Coketown had clear water in the past but now it
smells awfully and its colour is purple.
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