Character Study of Stephen Blackpool From the Novel Hard Times.

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CHARACTER STUDY OF STEPHENBLACKPOOL FROM THE NOVEL HARD TIMES

Dear colleges, to sum up Mr Blackpool in two words with all seriousness, is to say that he is a "tragedy" and a "born loser". From the many experiences Stephen Blackpool undergoes, I only make mention of the following: he is stuck in an unfortunate marriage, he is a failure at work, he is bad judge and he dies after falling into a mine.

Dickens introduces Blackpool into the novel in the tenth chapter. He is one of those thousands of workers living in Coketown. Though only forty years old he is, as Dickens says, already an old man. He is seen outside waiting outside the works for his friend, Rachael, he likes to walk her home despite the gossiping neighbors, after which he makes his way to his lodgings. When he arrives there, he is surprised by the presence of his wife "a disabled, drunken creature who constantly leaves him and is unfaithful to him.  

This former latter introduced sub-plot of the relationship between Rachael and Stephen can be a device used by Dickens in order to add interest to the novel. In addition Dickens uses few other techniques pertaining to the language aspects. He offers Blackpool a dialect, which is filled with elongated vowel sounds e.g. "Nay" instead of "No", "doon", "among", "droonken". It definitely can be said that the "oo" morpheme does create distinctiveness to his speech from all the other characters in the novel.

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The fact that Blackpool's language is written phonetically, gives words more depth, and in some respects highlights his social class in the Victorian society i.e. a worker. His vocabulary is down to earth and can be described as god-fearing e.g. "God forbid". This might be Dickens attempt to suggest that Blackpool is an honest and religious person.  

In the next chapter, which is eleven, Stephen seeks an interview with Bounderby, his employer, to ask advice on the question of marriage and divorce. Bounderby makes it clear to Blackpool that there is, as the chapter heading suggest no ...

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