Imagery in Hard Times

Choose two scenes from Hard Times and examine Charles Dickens' use of imagery in establishing characterisation Dickens uses both descriptive and symbolic imagery when he tries to put something into character. Dickens knows that the use of characters and places is very powerful in bringing out the major themes of the book, and so the characters and the themes are intricately intertwined with each other. In the beginning of chapter four of book one, called "The Key-Note," Dickens uses vast amounts of imagery to establish the character of Coketown. "It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of a savage." His descriptive imagery of the smoke and ashes give you the feeling of a very begrimed and caliginous place where maybe even breathing and seeing become harder. His symbolic imagery compares Coketown with the painted face of a savage, both unnatural and heartless. "It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys...and never got uncoiled." Dickens continues with a theme of unnaturalness, as machinery and tall chimneys are far from being natural objects. When he speaks of interminable serpents, he symbolises the smoke as serpents, evil and malicious creatures. When Dickens speaks about serpents, there is a reference to the creation

  • Word count: 1449
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

analysis of hard time by charles dickens

Chapter One: The One Thing Needful The novel begins with a short introduction. Inside a classroom, "the speaker" repeats the exclamation "Now, what I want is, Facts." He presents the argument that the formation of a child's mind must be rooted in the study of fact. The schoolroom is as hard and plain as the teacher's teaching style. All of the children are focused on him. Besides "the speaker", there is also "the schoolmaster and the third grown person" who stand before the pupils. Analysis This chapter has little narrative content (only three paragraphs), but its imagery is intense. From the very beginning, Dickens establishes himself within a contemporary debate on the nature of learning, knowledge and education. The description of the classroom is definitely satire, a critique of utilitarianism, and similar philosophies that suggested the absolute reliance upon calculations and facts in opposition to emotion, artistic inspiration and leisure. The novel is divided into three "books" entitled Sowing, Reaping and Garnering. This agricultural motif is introduced by the "sowing" of facts as "seeds" into the fertile minds of the young boys and girls. "The one thing needful" is the seed of "fact" and even though the insistence upon "hard facts" seems infertile and unyielding, the motif of sowing makes the classroom a literal kindergarten. To be more precise, the imagery of

  • Word count: 5446
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Why Is Everything in Thomas Gradgrind's School Square? How Would You Describe The Education Offered There And The Effects On Its Recipients?

Why Is Everything in Thomas Gradgrind's School Square? How Would You Describe The Education Offered There And The Effects On Its Recipients? Thomas Gradgrind is a misguided exponent of Utilitarianism, an "eminently practical man", who believes in facts and statistics and brings up his children Louisa and Tom accordingly, ruthlessly suppressing the imaginative sides of their nature. He marries Louisa to Josiah Bounderby, a manufacturer 30 years older than herself. Louisa consents partly from the indifference and cynicism engendered by her father's treatment and partly from a desire to help her brother, who is employed by Bounderby and is the only person she loves. James Harthouse, a young politician without heart or principles, comes to Coketown and, taking advantage of her unhappy life with Bounderby, attempts to seduce her. The better side of her nature is awakened at this experience, and at the crisis she flees for protection with her father, who in turn is awakened to the foolishness of his system. He shelters her from Bounderby and the couple are permanently separated. However there is more to come. Tom has robbed the bank of his employer and, though he tries for a time to throw suspicion on a blameless artisan (Stephen Blackpool), is finally detected and hustled out of the country. Among the notable minor characters are Mrs. Sparsit, Bounderby's venomous and intriguing

  • Word count: 1633
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Dickens' novel Hard Times is based in Coketown, a small industrial area. The story takes place during the industrial revolution in the early 19th century.

COURSEWORK Dickens' novel Hard Times is based in Coketown, a small industrial area. The story takes place during the industrial revolution in the early 19th century. The book is not only about how the industrial revolution changed the way we live but also about how society and education was revolutionised because of it. In the first two chapters Dickens writes about the main characters, Bitzer, Sissy, Gradgrind and M'Choakumchild and how the revolution industrialised education. They also show us what the Victorians outlook was on education, "Fact fact fact!" The characters all represent different aspects of society. Bitzer described as "light-eyed and light-haired" this is opposite to Sissy who is said to be "dark-eyed and dark-haired". This shows us that she could be of Mediterranean origin, again showing the audience, how different she is. Bitzer although not described as looking very knowledgeable, due to her "Light-eyed and light-haired" seems to be actually "bright" educationally, the way which most pupils have great potential but do not use it. He defines a horse perfectly and Sissy does not know. When the book first introduces us to M'Choakumchild he is not even given the dignity of a name, he is just the "third gentlemen" in the government office. As the chapter progresses we start to learn more about his character, in fact a whole paragraph is devoted to him but

  • Word count: 912
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Exploring some of the ways in which Dickens's Attitudes to Education are presented in the early Chapters of Hard Times

Exploring some of the ways in which Dickens's Attitudes to Education are presented in the early Chapters of Hard Times In Charles Dickens's industrial novel 'Hard Times' written in 1854, we see various attitudes towards the topic of 'education' from several different characters in the early chapters of the novel. In this essay, I am going to explore Dickens's attitudes towards education, compared to those in the novel, and how they are presented in these chapters. In the first chapter, Dickens seems to give an 'over the top' description of Mr. Gradgrind, using repetative, monotonous, mimetic language, through which he shows us that Mr. Gradgrind's attitude towards education is purely based on facts. This can be seen at the beginning of the first chapter when Mr. Gradgrind says, "Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life... Stick to Facts, sir!" One can see facts are important to Mr. Gradgrind as the word 'Facts' has a capital letter most of the time, no matter where it is in a sentence. However, Dickens does not describe Mr. Gradgrind using factual language. He uses imaginative and descriptive language involving negative words. He says, "...his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp, like a stubborn fact, as it was, - all helped the emphasis." The negative words in this sentence such as

  • Word count: 1091
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Discuss the theme of education in ‘Hard Times’ and a ‘Kestrel for a Knave’.

Hard Times & A Kestrel for a Knave Discuss the theme of education in 'Hard Times' and a 'Kestrel for a Knave'. Both the authors of 'A Kestrel for a Knave' and 'Hard Times' are critical of the education system of the era of time that they have came from and experienced. Charles Dickens, who wrote 'Hard Times' is criticising a 19th Century concept of life called utilitarianism which affects education in a bad way. Barry Hines is critical of the selective school system favoured in Britain and only started to fade in the 1970's. Both writers share the same view that pupils' individuality and freedom are being destroyed by the systems, and are being turned into either knowledge spewing machines, or are left neglected to rot on the loser shelf. The children's' lives are followed in the books, and are portrayed as victims of the systems. The consequences of this are both shown to be negative; in 'A Kestrel for a Knave' young Billy Casper's life is an awful one, and in 'Hard Times' when they reach adulthood they are unable to function properly. Both systems are shown to be failures. 'Hard Times' reflects social concerns in the mid 19th century. Society used to focus on 'the home' but the Industrial Revolution saw a change in this. People now focused on work, it was the object of their lives. This period brings to life 'Utilitarianism' - this was the solution to any problem or

  • Word count: 3402
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

In What Ways Do You Think That In the Relationship between Sissy and Louisa, in book one, Dickens explores contrasting values?

IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU THINK THAT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SISSY AND LOUISA, IN BOOK 0NE, DICKENS EXPOLORES CONTRASTING VALUES? During the course of Book one, Dickens introduces us to both Sissy and Louisa. He presents them very differently and therefore immediately gives us a sense of their contrasting values. From this Book, we learn much about both characters and it is made clear that due to their different upbringings they have very different views on life. Even from the outset of the novel Sissy is identified with a heavenly light and her 'dark-eyed and dark-haired' nature appeared to give her a 'lustrous colour from the sun'. This suggests that she is at her best when surrounded by warmth and love. Dickens emphasises Sissy's uniqueness when he says that only she, out of all the class is 'irradiated' by the 'ray of sunlight'. This shows that Sissy is different from all the members of her class and enables the reader to see her, for the first time, as the angelic character that she is. Louisa, being one of Thomas Gradgrinds' children, has clearly had a very different upbringing to that of Sissy. She is first seen curiously 'peeping with all her might' at the goings-on at the horse-riding performance. Her action is symbolic of her yearning to experience more than the hard scientific facts she has learnt all her life. She claims to have 'been tired a long time' of

  • Word count: 1153
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Using the first two chapters of Hard Times explore how Dickens shows his dislike to the education system

Using the first two chapters of 'Hard Times' explore how Dickens shows his dislike to the education system I will write an essay telling you about the way in which Charles Dickens disapproved of the education system, in the 19th Century. Dickens was a hopeful, courageous, imaginative and intelligent man and showed this through his mind blowing novels which include Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations and many more. It was to be in the eighteen hundreds that the government introduced a reform in the education system, this would include all working class children the right to go to school. Dickens gladly agreed that this was the right thing, but what Dickens didn't agree with was the utilitarian system that involved teaching children nothing but facts. Dickens believed this was ridding the children of an imagination, something Dickens thought had to be endorsed in order for a good education, and he shows this in the novel 'Hard Times'. Finally I will be focusing on why Dickens disliked the 19th Century education system, I will be using the first two chapters of 'Hard Times'. From reading the first two chapters it is quite obvious to the reader that Dickens is purposely using the word 'facts'. In the eighteen hundreds teachers only taught facts, the teachers only believed facts were needed and so that's what they planted. Dickens keeps saying facts because he

  • Word count: 1582
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

What techniques does Dickens employ in his depiction of Mrs Sparsit and what is her function in the novel "Hard Times"?

"Mrs Sparsit is merely a caricature created to entertain" What techniques does Dickens employ in his depiction of Mrs Sparsit and what is her function in the novel "Hard Times"? Mrs Sparsit is one of the characters used in the novel for comic purposes but through her Dickens satirises the importance, at that time, of being "highly connected" and the selfishness of looking out for "number one" only. Dickens chooses her to have very distinct features for example a "Coriolanian style of nose", which he repeats several times throughout the novel to establish her as a sinister, as well as a comic character. Throughout the novel Dickens compares Mrs Sparsit to various fanciful images to highlight her comic qualities and for ironical purposes to satirise the Utilitarian philosophy. Dickens almost suggests that she is a witch who could be "suspected of dropping over the banisters or sliding down them", as she prowls about Bounderby's house swiftly. He also refers to her as "Robinson Crusoe" when she is spying on Louisa and Harthouse and as the "Bank Dragon" which all contributes to developing her as a menacing, scheming, pathetic character. In the chapter "Mrs Sparsit", there is humour in the fact that by addressing Bounderby as "Sir", rather then honouring him she is honouring herself. Mrs Sparsit and Bounderby make a likely couple as they both enjoy complementing each other

  • Word count: 1072
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

At the end of "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens, we are left with an overwhelming sense of loss - a sense of lives ruined by the harshness of the society Dickens presents.

At the end of "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens, we are left with an overwhelming sense of loss - a sense of lives ruined by the harshness of the society Dickens presents. Does this view fit with you reading of the Novel? Charles Dickens' "Hard Times" is a Victorian Novel and was published in weekly parts in Household Words in 1854. Despite many describing it as an Industrial Novel, it also tells the story of family life, relationships and more importantly, the effect of Utilitarianism. It is Utilitarianism which more or less ruins the majority of the main characters lives and the sense of loss felt at the end is appropriate and believable. In fact, the individual titles of the three books would suggest that Dickens was setting both the characters and the readers up for a fall. Sowing, Reaping and Garnering has religious connotations; 'for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap'. It would appear that all the characters, excluding Sissy Jupe and the Circus people are left with pitiful lives and three are actually dead. It is these three characters I shall discuss first. Josiah Bounderby is one of the main players in "Hard Times" and is more or less a caricature - a two dimensional character. He does not change and is not repentant for any of the lies he has told or any of the lives he has annihilated. Although the self made man brings his destruction upon

  • Word count: 1362
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay