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
Compare and contrast the way in which particular aspects of education are presented in Charles Dickens' 'Hard Times' and Barry Hines' 'Kestrel for a Knave'.
Compare and contrast the way in which particular aspects of education are presented in Charles Dickens' 'Hard Times' and Barry Hines' 'Kestrel for a Knave'. In this essay, I plan to evaluate the similarities and differences, techniques used and views expressed by each author in 'A Kestrel for a Knave' and 'Hard Times'. 'Hard Times' is set in 'Coketown'; a fictional town invented in the 1850s by Charles Dickens. 'A Kestrel for a Knave' by Barry Hines is set in Barnsley in the 1960s. Both towns are located in Northern England and are industrial; employment for the locals is found mostly in the surrounding factories and mines. Charles Dickens' novel comprises of and focuses on many diverse themes such as the educational structure of Victorian England and the Industrial Revolution, which changed how industry was viewed during the 1850s. Industrial towns such as Manchester and Preston sprung up in Northern England at the start of the Revolution. Prosperity came to those who owned factories or mills, while despair and poverty greeted the 'hands', (factory workers) as they were harshly referred to devoid of any notion of feeling or individuality. 'Hard Times' exemplifies the problems of an industrial town in England in the 1850s. Dickens provides Coketown with a less than glamorous description: "A town of red brick, or brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes
By the end of Book 1, Dickens's criticism of Gradgrind's utilitarian thinking is apparent. Taking the character of either Sissy or Louisa, show how Dickens achieves this.
By the end of Book 1, Dickens's criticism of Gradgrind's utilitarian thinking is apparent. Taking the character of either Sissy or Louisa, show how Dickens achieves this. Charles Dickens wrote his novel, Hard Times, in 1854 as a protest about the state of contemporary education and industrial working conditions. For many, life had become monotonous and repetitive. More and more workers felt that their labour was benefiting others, rather than themselves, and formed unions to protect themselves against employers. Children were treated as young, incomplete adults, who were "little pitchers", to be filled with facts in the factory process of education. Behind this was the philosophy of Utilitarianism, in which "society should strive for the greater good for the greater number" and therefore economic prosperity triumphed over concern for the individual and the education system was focussed on churning out competent workers. Mr Gradgrind's adherence to this way of life is demonstrated through his model school and relationship with his family. Gradgrind sees the school as a factory churning out multiples of people who know the facts, and is only interested in the outcome of the pupils, not the individual process. He does not value his children's upbringing or childhood, only that one day they will grow up into his "ideal" human being. Louisa, as Gradgrind's daughter, is part of his
'What are the reasons which Dickens gives for the hard times described in the novel?'
'What are the reasons which Dickens gives for the hard times described in the novel?' Many characters in the novel are victims of hard times as a result of many factors. These include the lack of money, the education system, the industrialisation in the area and the social injustices of the Victorian era. The novel is divided into three books: sowing, reaping and garnering. The names of these books have biblical references. 'Ae ye sow, so shall ye reap' New Testament This means that there are consequences to all your actions, this idea features strongly in the novel. In the first book 'sowing', the actions of the characters were described for example the pragmatic education system. In the second book 'reaping', the consequences of these actions are described, and in the third book 'garnering', the consequences are explored more, along with the final outcome of these events. In the novel, Mr Gradgrind causes and suffers from hard times. He is a very rigid character in addition to being 'a man of fact and calculations'. He causes hard times for others, including his family, with his pragmatic education system. We discover his attitudes to schooling from the very first chapter when he says: 'In this life, we want nothing but facts, sir; nothing but Facts' This concept is based upon utilitarianism. This is the idea that nothing except useful and practical things are wanted
Y10 English Literature Coursework
Y10 English Literature Coursework Reem Al-Hassani Describe the contemporary education system as it appears at the beginning of 'Hard Times'. How does Dickens show his distaste for this system up to the end of chapter four? Hard Times is like several other Dickens novels, it's full of social criticism. Writing in the 1850's, Charles Dickens was focusing mainly on the Industrial Revolution underway. As the title suggests, this novel is all about harsh times. Dickens uses the principle of utilitarianism throughout the novel. Utilitarianism is a philosophy which argues that all human activity, including learning, should be useful in the practical sense. Dickens is a social critic and all his other novels criticise institutions in some way or another such as in 'Nicholas Nickelby'. The title 'Hard Times' suggests they were living in some really harsh times, what with industrialism on the way. Dickens' philosophy is shaped from the characters in the book. The two businessmen believe in this philosophy which indicates that when you teach you have to use facts and calculations. This philosophy turns out to be a selfish one, which only focuses on practical learning. Dickens is very aware and understands this society. He has produced three sections to their novel: - sowing, reaping and garnering. The sowing section is the laying down and scattering of
How does Dickens present his attitudes to education in the opening chapters of hard times?
How does Dickens present his attitude to education in the opening chapters of "Hard Times"? Charles Dickens presents his ideas and attitude towards education in the Victorian times through his descriptive language, storyline and characterisation in the opening chapters of his novel "Hard Times". It is a condition-of-England book which means a story that shows a representation of life at the time it was written. It highlights the economic and social problems England faced during the period and incorporates them into the story. This is a style that Dickens is known for using in most of his works. Dickens brings across his opinions of movements such as Romanticism and Utilitarianism through his use of language and the way he presents his characters. The novel was published in 1854 during a time when industry in England was expanding and developing resulting in a higher demand for workers. Because of this, child labour became common, this meant that many children were not receiving a proper and decent education, and it is these circumstances that affected Dickens's life. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth in 1812 into a middle class family and received a good education in his early years, but then his father lost a great deal of money and he was forced to end his education and go to work in a shoe-dye factory . Here, he experienced an
Examine Dickens' presentation of the education system in 'Hard Times'.
Examine Dickens' presentation of the education system in 'Hard Times'. 'Hard Times' was written in the Victorian period around 1854 when work had became more important. Coketown is meant to represent a typical Victorian town where people were rapidly moving, to work in the mills. However there was no housing for these people and the town is very polluted. Life for the working class was hard; they became a 'unit' with no identity. In 'Hard Times' they are referred to as 'the hands' indicating they have lost their identity in the factory system and are only valued for their ability to work and produce goods using their hands. They worked long hours, many doing dangerous tasks, for very little money and lived in poor accommodation. The rich Victorians, generally, were in charge of the poor and could control them. The rich people lived in big houses, had access to entertainments like the theatre and could have their children home tutored. In this period there was no state funded education system, however many factory owners set up schools in towns for their workers children. This is the case in 'Hard Times'. Charles Dickens was appalled at the conditions for the working class and wrote the novel to show the middle and upper classes just how bad the conditions were. He hoped that after reading 'Hard Times' they would sympathise and understand the working class, and improve
Comparing similarities in 'Hard Times' by Charles Dickens and 'The Star' by Alasdair Gray.
Hard times 'Hard Times' was first published in 1854. It was written by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who had a very strong opinion on empiricism. It is set in the nineteenth century at a time when school was not compulsory and child labour was common. 'Hard Times' is set in the imaginary city of Coketown, which is an industrial city. 'Hard Times' is partly an industrial novel in which the factory system is portrayed in the eyes of the working class people. It investigates the minds of people who view workers as tools to do a job rather than human beings. It also operates as a critic of certain methods of teaching particularly those that are to do with filling the mind full of fact rather than let them learn while their imagination is free and they are able to have their own thoughts and opinions. Dickens novel attacks those who try to make sense of the world out of facts without any use of imagination. In the factory system, children as young as three would be working down the mines and in factories. It was not until 1870 that schooling became compulsory and the government took over education and most schools. Empiricism was the movement that began in the eighteenth century that maintained that all knowledge comes from fact and experience. According to empiricism, children are like blank pieces of paper ready to have facts written upon them. Romanticism is a movement that
Look carefully at the opening chapters of Hard Times and explore Dickens attitude towards education and how this refers his concern for society.
'Look carefully at the opening chapters of Hard Times and explore Dickens' attitude towards education and how this refers his concern for society.' Charles Dickens 'Hard Times' was written in 1842. He was born Feb 7, 1812 in the Victorian times, at the time of a massive educational debate. Dickens, even as a young child was a romantic, he had strong views against Victorian education and the way children were taught, he felt it reflected the way society was developing. He thought everyone should have equal chances in life and believed education was the foundation of life and it determined the outcome of a person's life. In Hard Times, Dickens relates to things much more than this, he gets his point across about his views on romanticism and rationalism. Romanticism emphasises the importance of emotion, imagination, freedom and beauty and rationalism is quite the opposite, looking at everything in a logical and scientific eye. This assignment will explore Dickens attitudes and beliefs towards education and how it reflects his concern for society. From chapter 1, 'The One Thing Needed' Dickens opens the novel with Gradgrind's own words, from the start he is already beginning to establish the type of man Gradgrind is. He opens with, "Now, what I want is, Facts." Surprisingly, Dickens gives the word 'Facts' a capital letter, he is making it a proper noun from a common noun, which
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