Hard times: how does Dickens use the first four chapters of "Hard Times" to introduce the themes of the novel by Charles Dickens.
Hard times: how does Dickens use the first four chapters of "Hard Times" to introduce the themes of the novel by Charles Dickens
Pre 1914 novel
Gcse English coursework
Kings Norton Boy's school
Ben Gibb
Dickens wrote "Hard Times" in instalments in 1854. He had visited Manchester and seen the conditions of the factory workers there and he used this and his own experiences as a child to contribute to some of the ideas in the novel. He hated the theories of utilanaism, which were becoming popular. He disliked the emphasis of fact and believed that imagination and emotion were necessary for human development and he included these in
"Hard times"
In the opening Chapter Dickens introduces the theme of the philosophy of fact through Mr Gradgrinds character.
When Dickens is describing Gradgrind he is linking him with a mathematical figure. The word "square" is used to emphasise this, word suits Gradgrind because he is only interested in mathematical facts and statistics.
Dickens uses repetition to convey the importance of the word fact. Gradgrind uses the word constantly:
"Now what I want is facts, teach these boys and girls nothing but fact"
Dickens' descriptive language gives us a clearer image of Gradgrind:
"The speaker's obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders"
By using imagery Dickens is trying to influence the reader to dislike Gradgrind. We get the impression that Gradgrind is a boring, colourless person who always has to have the last say in the matter. Dickens describes his mouth as "wide, thin and hard set" so the bigger his mouth the more facts he can teach. The language Dickens uses is trying to make us detest and despise Gradgrind and this is helped by the way he treats his pupils. He thinks of his pupils as:
"Empty vessels ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them"
So Dickens tries to create Gradgrind as someone who only thinks about his message and not the effect he is having on others. He sees the pupils as an empty dictionary ready to be written in, and he doesn't even give them the respect to call them by their names which shows us how serious he is about facts by referring to the pupils as numbers: "girl number twenty one"
Dickens uses Chapter Two to take us further into the theme of education. Dickens presents this by contrasting Thomas Gradgrind with the pupils, Gradgrind is described as:
" Cannon loaded to the muzzle with facts"
This tells us that Gradgrind is ready to fire facts into the pupils minds until the vessels are full, without any consideration of the damage it will do. The pupils are represented as: "tender young imaginations" so the pupils are innocent children going into battle with Gradgrind unprepared and blinded to what's about to hit them.
So Gradgrind is described in an aggressive manner, while the children are described as innocent and powerless against Gradgrind's powerful and controlling cannon.
What Dickens is doing here is ...
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" Cannon loaded to the muzzle with facts"
This tells us that Gradgrind is ready to fire facts into the pupils minds until the vessels are full, without any consideration of the damage it will do. The pupils are represented as: "tender young imaginations" so the pupils are innocent children going into battle with Gradgrind unprepared and blinded to what's about to hit them.
So Gradgrind is described in an aggressive manner, while the children are described as innocent and powerless against Gradgrind's powerful and controlling cannon.
What Dickens is doing here is trying to show us the damage that comes from education when it focuses only on cold facts and figures.
The pupils in Gradgrinds school answer to numbers instead of names, so they aren't treated as individuals.
Dickens also makes a point by contrasting Sissy Jupe and Bitzer. Sissy is described as a warm, emotional, energetic caring girl who is full of life and colour, when the sun shines on Sissy she looks so full of life but when the sun shines on Bitzer he looks so pale and invisible, so pale he would bleed white.
Dickens introduces humour to make the whole philosophy of fact look ridiculous. The way he presents this is making M'choakumchild the school inspector sound and look stupid because he is taking the idea of fact too seriously. The inspector tells the pupils what ever isn't real in life shouldn't be expressed in fact. He tells them you should not have horses on your wallpaper because you wouldn't see horses on walls in fact.
Dickens uses Gradgrind and M'choakumchild's names to express how facts are being inserted into the children's heads. M'choakumchild seems as if he chokes the facts into them, and Gradgrind grinds the children through a factory like process, these aggressive names really emphasis how they are treated.
Dickens also introduces his own feelings and thoughts by using authorial comment:
"Ah, rather overdone, M'choakumchild - if he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more"
This is saying if only he would have taken life a bit less seriously and hadn't have wiped out emotion or life he would be a better man.
In chapter three we learn about the consequences and damage that fact has had on Gradgrind's children. We find out that he has being depriving his children of stories, nursery rhymes, love and emotion.
When Gradgrind's children were born it seems they jumped straight into adulthood, skipping childhood.
Gradgrind is blinded to the damage he is causing. He comes across as a bad father but he is just misguided and delusional; he believes and intends he is doing the best for his children believing his facts are correct. The children are shown to be cracked and tired it feels the dictionaries, which they basically are, have finally run out of pages for facts.
Later on in the book we find out how utilitarianism really affects Tom and Louisa. Tom gets into debt and robs a bank and Louisa marries a dreadful man who she detests, just to leave her own house to get away from the pressure of facts.
Dickens uses contrast between the philosophies of fact with fairy tales and nursery rhymes to highlight the difference between light -hearted fun and dry rotten facts.
Dickens uses the symbol of the circus to represent the development of the imagination. He is trying to contrast the idea of utilitarianism with the importance of fantasy and imagination associated with independence and spontaneity.
The circus represents a world being able to respond sympathetically to others, this is emphasised by how the circus helps Gradgrind later along in the novel to represent everybody needs a piece of Sleary's circus inside them.
Dickens also uses a sarcastic humour to make the idea of Gradgrind thinking he is a good father look ridiculous. Dickens tries to show us that Gradgrind isn't a bad father, he just thinks he is doing the best to give his children a good future, but what makes it so ridiculous is how wrong he is and that he cant see it right in front of his eyes.
The description of Gradgrinds Stone Lodge house helps us get a better picture of Gradgrind. This is a very suitable house for Gradgrind because it is linked with his appearance and personality, it is described as:
" A calculated, cast up, balanced, and proved house ".
This is a very mathematical exact house with an even amount of windows on each side, which builds up Gradgrinds life.
In chapter four Dickens introduces the differences between the rich and the poor and how the unfortunate are treated.
We see the introduction of Mr Bounderby who is a self-proclaimed man, a factory and bank owner. Later in the novel we see his treatment of the factory workers and how they are mistreated, especially Steven Blackpool who ends up dead because of the pressure he has been under of having no rights and being vulnerable,
The treatment of the workers reflects the way Dickens feels about them, as Dickens was poor when he was young and he knows how it feels to be an outcast.
Bounderby is descried as having a "metallic laugh" and being made out of "coarse material". This suits his personality because he is harsh and unfeeling. His also described as having a "great puffed up head" and "being inflated like a balloon", his head is so big full of ego and boastfulness it looks like he is about to explode; he is the kind of person who looks like his personality.
Mr. Bounderby mentions his own name so many times and brings every conversation back to him self because he wants to show off how he has evolved from being poor into rich.
Dickens uses language to show us he is a bully:
" A man who was the bully of humility"
Instead of listening to other people he likes to over power them with his own voice.
Dickens uses humour through language to make Bounderby sound ridiculous, the way his described him as a "puffed up balloon". We are made to dislike Bounderby through the description and the way he treats others with no consideration.
Bounderby treats Mrs Gradgrind as a fool, a woman who has no interest or intelligence; Dickens describes her as "transparency" because she actually isn't there, she has no opinion or answers, just a figure for someone to talk to.
Louisa's reaction to Bounderby's kiss is a sigh of disgust, which is emphasised by Louisa rubbing her cheek rapidly trying to get his, sent of smell away from her. This is the point where we strongly feel the disgust Louisa feels for Bounderby. She asked tom:
"You may cut the piece out with your pen knife"
This is a symbol of anger towards both her father for being his friend and Bounderby for being disgusting in everyway.
My conclusion:
In the first Four Chapters Dickens introduces the main themes of utilitarianism and the philosophy of fact, to try and convey the damage it is causing, and how unaware parents are to the effects of fact towards their children.
Through out the novel we see Mr Gradgrinds children trying to adapt their life around philosophy of fact, but instead we see the disastrous effect it has on them.
Louisa ends up committing her self to Bounderby by marrying him, yet this is a man whom she despises very much. Her reason for signing her life to an endless marriage is to help her dear brother Tom, who is the only person she cares about, so her marriage isn't based on love and commitment but based on a false, meaningless commitment.
Tom on the other hand is fed up with living his life based around facts, so he goes against his fathers wishes and packs in facts, and takes up gambling and gets into debt. For Tom this is a chance to escape and have fun but when he gets into deeper trouble, he robs a bank and blames it on Steven Blackpool. This tells us that 'fact' has taught Tom not to have a conscience and think about others.
Later in the novel we see Bounderby's attitude towards his workers, which leads to the death of Steven Blackpool. Bounderby thinks of his workers as 'hands', people to do his dirty work for a disagreeable pay. When Mr Blackpool comes to Bounderby to ask advice concerning his wife he basically tells him to get lost because a poor person doesn't have any rights and laws don't apply to them, after Bounderby fires him and he ends up being an unemployed accused thief.
We find out further into the novel that Mr Bounderby is a fraud, he wasn't abandoned by his parents or growing up in poverty it was all a lie just an act, to fool people into believing he had built him self up, so the poor have no excuse.
The circus played a big role on the novel throughout. Gradgrind despised even thinking of the circus it was against his fact religion, to him it was a waste of educational time, but the circus ended up helping his son get away from Coketown, which basically tells the reader everyone needs a piece of the circus.
Sissy Jupe is unlike the other characters in almost every possible way; she is a symbol of "fancy" and "imagination". Sissy Jupe acted as a piece missing in the Gradgrinds hearts, and when she came along she filled it and gave them a different view of the world, she was the person who did the most for the Gradgrinds.
Name: Ben Gibb
