Hard Times Themes Theories

8/18/2019 Hard Times Themes Theories

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Hard TimesCharles Dickens Themes/Issues/Application of Literary Theories

Nur Atiqah binti GhaniD20141066640

Nur Hidayah binti AhmadKamal

D20141066645

Nur Ameera Fateha bintiAlias

D20141066646Siti Khadijah binti Abdul

KadirD2014106664


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Themes

The fundamental and oftenuni!ersal ideas e"plored in a

literary #or$


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The %echani&ation of Human 'ein(s

Hard Times suggests that nineteenth-century England’soverzealous adoption of industrialization threatens to turnhuman beings into machines by thwarting (preventing) thedevelopment of their emotions and imaginations throughthe actions of radgrind-who educates the young children of his

family and his school in the ways of fact - and hisfollower! "ounderby-who treats the wor#ers in hisfactory as emotionless ob$ects that are easily e%ploitedfor his own self-interest&

[Ch 5 Book I]! there is a parallel between the factoryHands and the radgrind children'both leadmonotonous! uniform e%istences! untouched by pleasure&onseuently! their fantasies and feelings are dulled!and they become almost mechanical themselves&

http*++www&spar#notes&com+lit+hardtimes+themes&html


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The )pposition 'et#een *act and*ancy

The opposition between ,fancy, and ,fact, isillustrated from the earliest pages of the novel&learly! the radgrind school opposes fancy!imaginative literature and ,wondering&, nstead! theyencourage the pursuit of ,hard fact, and statisticsthrough scientific investigation and logical deduction&"ut the radgrinds are so merciless and thorough intheir education that they manage to #ill the souls of

their pupils& .issy /upe and the members of .leary0scircus company stand as a contrast! arguing that ,thepeople must be amused&, 1ife cannot be e%clusivelydevoted to labor&

http*++www&gradesaver&com+hard-times+study-guide+themes


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The Importance of *eminity

2uring the 3ictorian era! women were commonly associated withsupposedly feminine traits li#e compassion! moral purity! andemotional sensitivity&

Hard Times suggests that because they possess these traits!women can counteract the mechanizing effects of industrialization&

4hen .tephen feels depressed about the monotony of his life asa factory wor#er! 5achael’s gentle fortitude inspires him to #eepgoing& He sums up her virtues by referring to her as his guidingangel&

.issy introduces love into the radgrind household! ultimatelyteaching 1ouisa how to recognize her emotions& Through the various female characters in the novel! 2ic#ens

suggests that feminine compassion is necessary to restore socialharmony&

http*++www&spar#notes&com+lit+hardtimes+themes&html


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)ther Themes

6tilitarianism and lassical Economics The ideas behind 6tilitarianism! statistical economics! and

the way they may shape government and educational policy allrun together to present a blea# future for the childrenraised under them& Those who idealize these social sciences

imagine a logical world run according to the dictates of themar#etplace& n this novel! some children raised and educated under this

system& Their emotions are repressed! their imaginationsstarved! and their creativity discouraged& 7s a result! they

grow into adults that don0t #now how be moral and are unableto understand or emotionally connect with one anyone&

http*++www&shmoop&com+hard-times-dic#ens+philosophical-viewpoints-utilitarianism-classical-economics-theme&html


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)ther Themes 4ealth

n this novel! the gulf between rich and poor is vast and cannot becrossed! despite the myth created by the rich that the poor can liftthemselves up by their bootstraps& Those who rise do so at thee%pense of others! and even then their progress is slow! painful! anddoes not reach much higher than where they started 8 and anyonewho says otherwise is telling self-serving lies&

1ove n Hard Times! love itself can be a positive or negative emotion!

regardless of whether it occurs between romantic partners orparents and children& There are e%amples of socially sanctioned andnurturing domestic love& There0s also spiritually uplifting love that

inspires better behavior and the improvement of the self& 7ndfinally there0s disturbed love that overreaches the normalboundaries of the relationship&

9&http*++www&shmoop&com+hard-times-dic#ens+wealth-theme&html

:&http*++www&shmoop&com+hard-times-dic#ens+love-theme&html


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Issues + Literary Theories

The ,ody ideas and methods #e usein the practical readin( of literature-.ot to the meanin( of the literature,ut to the theories that re!eal #hat

literature can mean-


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%ar"ist riticism


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The pper lass and The or$in(lass

The upper class maintains their control over thewor#ing class by forcing their ideology on them& Theupper class uses what ;ar% had called the


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The Industrial e!olution3120147

The ndustrial 5evolution had contributed the transition from handproduction methods to machines (manufacturing processes) and thisincluded the rise of the factory system& ;ost of the factories ino#etown are built by the upper class where the wor#ing class is forcedto wor# in the factories to earn their pay& o#etown is described by 2ic#ens as*


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The *riction 'et#een The ich and

The 8oor 2ic#ens had e%press his criticism on the way the

economic system during that time segregates the rich

and the poor& He! as a moralist writer! felt that moreprosperous members of the society should be helpingthose who are less fortunate& 7s 2ic#ens illustrates*


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*eminist riticism


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oman as Incapa,le Indi!idual

This is manifested through ecilia /upe’s character& n the first chapter! she is portrayed as someone who

is incapable in defining a horse to suit ;r radgrind’s

philosophy of facts& onversely! the young man named"itzer gave ;r radgrind a factual definition whichpleases ;r radgrind&

"ounderby views ecilia /upe as bad influence to ;rradgrind’s children! 1ouisa and Tom when ;r

radgrind caught them red handed watching thecircus performing through a peephole& earing that ecilia /upe will be a threat to ;r

radgrind’s philosophy of facts! she faces theconseuences of being e%pelled from the school&


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%en are The Decision %a$er

This is evident as ;r radgrind determines that his home!.toneledge to have the fact-heavy tone&

;rs radgrind is too complacent to argue with her husbandover his mechanistic ways&

7lso! when ;r radgrind made the decision to marry off1ouisa to "ounderbay! 1ouisa dutifully obeys to herfather’s reuest $ust to please her father&

n addition! ;r radgrind thin#s that the marriage is apractical one as he cites some statistics on the relative

ages of husbands and wives to show that a young wife andan older husband can sustain a happy marriage& ;r radgrind decides on his daughter’s life without giving

any thoughts to her feelings&


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9ie#s on omen

2uring the 3ictorian Era! women belong to the domestic sphere whichreuire them to provide for the husband and raise the children&

The author is seen to have stereotype ;rs radgrind’s character inthis novel to fulfill the women’s role at that time& 4omen at that timehowever! are given access to education $ust li#e ecilia and 1ouisa who

both attend ;r radgrind’s school& "esides that! it e%pected from woman in that era to practice

mannerism and etiuette& 7gain! the author is stereotyping the way awoman carrying herself in public through ecilia’s and 5achel’scharacter both the characters are viewed as feminine and polite&

This is depict through ecilia’s act of always curtseying and 5achel whoembodies the ualities that ma#e home a happy place &

http*++www&bl&u#+romantics-and-victorians+articles+gender-roles-in-the-

9Ith-century


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'io(raphical

riticism


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In Hard Times 31547; he s$illfully

com,ined many literary techni


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harles Dic$ens hildhood

Charles John Huffam Dickens was born J ebruary 99: inGortsmouth! England& He was the second child of /ohn andElizabeth Hoffman 2ic#ens& His parents went on to have fivemore children to $oin harles and his elder sister! anny! two ofwhom died in infancy&

The 2ic#ens family was on sha#y financial ground from thebeginning& /ohn 2ic#ens did not have a particularly good headfor numbers or finance! which was rather unfortunate! since hewor#ed as a cler# in the Kaval Gay Lffice& (He also dabbled in

$ournalism! which influenced his young son but failed to bringthe family much income&) The family moved freuently& "y 9:?!things had gotten bad enough that 2ic#ens0s parents wereforced to withdraw him from school because they could nolonger pay the fees&


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The following year! 9:@! was a nightmare for the whole2ic#ens family& Ln I ebruary! two days after his twelfthbirthday! harles was sent to wor# at 4arren0s "lac#ingactory! a 1ondon operation that made the polish forboots& That same month! /ohn 2ic#ens was sentenced to;arshalsea Grison for his failure to repay a debt& Though young harles tried desperately to raise the money to #eep

his father out of $ail! on :? ebruary /ohn 2ic#ensreported to prison& The entire family 8 with the e%ceptionof harles! who was still wor#ing at the factory! and hisolder sister anny 8 moved in to /ohn0s prison cell&

http*++www&shmoop&com+charles-dic#ens+childhood&html


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7t a certain part of 2ic#ens’ life! he can be portrayedas .tephen "lac#pool& n the story! "lac#pool couldnot divorce his wife because the procedure needs alot of money $ust to get divorce(where he needs topay the Garliament to pass a law that to let himdivorce his wife and pay again to remarry)! so hedecides against it and bear with his alcoholic wife&This can be related to 2ic#ens’ life on the part wherehis father was sentenced to $ail because of thefailure to pay debts& He tried to earn as much money

as he can to #eep his father out of $ail but he failedand his father is finally $ailed&


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n 9:! when he was si%teen! 2ic#ens got his firstgig as a professional writer! wor#ing as a freelance

reporter covering the courts& His e%posure to thelegal system 8 and to the disproportionate number ofpoor people who became embroiled in it 8 later helpedinform novels li#e "lea# House &

He also shows his #nowledge in the legal system

through some part of this story when he describedthe difficult process of getting a divorce for"lac#pool (because he is also a factory wor#er) andthe easy process of the same matter in when"ounderby divorces 1ouisa! $ust because he has what

it needs for the law to be legalized! which is money&

http*++www&shmoop&com+charles-dic#ens+early-writing&html


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n the story! .issy /upe is abandoned by his father!who is one of the clowns! when the circus! .leary!stops by at o#etown& 7t that time! which is duringthe ndustrial 5evolution era! many children was

abandoned to either orphanages or wor#houses&2ic#ens lived in that era! which resulted to himincluding the matter as well in his writings! includingHard Times& .issy /upe is one of those pitifulchildren! which may be the reason 2ic#ens put on thehappy ending to her life! unli#e other characters&

http*++www&shmoop&com+charles-dic#ens+pupularity-later-in-life&html

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Hard Times Themes Theories