Hard Times Charles Dickens Analysis

‘Hard Times’ by Charles Dickens is a social protest novel of nineteenth-century England. Throughout the novel, Dickens makes his voice of protest explicitly clear as he expresses the hardship and inequalities of an industrial, hierarchical society. Dickens portrays how difficult life was through all the characters and their positions in society. Several social and political issues are addressed by Dickens, particularly through education, marriage, divorce and the working conditions of the poor. In Book 1, Chapter 11, Stephen Blackpool reflects these issues through his line “Tis aw a muddle.” It could be argued that this remark by Blackpool refers to the power structures within the novel and how the ‘muddle’ is caused by those with power. Those

The title holds significance as the novel shows how people were living in difficult times. Most people living in England in this era, particularly those in the working class, were struggling due to the oppression they were facing. Dicken’s experiences of social realities were his source of inspiration for this novel. Dicken’s saw how people were living in difficult times as many of them worked factory jobs, where they were forced to work long and hard hours for very little money. When considering Blackpool’s remark, perhaps he was commenting on how people’s lives were made difficult by the power structures in society. Life for children was also difficult as they were deprived of any creative and emotional experience. Dickens demonstrates this through Grandgind’s ideologies on education as he teachers the children nothing but facts, telling them that “nothing else will ever be of any service to them.” Furthermore, Gradgrind refers to Sissy Jupe as “Girl number twenty” which implies that he wants a factory-like school that is only concerned in providing children with facts. Relating this back to Blackpool’s remark, perhaps he is not directing his comment on the power structures in ‘Hard Times’. We could suggest that he is reflecting on the restraining, contractive nature of the education the students receive. Perhaps he is reflecting on the significant effect this has on children’s futures. We see in the

Through Bounderby, Dickens thoughts on the attitudes of Victorian industrialism is made clear through the characters within the novel. A key character of the novel who represents this is Bounderby. His name is significant in that is plays on the pejorative Victorian word for an ill-bred man. Dickens portrays Bounderby, the “banker, merchant, manufacturer” to be entirely immoral and shows the reader how he is concerned with nothing but his own material success. Bounderby’s repetitive false claims to be a self-made man are exposed to the reader with the appearance of his mother. We learn that she has been caste aside to support his false descriptions of himself. Furthermore, Bounderby, like many other members of the bourgeoisie, attempted to become high society by acting like them. Relating this back to Blackpool’s remark, perhaps his Blackpool is reflecting on the influence people similar to Bounderby had on the power structures within society. Those who owned banks and factories were able to rise to wealth which would have had a significant influence on the power structures within this era. This is something that Dickens effectively criticises throughout the