Charles Dickens
- Literature Notes
- Essay Questions
- About Hard Times
- Summary and Analysis
- Book One: Chapters 1-3
- Book One: Chapter 4
- Book One: Chapters 5-6
- Book One: Chapter 7
- Book One: Chapter 8
- Book One: Chapter 9
- Book One: Chapters 10-13
- Book One: Chapters 14-16
- Book Two: Chapter 1
- Book Two: Chapter 2
- Book Two: Chapter 3
- Book Two: Chapters 4-6
- Book Two: Chapter 7
- Book Two: Chapter 8
- Book Two: Chapter 9
- Book Two: Chapters 10-12
- Book Three: Chapters 1-3
- Book Three: Chapters 4-5
- Book Three: Chapter 6
- Book Three: Chapter 7
- Book Three: Chapters 8-9
- Charles Dickens Biography
- Critical Essays
- Characterization in Hard Times
- Significance of Setting in Hard Times
- Dickens' Philosophy and Style
- Cite this Literature Note
Study Help Essay Questions
1. Critics have called Hard Times an allegory. Would you agree with this statement? Prove your response by making direct reference to passages in the novel.
2. Characterize Mrs. Gradgrind; in what ways does she show that, being incapable of comprehending her husband's philosophy, she has withdrawn from the world?
3. Louisa was descending the allegorical staircase of shame. Were there others descending with her? Support your answer.
4. What analogy is drawn between Coketown and the Gradgrindian philosophy?
5. What are Mrs. Sparsit's reasons for not calling Louisa Mrs. Bounderby?
6. Explain what Dickens means by "Bounderby's absolute power."
7. Rachael and Stephen have been subjected to criticism by readers who say that they are almost too good to be true. At what points in the story do Rachael and Stephen refute this criticism?
8. What is Mrs. Sparsit's role in the novel?
9. Dickens, as we all know, is utilizing satire to agitate for better conditions in England. To what advantage does Kidderminster serve Dickens' purpose?
10. What motivated Louisa's visit to Stephen? What were the results of this visit?
11. What, according to Tom, was Louisa's method of escape?
12. Of what significance was the "Star Shining" to Stephen? What does this represent symbolically?
13. In the time of the Hebrew prophet Daniel, Belshazzar, last king of Babylon, saw the "handwriting on the wall," which foretold his destruction. How does Dickens utilize this analogy?
14. Why is it significant for the novel to open in the classroom of Facts and conclude in the circus of Fancy?
15. What hope does Dickens give concerning Gradgrind?
16. By clearing Stephen's name, Mr. Gradgrind realized that someone else would be implicated. Who was this person? How does Gradgrind react when he realizes the implications?
17. How does Bounderby's concept of smoke differ from that of the Hands?
18. What is the motive behind Mrs. Sparsit's spying on James Harthouse and Louisa Bounderby?
19. Bitzer states that the entire economic system is based on self-interest. Does his character prove his statement? What characters other than Bitzer would be examples of his statement?
20. How did Gradgrind react when he realized that his educational philosophy was a failure?
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 1, Chapters 1-8
Book 1, Chapters 9-16
Book 2, Chapters 1-6
Book 2, Chapters 7-12
Character Analysis
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Discussion Questions
In the opening lines of Hard Times , Gradgrind teaches children about the importance of facts. How does his personal philosophy dictate the course of the narrative?
Tom and Louisa grow up in the same house but develop two very different characters. At what point and in what ways do their characters diverge?
Sissy is the antithesis of everything Gradgrind believes, yet she emerges as a singularly happy individual. In what ways is her existence a rebuke of his beliefs?
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Dickens' Critique of Urbanization in Hard Times
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Dickens as a Symbolist: Geometry in Hard Times
Depiction of mozart's breakdown in amadeus, james harthouse, the utilitarian romantic in hard times, louisa as a wasteland in charles dickenss' hard times.
Serialised April 1854 – 12 August 1854; book format 1854
Charles Dickens
Mr. Gradgrind, Mr. Bounderby, Louisa, Sissy Jupe, Tom, Stephen Blackpool
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Study Help Essay Questions. 1. Critics have called Hard Times an allegory. Would you agree with this statement? Prove your response by making direct reference to passages in the novel. 2. Characterize Mrs. Gradgrind; in what ways does she show that, being incapable of comprehending her husband's philosophy, she has withdrawn from the world?
Do you think it is an accurate representation? Is it meant to be? 5. Hard Times is built around a few simple, contrasting thematic ideas. What are some of them, and how do they function in the book? How does Louisa fit among these ideas? 6. As a child, Bitzer is a model pupil at Gradgrind's school.
Hard Times Questions and Answers - Discover the eNotes.com community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on Hard Times
Hard Times E-Text contains the full text of Hard Times. Book the First - Sowing. Chapters 11-16. Book the Second - Reaping. Chapters 7-12. Read the E-Text for Hard Times…. Hard Times study guide contains a biography of Charles Dickens, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
The following Suggested Essay Topics are some ideas for papers that may be written on Hard Times by Charles Dickens. The suggestions are designed to provide you with both a starting point and a ...
Hard Times is a novel written by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. Set in the fictional industrial town of Coketown during the mid-19th century, the novel explores the social and economic challenges faced by the working class during the Industrial Revolution. The narrative centers around several characters, including Thomas Gradgrind, a ...
A. Pollution. 1. Atmosphere thick with smoke and soot. 2. Heaps of coal, litter, machinery. 3. Dye from the cotton fabric is in the river and the canal is black and foul-smelling. B. Ugliness.
Discussion Questions. Essay Topics. 1. In the opening lines of Hard Times, Gradgrind teaches children about the importance of facts. How does his personal philosophy dictate the course of the narrative? 2. Tom and Louisa grow up in the same house but develop two very different characters. At what point and in what ways do their characters diverge?
3 pages / 1322 words. Charles Dicken's Hard Times is a novel depicting the destructive forces of utilitarianism on the modern world following the Industrial Revolution. Through the vivid characters interwoven throughout the text, Dickens exemplifies the devastation caused by the mechanization and dehumanization of human beings as factory ...
Hard Times and Charles Dickens. The novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens is a fictitious glimpse into the lives of various classes of English people that live in a town named Coketown during the Industrial Revolution. The general culture of Coketown is one of utilitarianism. The school there is run by a man ready to weigh and...
Mini Essays. Hard Times is a novel about the social condition of poverty, but very few of its major characters are actually poor and comparatively little time is spent with the poor characters. With that in mind, do you think the book does an effective job of shaping our view of poverty?
Article History. Hard Times, novel by Charles Dickens, published in serial form (as Hard Times: For These Times) in the periodical Household Words from April to August 1854 and in book form later the same year. The novel is a bitter indictment of industrialization, with its dehumanizing effects on workers and communities in mid-19th-century ...
Humanities 221 Some background and study questions for Hard Times. Thomas Malthus, Essay on the Principles of Population (1798): poverty is natural, so government subsidy programs only keep people alive and maintain higher populations, thus increasing poverty.. David Ricardo, "The Iron Law of Wages": as population increases, wages decrease; increased wages encourage people to have more ...
The novel, Hard Times, depends on the opposition between Fact and Fancy, the contrast which gives it both tension and unity. Answers: 1. Asked by Anand A #1154068. Last updated by jill d #170087 3 years ago 5/31/2021 4:29 AM. Hard Times.
Perhaps the least-known of all Dickens's novels, Hard Times is a social-protest novel which attempts to lay bare the malignant impact of nineteenth-century industrial society upon the people ...
Hard Times: A Story in Motion - Essay Sample. Considering the truly difficult times in life is actually very easy. Reminiscing on tough times will usually bring back unfortunate memories and feelings, and you will never truly be rid of them. The worse the experience, the stronger it sticks out in your mind, the easier it is to remember.
Hard Times By Charles Dickens: Thomas Gradgrind And Louisa Sharacters. "Hard Times" is a novel written by Charles Dickens in 1854, taking place in a small town called Coketown. In this novel, we learn about many characters, but two stick out to the readers the uttermost, Thomas Gradgrind and Louisa.
Fact Versus Fancy in Hard Times: Critical Analysis. This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples. "Dicken's Hard Times begins in a classroom of facts and concludes in the circus of fancy. In a well-organized and coherent essay, discuss the ...
Essay Type Questions On Hard Times - Get access to the final draft. You will be notified once the essay is done. You will be sent a mail on your registered mail id about the details of the final draft and how to get it. ... Ssat Essay Questions Sample, Homewrk And Class Wrk Chart, Essay About Magazines And Newspapers, Blueprint Of An Essay, New ...
An informative essay is any type of essay that has the goal of informing or educating an audience. By definition, it is not used to persuade or to give one's personal beliefs on a subject.... Study Help Essay Questions · 1. Critics have called Hard Times an allegory. · 2. Characterize Mrs. · 3.
Book I, Chapters 1-2: Questions and Answers. 1. Chapter 1 is entitled "The One Thing Needful.". What is that one thing? 2. What does Gradgrind want to "plant" and what does he want to ...
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