"Hard Times" by Charles Dickens

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Please respond to all three questions.
 
1. Dickens, as an author, has a fondness for names that seem to sum up the characters, or at least ironically comment on them. Select a character in the first part of the novel that intrigues you and consider if their name relates in anyway to your developing understanding of their character.

2. Class or caste is a pervasive theme in English literature and the arts. How do ideas of class pervade and influence character and action in the first part of Hard Times? Where do you think Dickens’ sympathy lies?

3. Discuss the pros and cons of Gradgrind’s offer to take Sissy into his home and educate her (pp. 38-9). Does Sissy make the right decision? If you were in Sissy’s position what would you do?
 

[1] I think that Dicken's use of "Blackpool" as a last name for Coketown-hand Stephen is a good example of irony. The man lives a bleak existence, and has an estranged wife that further darkens his life- it's not hard to see his plight as a "black pool". I think the use of "Stephen" is appropriate too, as we think of the biblical Stephen, a follower of Jesus who was stoned to death, considered the first Christian martyr, and later sainted. Stephen Blackpool was a martyr in Hard Times. This I've perceived mostly in hindsight, however- I can't say that Dicken's use of the name influenced my understanding of the character except maybe on a subliminal level.

[2] Dickens sympathy seems obviously on the side of the lower class in Hard Times. Sissy Jupe, the circus workers, Stephen Blackpool, and Rachael... all are portrayed as more human and having more integrity than their bosses, schoolmasters, and company. The novel is a satire of the Utilitarians, and so characters such as Gradgrind and Bounderby suffer in their characterization as a result. Mrs. Sparsit and Mrs. Gradgrind can also be seen as being lampooned somewhat for their shallow and empty lives.

[3] I felt that the offer by Gradgrind to educate and care for Sissy was a generous one, albeit driven by his own ego and a wish to make an example of her. With her father gone, the circus troupe might well have been more loving to her, but were not as financially able to take care of her properly. I think Sissy makes the right decision, and that I would have too in similar circumstances. Sissy even ends up softening Gradgrind a little bit, and he keeps her on even after it becomes apparent that she'll never meet his academic goals.

Please respond to all three questions.
 
1. Dickens subtitles the second part of the novel “Reaping.” What is being reaped in relationship to what was sown in part one?

2. What do you think Mrs. Gragrind is trying to write to Mr. Gradgrind when she dies (p. 181)?

3. What does the novel have to say about love and marriage? Consider and discuss Dickens’ different depictions of marital relationships in the novel.
 

I want to begin by observing how challenging it is to read Dickens, but yet rewarding if you stay at it. Although I remember required readings from him decades ago in high school, and having made it through A Christmas Carol around the same time, this is the first real serious exposure I've had. I almost hate to admit that, but it's the truth. Although I don't foresee having the time in the near future, it has inspired me enough to make a resolution to read his other novels when I can. Just for the sake of discussion, I was wondering how other classmates felt about him. Thanks in advance to those who will respond...

[1]  There are many references to Biblical characters and events in Hard Times, outside of the titles of the three "books". To use sowing, reaping, and garnering as his respective themes for each section reflects either that Dickens himself was a religious man or at least that he knew his readers to be. There can be no doubt that the Bible (along with classic Greek and Roman mythology) shows up in many great works of fiction as inspiration, or as a fertile ground for symbols and themes.

What is being reaped in part two of Hard Times? The outcome of the characters' individual backgrounds, life choices, and, in some cases, unforeseeable and random events beyond their control. In short- life's rewards (and disappointments) that we all experience. Mr. Gradgrind tried to "plant" his children in a very scientific and no-nonsense environment, hoping they would grow into likenesses of himself. But it has only succeeded on the surface- Louisa and Thomas feel an emptiness inside which the former tries to fill by her devotion to her brother; he in turn exploits that to alleviate some of his own misery. The only "crop" (which Gradgrind unwittingly sows) that will prosper is Sissy Jupe, and the younger Gradgrind children who benefit from her presence.

Mr. Bounderby and Mrs. Sparsit begin reaping the bitter fruits of their charade- their pretense of being persons of higher standing than they really are. We begin to see the underlying contempt they hold for each other. Stephen Blackpool reaps the ironic punishment of being ostracized for reason of possessing too much honesty and integrity for his own good, and Rachael reaps the heartache of loving such an ill-fated man.

[2]  I found the last scene with Mrs. Gradgrind especially well crafted by Dickens- in her ending moments, she is already beginning to drift away. Such as when asked by Louisa if she's in pain, the answer: " I think there's a pain somewhere in the room... but I couldn't positively say that I have got it". I think in her last moments she had some regrets about how she and her husband had raised their children (and no doubt their marriage in general), but couldn't find a way to express it. Very poignant that the husband is gone and she tries one last time to reach out to him- too little, too late.

[3] In this work at least, Dickens paints a very bleak picture of married life. I found nothing in web searches about him to indicate that his own marriage was unhappy (he and his wife had 10 children). The Gradgrinds seem to have a loveless marriage, founded on practical matters only; it only follows that the almost pre-arranged marriage of their daughter to a similarly pragmatic associate would produce similar results. Stephen Blackpool's marriage was a disaster by any standards. Mrs. Sparsit had been abandoned by her husband after he squandered her wealth. It's safe to say that there were no happy marriages in this novel.

Bounderby had nothing but ill to speak of the mother that abandoned him, as well as the grandmother that raised him. Even allowing for his tendency to exaggerate, his must have been a painful childhood. That would explain the apparently huge insecurities that fuel his boasting. So one theory for me is that Bounderby might view Mrs. Sparsit as a surrogate mother- someone to take care of him in his adulthood as replacement for the lack of affection in his youth.

I can see it from the "marriage" angle too, maybe more so from Mrs. Sparsit's side. She had been widowed young, left in financial trouble. Though considerably younger maybe, Bounderby perhaps supplied her a way to pretend at marriage the way it might have been. Though "a man without sentiment" generally, he did go out of his way to praise and venerate Mrs. Sparsit- she was a "trophy" for him.

It all gets a little weird, the more I consider it. There's more love, if you'd call it that, between Bounderby and Sparsit than there is between Bounderby and Louisa- and from both directions. And now to learn that Dickens himself had a much younger mistress, it makes me wonder whether he put some of himself into Bounderby, or better yet Harthouse, in regard to Louisa.

I see Mrs. Gradgrind as an important supporting character, even though she has few "lines". She enhances a couple of the themes Dickens has going. She's a logical counterpart to her husband, and you get the feeling that their marriage was based on more practicality than love. Obviously not her husband's intellectual equal, she blindly accepts all the "ologies" as necessary. I sensed that her illnesses might have been a way of getting attention in such a stoic and pedantic household. I think she does make a difference- the deathbed scene is one of my favorites and it kind of encapsulates the whole Gradgrind dilemma: the husband/father is away, there's a marked difference between Louisa and the younger sister that has lived with Sissy, and a lifetime of mistakes and regrets comes to a head as her death approaches.

Stephen's wife gets little from Dickens to warrant sympathy, until we learn (through Rachael) that she and Rachael had once worked together as girls, and were friends when Stephen married her. It implies that there had been a happier time for the couple, however short that was. It even raises questions as to what drove the wife to drinking- Stephen loves Rachael at the time of the novel's present; so could Rachel have come between them originally? Maybe there is some guilt behind Rachael's willingness to tend to the estranged wife, as well as some regret that drives the latter back to visit Stephen on occasions. Perhaps even the one seemingly pure love in the novel- Stephen's and Rachael's- had sown some bad seeds at an earlier time and they were now reaping the bittersweet outcome of that.

Please respond to all three questions.

1. What role does Sissy assume in the final part of the novel? How has she changed the lives of the Gradgrinds? Is she to be envied over the family that took her in when she was abandoned by her father?

2. What do you feel is the significance of the novel’s title: Hard Times for These Times? Does the novel have any relevance for our own hard times?

3. What do you think of Mr. Gradgrind’s, Louisa’s and Sissy’s effort to help Tom evade justice by sending him abroad? Is justice served in the novel; are Stephen and Tom treated equally?

[1] Sissy's role in "Garnering", if it had to be summed up in one word, would be comforter. Whether to the younger Gradgrind children, Louisa Bounderby, or Rachael- Sissy is loving and compassionate and a force for good in all their lives. Beginning with Louisa, who has just returned to her childhood home in the aftermath of her marriage's demise, she literally offers a shoulder to cry on. Likewise for Rachael, who is distraught over Stephen Blackpool's fugitive status and whereabouts, Sissy strives to keep hopes up for her and to be as much help as possible. Even in the case of James Harthouse, she handles the delicate situation with tact and diplomacy, leaving him to declare that "I doubt if any other ambassador... could have addressed me with the same success".

Although "envied" wouldn't be my first choice of words, Sissy would certainly be so in comparison to the Gradgrinds- I think "admired" is the better way to see her. Ironically, Thomas Gradgrind set out to help her (and we can concede he did so in at least providing a stable home)- but Sissy ends up helping him and all his family much more in the bargain. And in all these acts, she of course helps herself.

[2] As another way of approaching the significance of the title, I researched and found some alternate titles that Dickens had considered: Prove It, Stubborn Things, Mr. Gradgrind's Facts. The Grindstone, Two and Two Are Four, Our Hard Headed Friend, and Simple Arithmetic, among others. (Watkin 162) Although I like some of those, Hard Times for These Times captures more of the novel's overall storyline than the rejected titles do- they all seem to focus on the Fact vs. Fancy theme only. The majority of the characters, in fact all of them (even Sissy gets abandoned by her father) experience "hard times", and it's a fitting title.

The relevance of the novel to present day? Our times are very different, but some of the same problems exist- there are still plenty of menial, machine-like jobs out there, with labor and union disputes; children that are raised by parents (and schools/churches) that stifle their creativity; and of course the universal problems in human relationships, married and otherwise.

[3] I believe it would be a common reaction for a family to try to protect one of its members from trouble, just as the Gradgrinds and Sissy do. Their impulse, I think, is a mixture of sympathy for Tom and a desire to avoid bringing any more shame than necessary on the family as a whole. Having to leave his home country and his family isn't exactly a total escape from justice, just a lesser one than being in prison. Stephen and Tom are not treated equally at all in the majority of the bank robbery incident, but in the end the truth comes out and Stephen dies with his integrity intact, while Tom is exiled and dies in guilt and remorse- a fitting end for both.

Works Cited

Watkin, Amy S, and Harold Bloom. Bloom's How to Write About Charles Dickens. New York:

            Bloom'sLiterary Criticism, 2009. Internet resource.

 

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