In Hard Times, Charles Dickens explores the importance of the developments of both intellect and emotions throughout a child’s upbringing. However, to an extent, Dickens emphasizes on the greater importance of emotional growth compared to intellectual growth; such as the much happier and more compassionate human being Sissy is compared to Louisa and Tom, whom have had all ‘fancy’ rooted out of their childhood. Furthermore, although Bitzer may not be unhappy in any way, he still lacks compassion and an understanding of emotions as a result of his education under Gradgrind’s “fact only” system. As such, the administrator of this system, Gradgrind, also lacks the ability to recognise emotion, and hence was unable to acknowledge his children’s pain and suffering until it was too late.
Louisa’s inner qualities of compassion and love was neglected and repressed, which caused her to be miserable and left unable to deal with emotions. Gradgrind had strictly administered his utilitarian system upon Louisa “from the cradle”. Hence, she has experienced no other form of childhood. From the beginning, it is evident that Louisa had the capacity to love and express all her emotions freely. When caught by Gradgrind at the circus, Louisa “looked at her father with more boldness than Thomas did”, illustrating how Louisa had more conviction and passion than her brother, Thomas, had. However, this passion that Louisa has is neglected and oppressed by Gradgrind. As a result, her inner qualities are described as “a fire with nothing to burn, a light with nothing to rest upon”. It is ultimately Louisa’s desire for her “starved imagination” to be developed, despite Gradgrind’s continuous banishment of it, which leads to her feeling empty, confused, an...
... middle of paper ...
...rowth through the escape of Tom. Gradgrind state that “Ten thousand pounds I could not effect it.”, to which Louisa replies, “Sissy has effected it”. This illustrates the influence that love or emotional growth has (as represented by Sissy) compared to intellect (Ten thousand pounds).
Ultimately, Dickens demonstrates, through Hard Times, the importance of both emotional and intellectual growth. Nevertheless, Sissy’s influence illustrates how in order to become a good natured human being, one must have greater emotional growth and thus the importance of emotional growth is more highly valued than intellect. Though a pure intellectual development can produce a successful individual career-wise (Bitzer), he will turn out to be a cold, heartless person. Moreover, is can also cause infinite suffering and irreparable mental scars in its students such as Louisa and Tom.
Characters who yearn for appreciation, the portrayal of a depressing ambiance, and the repetition of buried guilt are a few resemblances of the Masterpiece rendition of Great Expectations and Dickens’ novel. In both adaptations, many characters struggle with the loneliness and troubles of life. Although life’s issues differ from when the novel was written until now, the audience can still relate to the characters. This classic story has traveled through many era’s and the moral is still understandable to all people who have enjoyed the tale in its many different formats. It is especially relatable to those who have struggled to cope with the challenges of life.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens’ choice of sentimental expression had an excellent effect on the readers’ responses to the characters. The use of exaggerated sentimentality helped create a clear picture of the story’s issues in the readers’ minds; it gave a feel for the spirit of the times, and made it easier to understand the characters’ points of view. It was this very sentimentality that Dickens strived to achieve.
Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, has many metaphors, including “the great blue flies,” knitting and the sea to explore the important theme of human inhumanity towards the fellow man into his story. The metaphors are perfect symbols to explain how insensitive and cruel people can be towards one another, despite their pain and suffering. Nevertheless, Dickens includes not only moments for the reader to feel empathy for the victims of the revolution, but also moments of love. This story shows that inhumanity towards the fellow man is a problem in societies that will never be overcome; however, the world would be a better place if everyone strived to have compassion and respect for everyone, regardless of social class, religion, race, or money.
Emotional development is a major factor in the overall development of a child. It is believed that emotional and social development are very closely entwined. Child experts and psychologists agree that emotions are vital in a child’s life and to be able to promote a healthy social development a child must learn how to correctly find solutions to interpersonal problems.
In this essay, I will argue that one of the underlying motives in Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is the reinforcement of Christian values in 18th century Victorian England. Dickens was very concerned with the accepted social norms of industrialized England, many of which he felt were very inhumane. Christian values were challenged, largely due to the recent publication of Darwin's Origins of a Species, and philosophy along with literature was greatly affected. In 1859, the industrial age was booming, making many entrepreneurs rich. However, the majority of the lower economic class remained impoverished, working in unsafe and horrific environments as underpaid factory workers. Additionally, child labor was an accepted practice in Victorian England's factories. Dickens, who worked, as a child in a shoe polish factory, detested this social convention with such strength that only one with experience in such exploitation could.
As the story unfolds and we begin to see the depth of Louise’s thought processes, the imagery that expresses these feelings of new-found freedom, and the reactions, or lack thereof, to the loss of her husband. We start to realize that there are two meanings to this initial statement of “a heart trouble” (236). We may come to understand through these subtle inferences that her heart trouble can also mean that although she is loved by her spouse, she is a passive, intelligent, unhappy woman, who has not had the pleasure of
Understanding the experiences of one’s past may inspire the decisions that will lead the course of one’s life. Charles Dickens’s childhood was overwhelming and had many difficult phases. It is truly impressive for a young boy to support his family, mostly on his own, and be able to maintain a suitable education. These hardship episodes may have been difficult for him, but it made him who he had always wanted to be. Eventually, he had been known as one of the most significant writers since Shakespeare.
12. Oldham, R. (2000) Charles Dickens’ Hard Times: Romantic Tragedy of Proletariat Propaganda [Online]. Available: http://www.pillowrock.com [Accessed: 25th April 2005].
In her younger years, Jane shows that girls do not need to follow society’s normalities through the defiance of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. As a young orphan, Jane lives with her aunt and her three children, and due to Jane’s “plain looks” and “quiet yet passionate character,” she is disliked among the entire Reed family (Gao). Her cousin, John, constantly reminds her of her social standing, calling her a “dependent” who should not “live with gentlemen’s children” like her cousins (Bronte 10). Rather than acting in accordance with her cousin, Jane, in rage of how she is treated with “miserable cruelty” (Bronte 36), Jane compares him to a “murderer...a slave driver...like the Roman emperors” (Bronte 10). Because of her refusal to submit to John Reed’s aggressiveness and accept that she is lesser than him and his family, Jane is punished for the night by her Aunt Reed. Mrs. Reed’s punishment of Jane demonstrates her part in the oppression ‘machine.’ Mrs. Reed should have understood Jane’s refusal to be docile, being a woman herself, but ...
Charles Dickens’ (1812-1970) father had great financial difficulties. The boy had a rather miserable childhood, and the lad spent much of his time in poorhouses and workhouses. Did poverty overwhelm Charles Dickens? Was his negative environment to blame for an unproductive and fruitless life? No it wasn’t. Dickens retreated into his imaginary world and incisively wrote about the need for social reform in what later became such literary classics such as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
Every child’s development is distinctive, multipart, and complex. Development comes to pass in five areas. SPICE refers to the five areas of development that all children share. Social, physical, intellectual, creative, and emotional equals SPICE (Early childhood education). Erik Erikson developed a theory of development that considers the impact of external factors from infancy to later life. So, when thinking about early childhood education the one detail that comes to mind is development. Emotional-social development is one aspect of development that is greatly influenced by factors in the environment and the experiences a child has.
“Hard Times” by Charles Dickens was well rounded; it showed history and setting, ideas and sentiments, and the art of the novel. Hard times” by Charles dickens can be used as a unique insight into what England was like during the industrial revolution. “Hard times” use of setting and people to create picture of life in the nineteenth century. This essay will focus of “hard Times” sentiments of fact and fancy as well as its views of marriage. A good chapter in the book to review these two ideas is chapter twelve from book two. There are two important ways that Charles dickens added his artistic touch to “Hard Times” first by using the narrator and second by the art of consequence. Overall, “Hard Times” was an important work that was innovative and insightful.
“Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else” (Dickens 5). So says Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, the proponent of a Utilitarian educational philosophy in Charles Dickens’ Hard Times. Cold, hard facts are what Mr. Thomas Gradgrind’s philosophy consists of, and cold hard facts are exactly what Tom and Louisa Gradgrind are raised on. They are taught by their father and by society to live their lives based on these facts. They are instructed to conduct themselves in accordance to them and nothing else. As stated by Taylor Stoehr, “Tom and Louisa Gradgrind are products of the Gradgrindian system, raised in Stone Lodge, taught in the school of hard facts, model grindings off the parent stone” (Stoehr 171). As a result of being raised in the loveless atmosphere of Stone Lodge and in accordance with the strictly enforced rules of the Gradgrindian system, Tom and Louisa are deprived of opportunities to cultivate imagination, emotions, and “fancy” (Dickens 5). The children are themselves fragmented and insufficient fragments who have been formed by a hard system of hard facts. By blocking every available outlet for the interplay of fantasy and emotion, Mr. Gradgrind unintentionally generates two extreme outcomes for his children. Even though the Gradgrind philosophy has completely different effects on Tom and Louisa Gradgrind, it ultimately deprives them both of the happiness that only a balance between the wisdom of the Head and the wisdom of the Heart can create.
Set in the ever changing world of the Industrial Revolution, Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times begins with a description of a utilitarian paradise, a world that follows a prescribed set of logically laid-out facts, created by the illustrious and "eminently practical" Mr. Gradgrind. However, one soon realizes that Gradgrind's utopia is only a simulacrum, belied by the devastation of lives devoid of elements that "feed the heart and soul," as well as the mind. As the years fly by, the weaknesses of Gradgrind's carefully constructed system become painfully apparent, especially in the lives of his children Louisa and Tom, as well as in the poor workers employed by one Mr. Josiah Bounderby, a wealthy factory owner and a subscriber to Gradgrind's system. Dickens, through the shattering of Gradgrind's utilitarian world, tells us that no methods, not even constant oppression and abuse, can defeat and overcome two basic needs of humans, our fundamental needs for emotion and imagination.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...