Charles Dickens' Hard Times
Many characters in the novel are victims of hard times as a result of
many factors. These include the lack of money, the education system,
the industrialisation in the area and the social injustices of the
Victorian era. The novel is divided into three books: sowing, reaping
and garnering. The names of these books have biblical references.
‘Ae ye sow, so shall ye reap’ New Testament
This means that there are consequences to all your actions, this idea
features strongly in the novel. In the first book ‘sowing’, the
actions of the characters were described for example the pragmatic
education system. In the second book ‘reaping’, the consequences of
these actions are described, and in the third book ‘garnering’, the
consequences are explored more, along with the final outcome of these
events.
In the novel, Mr Gradgrind causes and suffers from hard times. He is a
very rigid character in addition to being ‘a man of fact and
calculations’. He causes hard times for others, including his family,
with his pragmatic education system. We discover his attitudes to
schooling from the very first chapter when he says:
‘In this life, we want nothing but facts, sir; nothing but Facts’
This concept is based upon utilitarianism. This is the idea that
nothing except useful and practical things are wanted in life, and
this causes many of Dickens’ characters hard times. They thought these
concepts would provide the greatest good for the greatest number of
people but it only benefited the rich, the poor sill suffered. He
tries to inflict this system onto Sissy but he ends up learning a
lesson from her. Towards the end of the novel he realises that he has
not given his children what the...
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...e goes on to become
a very famous author who was very critical of lives, industrialisation
and money; all of these are explored in hard times.
Finally, Dickens’ experiences as a child came out in a convincing
portrayal of what was wrong with the Victorian society. He was a
critic to his time and from his novels we can learn a great deal about
the Victorian era. Many of the characters in the novel experience hard
times as a result of many factors. Stephen Blackpool is the innocent
victim in the novel; he suffers greatly through no fault of his own.
He is kind and trustworthy yet he is abused. Other characters such as
Mrs Sparsit and Bitzer enjoy causing hard times for others. Some
suffer more than others; but Dickens uses his characters to explore
the hard times of the era. In conclusion, many of Dickens’ characters
suffer as a result of numerous causes.
The French Revolution can best be described by Dickens in the opening phrase of his novel A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Dickens 1). A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens in 1859, takes place in London and Paris during the French Revolution. The book tells the story of a circle of people living and fighting during this dangerous time. These characters include Dr. Manette, a doctor and prisoner of the Bastille for eighteen years who is just reunited with his lovable daughter, Lucie, for the first time since his imprisonment. Mr. Lorry is a banker and family friend of the Manette’s and Charles Darnay is a kind, generous man with a corrupt, noble family who marries Lucie. The Defarges are a married couple who lead the peasants’ revolt in the Revolution, and Sydney Carton is a lawyer’s assistant with a seemingly wasted life, but finds his life’s worth in the end. From these characters and this story, the theme of sacrifice is well displayed, especially the sacrifice for loved ones. The book shows us that love overcomes evil every time through the sacrifices of Miss Pross, Dr. Manette, and Sydney Carton.
Charles Dickens' literary works are comparable to one another in many ways; plot, setting, and even experiences. His novels remain captivating to his audiences and he draws them in to teach the readers lessons of life. Although each work exists separate from all of the rest, many similarities remain. Throughout the novels, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, the process of growing up, described by the author, includes the themes of the character's ability to alienate themselves, charity given to the characters and what the money does to their lives, and the differences of good and evil individuals and the effects of their influences.
Another man - we are not told who the man is or why he is present, are
The rest will be presented further on in my essay. But before presenting my points id like to give you a brief idea of the two books and their writers.
Charles Dickens Pip’s character’s importance to the plot of the novel “Great Expectations” is paramount. Charles Dickens uses an ongoing theme over the course of this novel. Dickens creates Pip to be a possible prototype of his own and his father’s life. Pip’s qualities are kept under wraps because the changes in him are more important than his general personality. Dickens created Pip to be a normal everyday person that goes through many changes, which allows a normal reader to relate and feel sympathetic towards Pip.
Moulton, Charles Wells. Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors through the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: Volume 1. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1966. Print.
doesn't see why she had to take him in and "bring him up by hand", she
London: n.p., 1998. Print. fourth Bloomfield, Morton W. New Literary History. Winter ed. N.p.:
In Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, Mr. Vholes is Richard Carstone’s legal advisor. Introduced to Richard by Mr. Skimpole, Vholes encourages and assists Richard as he attempts to unravel the mysteries of the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case in Chancery. Vholes, however, may not have the best intentions. Through descriptions of his gloomy physical appearance, suspicious actions, and unfortunate connections to English law, Dickens paints a vivid image of Mr. Vholes—a man who cannot be trusted. Vholes, therefore, is made up of multiple layers; as each layer peels away, the reader understands a little bit more of this secretive man. Surprisingly, Mr. Vholes is seen as more and more evil as readers journey to the center of his being.
In society today, all people determine their lifestyle, personality and overall character by both positive and negative traits that they hold. Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was a drunken lawyer who had an extremely low self-esteem. He possessed many negative characteristics which he used in a positive way. Carton drastically changed his life and became a new man. Sydney is not the man he first appeared to be.
The. Rpt. Jack London: Essays in Criticism. Ed. Ray Wilson.
The novel, Great Expectations, presents the story of a young boy growing up and becoming a
His first statement is that “Literary criticism is a description and evaluation of its object” (Brooks 19). The literary critic reports on the work that he is criticizing and picks out the meaning that he deems important, which might be different from what the next critic would pick out. To describe the work it is therefore already a subjective exercise, such as in Doctor Faustus, in the A-version of the text, some people ...
Historical Criticism is criticism that “considers how military, social, cultural, economic, scientific, intellectual, literary, and every other kind of history helps us to understand the author and the work” (Lynn 142). Simply stated, unlike the previously discussed criticisms, Historical Criticism connects a work to certain times or places, revealing its historical influences. Therefore, the reader is required to perform research in order to learn more about the author’s life, the author’s time period and culture, and the way of reasoning during that time. Accordingly, with a critical eye, the reader should relate the information back to the work which will provide the reader with a richer understanding of the reading as well as with author’s message to the reader (Lynn 29-31). Beyond “close reading”, the reader must research what establishes the foundation of the work. Although, below the foundation of a work there lies an even richer understanding of the
- - -. “Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800.” http://go.galegroup.com. N.p., 1988. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. .