The Difference Between Sissy And Bitzer

"Give me your definition of a horse," (Pg 3) says the eminently practical Mr. Thomas Gradgrind of Charles Dickens’ unforgettable novel, Hard Times. Can anybody really define a horse? Cecilia Jupe, also known as Sissy, was unable to answer this question because she was, well, normal. Bitzer, the boy brought up in Coketown, the city of facts, answered, "Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely, twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive..." (Pg. 4). Clearly the contrast between Sissy and Bitzer can be seen. The differences between Bitzer and Sissy are shown not only in their definitions of a horse, but also in their physical appearance, personality, background, and the different philosophies that they each represent: fact and fancy.
From the very beginning, Dickens had made it clear to the reader that Sissy represents fancy and Bitzer represents facts. He uses the two characters in many ways to portray the differences between fact and fancy. One way of doing this is describing Sissy and Bitzer’s physical appearance. Dickens has a tendency to make his characters’ physical appearance reflect their personalities. This is true for both Sissy and Bitzer. Sissy is described as vibrant and full of dark, rich colors. She glows with passion and kindness. Bitzer, on the other hand, is described as a very pale boy. He seems cold and emotionless, with light colored eyes and light colored hair. While Sissy seems to have an aura of goodness, Bitzer does not. He is emotionless. Even in the setting of a classroom, the differences in appearance between Sissy and Bitzer are apparent, for “Sissy, being at the corner of a row on the sunny side, came in for the beginning of a sunbeam, of which Bitzer, being at the corner of a row on the other side, a few rows in advance, caught the end.” Sissy seemed to “receive a deeper and more lustrous colour from the sun when it shone upon her,” while the same sunbeam “seem to draw out of him (Bitzer) what little colour he ever possessed” (Pg. 3-4). The differences between Sissy and Bitzer are so evident that one must have been able to tell which philosophies that they each stand for.
Throughout the course of the novel, Sissy and Bitzer’s actions help to describe what kind of personality they each have, which are a...

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...s logical to them. Bitzer, however, represents the philosophy of facts and only facts. His actions, appearance, and training at Mr. McChoakumchild’s school show what a person becomes when they follow that philosophy. He had become cold and hard, with not a single thought for anyone but his self-interest. Dickens uses these two characters to show the differences between the two philosophies and the consequences that following these philosophies may have.
Through Bitzer and Sissy, the two different philosophies that each represent can be clearly seen: fact versus fancy. Bitzer has become a selfish person who does not care for anyone but himself. Sissy was the emotional center of the book because she was, practically, the only one that had real emotions from the very beginning. It can be distinguished which philosophy Dickens agrees with: fancy. He makes fact seem dull and dead, while making fancy seem colorful and full of life. Sissy is the kind of person that everyone would love, and Bitzer is someone that everybody would hate. Unmistakably, it is easy to tell which philosophy one would prefer. Maybe Bitzer ought to take a couple of lessons from Sissy.