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Charles Dickens’s novel Hard Times demonstrates numerous social issues which were present in the 1840s and which would be of universal and timeless concern to the audience if they were of today’s modern society. Different elements of the social issues which are presented in the novel Hard times contribute to the overall structure of novel 1. The issues which Dickens presents throughout this novel.
The social issue of a fact-based educational system, which is of universal and timeless concern, is presented by Charles Dickens in the novel Hard Times. In chapter 1 of book 1 Sowing, Dickens states In this life we want nothing but facts.2 Dicken’s use of alliteration demonstrates that fact is the only permitted subject or topic of discussion in Bounderby`s and Gradgrind`s school, emphasizing the lack of exhilaration provided to their students. Furthermore, again in chapter one of the book one Sowing, Dickens states Teach the girls and boys nothing but fact 3. Dicken’s use of consonance exemplifies that imagination of the students is prohibited by Bounderby and Gradgrind, highlighting that their school is a monotonous experience for the students. The lack of excitement provided to the students would be of universal concern to the audience, due to the lack of freedom of the mind that this subsequently provides. In addition to this, in chapter three of book one, Dickens states A starved imagination 4. Dicken’s use of personification reinforces the tedious educational experience that students have at Bounderby’s and Gradgrinds schools due to only being taught facts. In Charles Dicken’s novel Hard Times, facts are the only thing recognized as worthy of study 5 further reinforcing the educational ideology of Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind. As well as this, Dickens believed that education had the potential to rescue working-class children from the ravages of industrialization 6. However, this belief is contrasted in the novel because lack of freedom is incapable of being the experience a child needs to be rescued. Dicken’s representation of this issue gives the reader an insight into the fundamental questions of the educational system.
The social issue of the Mechanization of factory workers is illustrated by Charles Dickens in his novel Hard Times. In chapter five of the book one Sowing, Dickens states Inhabited by people equally like one another who all went in and out at the same time 7. Dicken’s use of pessimistic imagery illustrates that all the workers of the factory complete the same work, highlighting that the work completed in the factory is repetitive. The idea shows that Bounderby is turning his workers into machines, exemplifying the lack of compassion he provides his factory workers with. In addition to this, in chapter 5 of book 1 Sowing, Dickens states Every day is the same as yesterday and tomorrow 8. Dicken’s use of the simile reinforces the idea that the workers’ work is repetitive, suggesting that they are becoming robotic and mechanized. Moreover, Charles Dickens was critical of the industrial revolution which took place between 1760 and 1840. He expressed his critical views by presenting the issue of the mechanization of factory workers in the novel Hard Times. Furthermore, the repetition of the pronoun Same exemplifies the extreme extent to which the factory workers are being transformed into machines by Mr. Bounderby, the owner of the factory. This novel has achieved value as it represents issues that are active today .9 The way that Mr. Bounderby treats his factory workers defines his lack of compassion that he has towards them.
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