first character within the novel‚ Mr Gradgrind the speaker in the extract and the patron of the school. The novels opening lines are spoken by Mr Gradgrind‚ ‘Now what I want is Facts.’ ‘Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts.’ The word ‘Fact’ is being graphologically deviant due the capital ‘F’ this allows the reader to focus on the message the speaker is trying to put across. ‘Facts’ are what are important and facts are what are important to Mr Gradgrind. The sentences are short and simple
Premium Gricean maxims Charles Dickens Pragmatics
Ritsie Armington Mrs. Thompson AP English Lit 11/6/12 In the novel‚ “Hard Times‚” Charles Dickens uses Mr. Gradgrind‚ Louisa Gradgrind and Sissy Jupe to express his view on Utilitarianism. Utilitarians believe “our moral faculty‚ according to all those of its interpreters who are entitled to the name of thinkers‚ supplies us only with the general principles of moral judgments; it is a branch of our reason‚ not of our sensitive faculty; and must be looked to for the abstract doctrines of morality
Free Hard Times
England protagonist: Louisa Gradgrind major conflict: Louisa Gradgrind struggles to reconcile the fact-driven self-interest of her upbringing with the warmth of feeling that she witnesses both in Sissy Jupe and developing within herself. As this attitude changes‚ Louisa is caught between allegiances to her family and loveless marriage and her desire to transcend the emotional and personal detachment of her past. rising action: Sissy joins the Gradgrind household‚ and Louisa marries Mr. Bounderby
Premium Hard Times
portrays both sides of the argument in their most extreme forms. One might argue that much of Hard Times is about extremes. The first character to be introduced‚ Mr. Thomas Gradgrind‚ enforces a very rigid approach to education‚ while everything contrary to his approach is depicted through Sleary’s Circus. In his school‚ Mr. Gradgrind uses techniques that have the effect of “mechanizing” the children‚ aiming to fill their minds with rationales and deplete any fancy. However‚ he will learn that not all
Premium Hard Times
place in the classroom‚ you become familiarized with the Gradgrind School and its fundamentals. The Gradgrind philosophy‚ based on the Facts‚ Facts‚ and more Facts of reality‚ is demonstrated as being not only cruel and destructive to the workers the "Hands" of society but is also humanly inadequate to the Gradgrind family it served. Mrs. Gradgrind observed that her husband has missed something in his life‚ yet‚ "not an ology at all." Louisa and her brother Tom‚ "the whelp‚" are nearly destroyed
Free Charles Dickens
the author can easily sway one’s opinions on the novel they have written‚ as can be seen in Hard Times. Dickens’ presentation of Louisa Gradgrind in Hard Times allows readers to see the emotional and moral value that that those in the lower classes may experience‚ and the emotional emptiness that often resulted from upper-class societies in the Victorian Era. Louisa first began to understand the value in lower-class life through experiences with Sissy that allowed her to understand the deeper sense
Free Social class Victorian era Working class
Cecilia Jupe also know as Sissy shows Louisa the way to escape the cruel cycle of the era by counterbalancing the industrial revolution with femininity. Charles Dickens uses Sissy as a symbol of a classical woman and a revolutionist. She overcomes these gender restrictions by stepping outside
Premium Gender Woman Sociology
"Book the First: Sowing": Chapter 2‚ human beings being portrayed as machines is clearly portrayed as Dickens describes Louisa and Thomas looking thorough a peephole at the circus. "Dumb with amazement‚ Mr. Gradgrind crossed to the spot where his family was thus disgraced‚ laid his hand upon each erring child‚ and said: ’Louisa!! Thomas!!’ Both rose‚ red and disconcerted. But‚ Louisa looked at her father with more boldness than Thomas did. Indeed‚ Thomas did not look at him‚ but have himself up to be
Premium Human A Series of Unfortunate Events Hard Times
recommendation to Plant nothing else and root out everything else’ (except facts)" (Lodge 91). In the first book‚ titled "Sowing‚ " we are introduced to those that Dickens creates a firm character basis with. The opening chapter emphasizes on Thomas Gradgrind Sr.‚ and his students fittingly referred to as "vessels before him ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they are filled to the brim" (Dickens 12). Gradgrind’s methods of education are employed to show Dickens’ view
Premium Charles Dickens Gothic fiction Fiction
Hard Times are those between Louisa Gradgrind and Mr. Bounderby‚ Mr. and Mrs. Gradgrind‚ and Stephen Blackpool and his wife. None of these three marriages are loving or prosperous. The inequality in these marriages and the pain caused by them gives insight into the characteristics of real life marriages during this time. For example‚ the one marriage that affected Louisa’s upbringing the most was that between her parents. From the beginning of the novel‚ Mr. Gradgrind is described as‚ “A man of realities
Premium Victorian era Marriage