Louisa says: ‘I have grown up, battling every inch of my way’. To what extent does the text present life as a battle for its characters?
In his novel ‘Hard Times’, author Charles Dickens depicts several characters, such as Louisa Gradgrind and Stephen Blackpool, as being helpless and having to fight through the ‘battle’ that is their everyday lives. The flawed education system and corrupt social classes prevalent in Coketown have a way of discriminating against the poor and the curious, in such a way that the lives of these characters and a selection of others is presented by Dickens as a struggle for survival. Louisa and Stephen experience very few opportunities for complete happiness, and continue to endure challenges throughout their miserable existence. However, these external factors do not present life as a battle for all; the character of Sissy Jupe, whom accepts these aspects of life as well as maintaining her good nature, leads a relatively peaceful life, her acceptance eventually allowing her freedom and happiness.
The education system in which the children of Coketown are brought up in, based on Mr. Tom Gradgrind’s philosophy that ‘facts alone are wanted in life’, allows no room for imagination, hence creating a dull and monotonous lifestyle for the young people involved in it. While Mr Gradgrind, a ‘man of fact and calculations’, believes his philosophy is the only way in which to run a school, and in fact the only way to run a household, it is this philosophy that creates flaws in the education system, providing the school’s students with a specific yet limited knowledge of the world around them. Students generally adopt this ‘factual’ outlook on life through the school’s teachings, without consultation from any other facets of life, namely fancy and imagination. Bitzer, the ‘light-eyed and light-haired’ boy that becomes a model student for the school, is one that adopts this philosophy with no questions, never once considering an imaginative side of life. Louisa Gradgrind, on the other hand, cannot accept this lifestyle, fighting against the thirst for facts that is presented by Mr. Gradgrind, Mr. M’Choakumchild and others involved with the running of the school. Dickens’ hence conveys a ‘battle’ in which Louisa is forced into throughout her upbringing and, eventually, her later life.
Louisa Gradgrind is initially depicted by Dickens as a young girl that is full of curiosity, and yet is smothered by the indoctrination of ‘facts’ by the education system and, consequently, her father Tom Gradgrind. Louisa’s curiosity is never fully satisfied, and her long to break free of the lifestyle that is presented to her enforces the battle through which she endures for most of her life. She struggles against the philosophies of her father and of the school, attempting to further her imagination. This is evident in several examples, including her viewing of Sleary’s circus with her brother Thomas, her incessant beginning of sentences with the phrase ‘I wonder’ and her ability to wonder what her life would be like given a different upbringing. Louisa fights against the constraints that shape her life, such as the school, her childhood and the philosophies of her father. Hence, her life is presented by Dickens as a battle; rather than accepting the teachings of her father and of the school, Louisa rebels against them, attempting to force a creative and imaginative side into her dull life. While Louisa’s battle comes mainly as a result of the educational system and her will to break free from its constraints, Stephen’s battle is of a different nature, being mainly produced by the inequality of the social classes within Coketown.
Conversely to Louisa, Stephen Blackpool does not fight against his problematic life, but accepts it with far too much ease. Stephen, a power-loom weaver and a ‘man of perfect integrity’, was a Hand, a part of the lowest social class in Coketown. To compound the dehumanizing effects of this lifestyle, Stephen is in a marriage to a ‘disabled, drunken creature’ from which he cannot escape, as a result of his poverty, which keeps him from his true love, Rachael. Stephen’s inability to break free of the marriage is symbolic of his attitude towards his life; he is highly disadvantaged by his social class, and yet makes it worse by his lack of passion to fight against these restrictions. Dickens portrays Stephen as somewhat pathetic, as he lacks the courage to make his life better. This is evident not only in his acceptance of his marriage, but of his failure to pursue the love of Rachael. He constantly keeps her at a distance, illustrated by Dickens in a practical sense when he ‘stretched out his arm to stop her’ as she attempts to comfort him upon him seeing his wife close to death and Rachael looking after her. Stephen accepts his miserable life with a pathetic attitude, creating a hard and boring struggle through life. He ‘battles every inch of the way’ as a result of his personality and social class, whilst Dickens demonstrates to the reader that he would be better off attempting to develop both sides of life, evident in his depiction of Sissy Jupe.
While being brought up in the friendly, caring atmosphere of the Pegasus’ arms, Sissy Jupe inevitably assumes a loving and creative nature, which is obvious to all those whom come into contact with the young girl. Mr Gradgrind, who realises that there is ‘something in this girl that cannot be set forth in tabular form’, initially condemns the ‘fanciful’ ideas with which Sissy orchestrates her life, and brings her into his household and into his school in the hope that he can change this. Sissy does her best to do well in the school, as her father always wanted her to have a good education, and she waited in hope for him to return. Her effort in the school, while her progress was not as substantial as some, allowed her to gain a good understanding of the factual philosophy of the education system. However, Sissy did not let this affect her gentle, nurturing nature; she was able to keep the two separate, developing a healthy equilibrium between the two. This balance allows her to avoid the battle that Louisa and Stephen face, and lets her enjoy a peaceful and altogether happy life, eventuating in a happy family life.
Through these characters, Dickens conveys a message to the reader that a balance of fact and fancy is important in one’s life. While expressing his thoughts of both the education system and the social classes in the industrialization of England at the time of writing, he presents Stephen and Louisa as having to battle through their lives as an indirect result of these factors, whilst offering the alternative of Sissy Jupe to further illustrate his point.
Thanks guys
Home
Help
Search
Login
