Montreal Dickens Fellowship Study Questions: “Hard Times”
October 5, 2021
Chapters 1 - 4
- “Now what I want is facts!” Does the opening paragraph of the novel hook you?
- Dickens uses words to not only physically describe his characters, but to convey his opinions of them. For example, in describing Mr. Gradgrind he uses: plain, bare, monotonous, square, wall, vault, care, line, cellarage, thin, wide, hard-set, inflexible, dry, dictatorial, knobby, bristly, warehouse, storage, stillborn...As you read on, pay close attention to Dickens’s masterful choice of vocabulary is in his character descriptions and in setting the tone of the novel.
- Comment on how Dickens’s use of names adds to our understanding of his characters. (Thomas Gradgrind, Mr. McChoakumchild, Mr. Bounderby, etc.)
- Dickens’s style and flow of writing often reflects the themes he wants to portray. Comment on his immediately and very plainly informing the reader about Mr. Gradgrind’s “no- nonsense” philosophy. (A practically “in your face” approach). (Contrast this style with the long, poetic and very wordy opening of “Bleak House” that he uses to describe the slow and inefficient courts of Chancery). This manipulation of style to reinforce basic concepts in the novel is just one example of Dickens’s literary genius. Discuss.
- What is the significance of Sissy Jupe being referred to as a number?
- Compare and contrast the complexions of Sissy and Bitzer as they sit in the sunshine. What do their physical traits reveal about their characters?
- Do you think you would know everything about a horse from Bitzer’s description? What about its beauty, power or majesty?
- Dickens’s description of the “third” or the “government man” tells us volumes about his low opinion of politicians and their penchant for bullying and their rejection of common sense. Comment.
- Do you think Thomas Gradgrind has a point when he describes fact as much more efficient than fancy? Wasn’t efficiency the cornerstone of industrial progress?
- By naming his chapter “Murdering the Innocents” (Matthew2: 16), Dickens implies that Gradgrind’s philosophy contradicts the Christian teachings of “Faith, Hope and Charity”. While Dickens was very opposed to organized religion, especially Evangelism, he was a devout Christian. Look for examples of religious references throughout the novel.
- Mr. McChoakumchild is described as a product of a teaching college “factory” that produces assembly-line educators who lack individuality or creativity. Compare and contrast his style to teachers you have had. Were they able to instill a love of learning? Who were your own best teachers? Who were your worst? Why?
- Dickens was a sickly child and as a consequence became an avid reader. He particularly liked magical fairy-tales and adventure stories (Arabian nights, Robinson Crusoe). Look for evidence of this as you read further.
- Most readers (then and now) would have strong and fond memories of the fairy stories they heard as young children. Gradgrind (the ogre)’s removal of these from his own children’s experience bodes poorly for their future. Discuss how Dickens strikes at the core of his readers’ nascent emotions and nostalgia for early childhood to drive home his warnings about the dangers of Utilitarian philosophy.
- Dickens often “hammers us over the head” to make his points. (Mr. Gradgrind is retired from the hardware business and lives at Stone lodge!) Does his heavy-handedness detract from your enjoyment of the book?
- Does Dickens’s attack on organized and efficient education goes too far? Educational reform was certainly needed. Was there no happy medium or compromise? In his opposition to overly rapid change that ignored consequences for the individual, did Dickens “throw out the baby with the bathwater”?
- In 1851, Dickens boycotted the Crystal Palace Exhibition on the grounds that showing off the rapid strides Britain had made in Industry and Technology was a slap in the face to the poor and oppressed who were victims of this “progress”. Was Dickens too fearful of change?
- Discuss Dickens’s portrayal of women in these chapters. Was he sympathetic to their issues? Discuss.
- Comment on Mr. Gradgrind’s parenting style. He is described as an affectionate father. Do you agree with this description? Do you know parents who are well meaning but misguided in their parenting styles? Do you think his blaming his children’s problems on corruption from outside forces (Sissy Jupe, the circus), instead of taking responsibility for his own actions a common mistake in parenting today?
- Do you think that parenting today over-emphasizes skill acquisition and learning and underemphasizes play and imagination. Comment on children’s current use of technology.
- Comment on Dickens’s description of Sleary’s Circus. How does his vocabulary differ from his previous descriptions?
- What are your First impressions of Louisa and Thomas Gradgrind?
- Who is Mrs. Grundy?
- Why is Mr. Bounderby described as the “Bully of Humility”? Comment on Dickens’s very humorous comparison of him to an overblown balloon.
- Compare and contrast Mr. Gradgrind and Mr. Bounderby.
- What do you make of Mrs. Gradgrind? Do you think Dickens based her incompetent parenting style on someone in his own life (his wife perhaps?)?
- Compare and contrast Mr. Bounderby and Donald Trump. Both are loud, boastful, profess to be self-made successes, hard headed and strong-fisted. Both claim to be men of the common people with no pretensions. Both brag about their straight-talking style. Comment.
- Dickens was a strong advocate for the Arts. Comment on his comparisons between peeping at the circus and reading poetry.