Hard Times and the critical view of Victorian society

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Research EssayThe novel, Hard Times written by Charles Dickens, presents a critical view of the political systems and events which society was based on, in the Victorian society. In the late 1800s England became revolutionary with the Industrial Revolution and the new class system, which brought more middle class citizens and their ideals into the government. As the author of Hard Times comes from a middle class background, Dickens positions the reader to agree with the middle classes point of view. The values which come through these texts come from a mixture of both Charles dickens personal values and of the middle classes. These values include changing the utilitarian system so there is a more effective education system, more rights for the factory workers at the time of the Industrial revolution and in general more freedom and justice for the pauper or the working class people, within the Laissez faire capitalist system. Through Hard Times, Dickens criticizes the way the government chooses to run the country. As a humanitarian, he argues that no matter what class a person is in, they should always have the benefit of having basic human rights, treated greater than the respect they had from the people from the upper class and that the human mind should be allowed to explore their imagination, as well as filling the mind with facts.The text Hard Times, shows a critical middle class view among the different parts of society. The education system is the first flaw mentioned in society. The education system has been founded by Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, who is the local MP. In the n1800s, the government was basically founded on the utilitarian theory - the greatest good for the greatest number. Mr. Gradgrind has also based his own beliefs in this theory and has made it the foundation and philosophy of his school. The result is the students in his school are seen as human beings, but as people who are born to be filled with facts, and as a consequence, the individual is meant to be a success in society. This relates to the belief of Thomas Carlyle, who was also a utilitarian that a babies mind is like a blank tablet, which is ready to be filled with facts and information. Mr. Gradgrind even shows this through his persona and the way he presents himself to other people and children. "… he seemed like some kind of cannon loaded to the muzzle with facts, and prepared to blow them clear out of the regions of childhood at one discharge." (p. 48) Dickens argument is that that even if filling children minds with fact and statistics, seems like the right action to take, the results can be disastrous, because it can end up killing the natural imagination, and can prevent a child of having a normal childhood. This is a weakness of the utilitarian education system, which Dickens points out, but he fails to recognize the good points of the system. Without it, millions of children would still be working in coal mines, which had created hazardous health conditions and they had also missed out on their childhood, which no child should be deprived of. The utilitarian system, is not liked by the people who are the middle class, mainly because it doesn't aid the nurturing of a persons imagination, which shouldn't be ignored, because along with rationality, comes the natural, spiritual side of a human being.The Industrial Revolution in the last half of the 1800s showed a significant increase in technology and the social aspect of the urban sprawl. Many people during this time lost their jobs to machines and many gained jobs in factories, mills and coalmines. This links into the idea of children who were working in the coal mines, until the utilitarian system was brought in, and then the children had an opportunity to get an education. Dickens presents a very negative view of the Industrial Revolution, because the people weren't getting the rights they were entitled to. The working class were living in the poorest conditions because they were given poor wages, long hours, appalling physical conditions and there was still a gender issue consisting of the main belief that men were more superior than women and that they were more entitled to be a manager than a woman would be and there were no benefits for anybody. At the end of the Industrial Revolution, it was found that the owner of the factory became very greedy and often tried ways to get even more profit at the expense of their workers. They would try to pay the lowest wage, fine the workers as often as they could, and even fine anybody who would take a little rest would be fined, even if they were pregnant. Charles Dickens message to the public was that the people who were working in the factories, didn't have any rights and he demonstrated this through the novel Hard Times. When parts of hard Times were publish in a magazine which dickens partly owned, the next day, after being published, there were strikes against the factory owners for higher wages, shorter hours etc. Dickens again realizes the bad points of the Industrial Revolution, and fails to see that the country was now able to get access to items which was produced more rapidly than before and then people were able to buy the products with a cheaper price, because of mass production. The criticism in Hard Times is to make the people aware of all the injustices at the this time, which did effect the people as they started to demonstrate against the owners, as soon as the novel Hard Times was published. Dickens also sees a weakness in the factories, with a humanitarian point of view. He believes that the workers shouldn't be generalized together as 'Hands', because when they are talked about in a group, the workers don't seem to have the right which they are entitled to have. The same theme also comes through the utilitarian system that human beings should have a right to have access to a healthy and enjoyable environment to work in, as well as better treatment from the employers, better wages and shorter hours. "The bell was ringing, and the Serpent was a Serpent of many coils, and the Elephant was getting ready." (p. 117) The Industrial Revolution had it made so that the workers had to do monotonous work because the machines were like elephants, and they never tired, or slowed down, so then the workers would have to work even more harder, because the human body sometimes needs to slow down. This shows that the Industrial revolution doesn't account for the mechanics of the human body.


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Throughout Hard Times shows elements of Laissez faire capitalism. This type of capitalism is meant to give the people more freedom; the freedom of choice; the freedom of non-government intervention. But in a sense this does not give the people anymore freedom or choice. For example, if a person was a factory worker, they would have the freedom to quit if they wanted to. But they still wouldn't be free, because the government does not give any benefits and to keep food on the table, the person would now have to look for a new job, but it would have same conditions and the same boss who would be trying their best to obtain as much profit as they could get. This is seen in Hard Times, where Stephen Balckpool is fired from his job just because Bounderby wanted to the amount of power he had over his employees. "But, his factory is a secret place, his work is noiseless, and his Hands are mutes." (p. 11) This quote demonstrates that in a way the workers do have a certain type freedom, but once they try to speak out against the factory owners, then they are not listened to, and as a consequence they can get fired. Stephen finally has to leave Coketown, because his reputation has been ruined by Bounderby, so he has to leave the town in order to look for more work, so he and survive. Through Hard Times, Dickens shows his thoughts about Laissez faire capitalism through the characters of Bounderby and Stephen Blackpool. He views the system as one which doesn't work in reality and criticizes it through the character of Stephen Blackpool. Stephen is one of the many working class who do not benefit from the system. People like Stephen Blackpool do not have the opportunity to make their own choices about what they want because they are part of the working class.During the time of the Industrial Revolution there was a change in society, regarding the classes. A new class was emerging, called the middle class. The middle class was defined as higher than the working class, but lower than the higher classes such as the aristocracy In Hard Times, Dickens does not present much criticism, but shows his views throughout the novel, that the middle class should be fighting for the rights of the people of who don't have any rights, or those who cannot stand up for themselves. Which in these times they did. Many people from the middles classes, started to emerge, helping the lower class people, by starting up trade unions and some people started to help by being a member of parliament, so that they could pass laws for the working class. The changes in the class structure were not mentioned much in Hard Times, only when Dickens introduced the characters. Later on in time, the middle class people have But it showed the position of class the characters were in, therefore showing who was mainly in control. Dickens shows this in characters such as Mr Gradgrind and Mr Bounderby. They have power over the working class, and if their nature is extremely greedy, like Mr. Bounderby they tend to try and make themselves look more superior than they really are, and especially try to put down the self esteem of people who are in the lower classes. Mr. Bounderby doesn't trust the working class to do their job, which shows that he thinks he is more superior than them. "…in order that Mr Bounderby might take the opportunity of seeing how the Hands got on in those parts, and wether they, too, required to be fed with gold spoons…" (p. 14) Through the characters, Dickens is able to show the opinion of the middle class people towards the lower class, despite the fact that the middle class, started out helping the lower class.In conclusion the Utilitarian system, the Industrial Revolution and Laissez Faire capitalism is harshly criticized by Charles Dickens because these systems don't allow for compassion and the nurturing of the aspect of a human beings imagination and self esteem. This is why Charles Dickens does not approve the utilitarian system, Laissez faire capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. One positive aspect of Dickens criticism, is that he doesn't criticize the middle class, because he believes that people who are the privileged should be defending the people who don't have any rights. Dickens believes that if actions are taken to include the compassion of humanity, the education system and the rights of people who are less privileged then the country's economy would be in a better state. Please note that this sample paper on Hard Times and the critical view of Victorian society is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Hard Times and the critical view of Victorian society, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college papers on Hard Times and the critical view of Victorian society will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.


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