Hard Times
by Charles Dickens, 1854
The following is a question from the 2003 AP English Literature and Composition free
response section of the exam (Form B):
(Suggested time - 40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay
section score.)
Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a
character’s sense of identity into question. Select a novel or play in which a
character responds to such a cultural collision. Then write a well-organized essay
in which you describe the character’s response and explain its relevance to the
work as a whole... Avoid mere plot summary.
Two things need to be stated at the outset
1) Not every AP English Lit question will work for every novel (or play). I have
chosen the above question as one that is relevant for Hard Times. However, even
though this question will work, it must be made relevant by the student. There is
much to be done to make this question relevant and appropriate. Part of the
challenge for you, the student, is to have the flexibility of mind necessary to make
connections and adaptations. You cannot expect to know exactly what will be
asked of you, but you must still be able to cope with thinking on your feet.
2) The phrase “avoid mere plot summary” is key. The danger for most students is
to do the easy thing by summarizing plot and character, and then forget to answer
the main part of the question. The main part of this question is to “explain its
relevance to the work as a whole”. The pronoun “its” refers to the character’s
response to a cultural collision. Note that you are invited to “describe” the
response and then “explain” the response of the chosen character. This means
that you are using elements of plot and character to substantiate a larger
discussion about theme. If you spend all of your time doing the easy work of
summarizing (“describing”) the character’s response you will not pass, even if your
summary is brilliantly written. Literature questions probe at issues of meaning, not
merely recall of events.
In order to properly address this question (and any complex literature question) you
should understand that the critical analysis of imaginative literature is an exercise
in thinking. Careful reading is a prerequisite. Here is a quote from the AP English
Literature and Language course description which is worth considering:
“Through the close reading of selected texts, students should deepen their
understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and
pleasure for their readers. As they read, students should consider a work’s
structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of
figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.”
Note that there is a hierarchy implied here: there are smaller-scale elements and
there are larger elements. Note also that there is no mention of mere plot and
character description, as these elements are considered prerequisites to further
literary analysis. Here is another quote worth considering at this point, taken
directly from our course description:
“Broadly speaking, then, there are three types of writing: 1) Writing to understand
(journals, annotation, freewriting), 2) Writing to explain (brief and focused analysis
on aspects of language and structure), and 3) Writing to evaluate (making and
explaining judgments about a work’s artistry through analysis, interpretation and
argument). The goal of all types of writing assignments is to increase students’
ability to explain clearly, cogently and elegantly, what they understand about
literary works and why they interpret them as they do. To write at length about
cherished poetic and literary devices without adding to the advancement of
knowledge about a literary work’s meaning is to miss the point; a mere cataloging of
various “poetic devices” without analytical application is not ultimately useful.”
So.... plenty to think about here before we begin answering the question posed
above. Let’s take a step backwards and remind ourselves of the literary hierarchy
which governs our approach. It is convenient to think of the study of literature as a
three stage approach, with the first stage being the most basic and the third stage
the most complex.
Stage 1) Experience Stage. Read the book, know the plot, describe the characters,
react to the book pre-critically (free response, journal writing).
Stage 2) Interpretation Stage. Read again, carefully, closely, and critically, noting
multiple meanings which appear through use of figurative language, imagery,
symbolism, tone and evocation of setting. (brief analysis writing)
Stage 3) Evaluation Stage. Assess the quality and artistic achievement of a work, as
well as its social and cultural values, through further interpretation of structure,
style and theme, using analysis, interpretation, and argument. (broader analytical
writing)
Hard Times - the project
All the above is meant to remind us here, at the beginning of the year, that the
ultimate nature of our work is to make meaning and (hopefully) gain pleasure
through close reading of imaginative literature. We will be dividing ourselves into
five groups in order to cover the material in this project. Each group will be
responsible for organizing its efforts and collating its materials, before presenting
and publishing its findings.
Themes
Themes come in all shapes and sizes. Listed below are some of the main themes.
Perhaps we will discover more as we go on:
Broad Themes
The
The
The
The
The
individual vs. the collective of society
wisdom of the heart vs. the wisdom of the head
failure of the utilitarian education
devastating effects of the industrial revolution
effects of the class system
Narrow Themes
Loyalty
Parent and Child
Imprisonment (literally and metaphorically)
Characters
For each character you must a) describe the character, physically and otherwise
b) describe the key actions performed by that character, c) provide key quotes
spoken by that character and about that character, and d) show how that
character’s actions and quotes integrate with broader themes of the novel. Parts
a, b, and c, require specific page references.
Major Characters
Thomas Gradgrind, Sr.
Louisa Gradgrind (Mrs. Bounderby)
Josiah Bounderby
Cecilia Jupe (“Sissy”)
Mrs. Gradgrind
Stephen Blackpool
Mrs. Sparsit
Thomas Gradgrind, Jr. (Tom)
James Harthouse
Minor Characters
Bitzer
Rachael
Mrs. Pegler
Mr. Sleary
Mr. M’Choakumchild
Mrs. Blackpool
Slackbridge
Mr. Jupe
Chidders and Kidderminster
Extended readings
At the back of your edition of Hard Times you will find a “Contexts” section which
contains readings relevant to our understanding of the novel:
Condition of England (p. 267)
Utilitarianism, Political Economy, and its Discontents (p. 302)
Education (p. 320)
Victorian Reactions to Hard Times (p. 340)
For your assigned section you need to carefully read all the essays, put them in
context, and explain their bearing on the novel.
Setting
Coketown see book 1, chapter V (p. 23) for a start on this topic and a the first
mention of the “melancholy mad elephants”.
Evaluate the importance of setting
Structure
Biblical structure (Sowing, Reaping, Garnering)
Discuss the significance of the titles of the three books of Hard Times
Significant Quotes
Usually these relate to theme. Often they are spoken by a character, other times
it is the irony and tone of Dickens’ narration which is memorable and significant.
For your assigned section, you should range widely and produce a number of
quotes which you feel are significant and memorable in justifying some of the above
themes. For example, the opening line of the book, spoken by Gradgrind, “Now,
what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are
wanted in life....” Are oft quoted, and indicative of a number of the themes in the
book. Can you explain why?
Book sections will divided up by page numbers
section one pp. 3 - 65
section two pp. 65 - 135
section three pp. 135 - 194
section four pp. 194 - 264
“level two” Essay Questions
1. Compare the characters of Josiah Bounderby and Thomas Gradgrind, Sr.
2. What is the function of Sleary’s “Horse-riding” in Hard Times?
3. Discuss the symbolism of the star seen by Stephen Blackpool.
4. Why is Sissy Jupe important to the novel?
5. In what ways is Hard Times an allegory?
6. Explain the significance of “turtle soup and venison with a gold spoon.”
7. Discuss how Louisa is identified with fire in the novel.
8. Discuss the relationship of Mrs. Sparsit and Bounderby.
9. Who is the main character of Hard Times? Defend your choice.
10. Why is Bounderby called “the bully of Humility”?
11. How does Dickens use names to signify his characters’ traits?
12. Discuss the ways in which Coketown is seen metaphorically as a jungle.
13. How does Dickens use comedy in the novel. Cite at least five examples.
“level three” Essay Questions
1. In what ways can Hard Times be considered a bitter novel? A hopeful novel?
2. In what ways does the novel speak to us today? Are any of the issues presented
by Dickens still with us? Which ones?
3. “What history misses you’ll find in the fiction which deals with the period.” A
novelist may provide “what history misses” by, for example, recreating the habits
and occurrences of daily life, or by representing the effect of an historical event on
a family or small community, or by revealing what must have been the thoughts,
feelings and attitudes of ordinary people in the face of large-scale social change.
Use one novel to demonstrate, “what history misses” about the age with which it
deals.
4. One of the first things a novelist does is to describe the setting in which the
events of the novel are to occur; but if it is cleverly done the description of the
setting will do more: warn us about what is to come; reveal a theme; give us a hint
of the circumstances in which the characters may find themselves. Choose such a
novel, give a brief account of the setting and show in what ways it does one or
more of these things.
5. “A narrative concerning people cannot interest us unless the people are real
and it deals with matters which directly concern us.” Discuss. (You may, if you
wish, disagree with part or all of this assertion.)
6. The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in
which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel and write a well-organized
essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning
of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. (2004 AP, form B)
7. Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.”
Choose a novel or play and, considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in
which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it
offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects
your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. (2004 AP)
8. The eighteenth-century British Novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, “No body, but
he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind
torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a
contrary direction at the same time.”
From a novel choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is
pulled in conflicting directions by tow compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or
influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting
forces and explain how this conflict within one character illuminates the meaning of
the work as a whole. (1999 AP)