The industrialization in England, started in the eighteenth and continued in the nineteenth century. It caused a radical change to working habits and ways of life. Especially to the majority of the people which now is spending most of its time in factories, getting only few amounts of money, just enough to earn its living. The invention of the steam engine and automated production processes, along with an immense population growth, caused a considerable accumulation of people close to industrial locations. This labour surplus lead to low salaries, because of too much supply of workers and too less demand of workers. That constellation gave a lot of power to a few people, those people that owned the factories and industrial complexes. In short, the employers, which where homo ökonomici had only profit in their minds. At these times we are far away from social services or standard wages. These circumstances lead to serious problems among the working class, which had been the majority. They lived in bad conditions in a polluted surrounding, dirty streets and a filthy environment. Leisure time was not known. Life mainly consists of working, eating and sleeping. In these times, where structural change in all aspects of life took or had taken place, Charles Dickens grew up among the most intensive stage of England’s industrialization. Growing older and becoming a writer, he refuses the money making and profit orientated society more and more. This critical attitude to people’s pursuit of money utters itself in his novel “Hard Times”, that he wrote in 1854. In this novel he blames the social differences in the then-society and in the then-life in a satiric and as well melodramatic way. The novel on the one hand shows the struggle of the factory workers and lower class people in everyday life, on the other hand the struggle for social status, etiquette, money and power of the middle and higher class, which is represented in “Hard Times” by Mr Bounderby, the Gradgrind family, Mrs Sparsit and others. The lower poor working class consists of the characters of Stephen Blackpool, his friend Rachel, the circus members, the Union, and others. Not to forget Sissy, which is adopted by the Gradgrinds out of her low poor status into a higher class.
Table of Contents
I.) Introduction
II.) Allegories and Descriptions of Coketown in “Hard Times”, Book One, Chapter Five: The Key-Note
III.) Allegories and Descriptions of Coketown in “Hard Times”, Book Two, Chapter One: Effects in the bank
IV.) Conclusion
V.) Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how Charles Dickens utilizes allegorical narratives and symbolic descriptions to depict the industrialized environment of Coketown in his 1854 novel, "Hard Times," specifically focusing on the critique of social inequality and the dehumanizing effects of utilitarianism.
- The socio-economic impacts of the Industrial Revolution in 19th-century England.
- The use of allegorical imagery, such as the River Styx and the Tower of Babel, to characterize Coketown.
- The juxtaposition of nature and machine, exemplified by the "elephant-like" steam engine pistons.
- The satirical exploration of class conflict and the pursuit of profit over human welfare.
- The interpretation of Coketown as an archetypal "hellish" landscape within the novel's narrative.
Excerpt from the Book
II.) Allegories and Descriptions of Coketown in “Hard Times”, Book One, Chapter Five: The Key-Note
In this Chapter the reader gets an impression and an image of Coketown in its appearance. Dickens uses allegories to point out in a satiric way how Coketown is a hell-like place, a place where everything is dark and dull with no hope respectively. When Mr Bounderby and Mr Gradgrind are walking through Coketown, Dickens takes the oppurtunity to “strike the key-note”(page 16) and have a view on the town, in which the novel is set. This key-note is something like a basic thought there to reveal the intentions of the author to his recipients. Dickens’ way of presenting his dirty Coketown is characterized by allegories, linked to single aspects and impressions of Coketown. Even the name Coketown itself shows, that this town’s focus is factories and industrialization and thus the corresponding poverty of the lower classes. For the two gentlemen walking through their streets, everything is going well and there is no need for the town to get a little less industrialized, because the whole settlement is a result of pure fact and reason. Or “a triumph of fact”(page 16), the author points out their contentment. But Dickens’ following descriptions of Coketown are not hymns on the beautiful Coketown. It is a dull, dirty and filthy place with polluted air and water, where people are lifeless because of their monotonous everyday-is-the-same-day-life. These descriptions envoke a negative scary feeling and transport a deprecative athmosphere into the readers’ mind.
Summary of Chapters
I.) Introduction: This chapter contextualizes the industrialization of 19th-century England and introduces Dickens’ critical stance toward the profit-oriented society depicted in "Hard Times."
II.) Allegories and Descriptions of Coketown in “Hard Times”, Book One, Chapter Five: The Key-Note: This chapter analyzes how Dickens uses allegories, such as the hell-like environment and the biblical imagery of serpents, to establish the bleak atmosphere of Coketown.
III.) Allegories and Descriptions of Coketown in “Hard Times”, Book Two, Chapter One: Effects in the bank: This chapter explores how Dickens portrays the dehumanizing conditions of the city through further allegories, linking the town’s pollution and moral decline to the myth of the Tower of Babel.
IV.) Conclusion: The final chapter synthesizes the evidence, confirming that Dickens employs a hellish archetype and mythological allusions to protest the dehumanization caused by industrial progress.
V.) Bibliography: Lists the primary text and secondary sources used for this analysis.
Keywords
Charles Dickens, Hard Times, Coketown, Industrialization, Allegory, Satire, Utilitarianism, Social Critique, Class Struggle, Symbolism, Literature, 19th Century, Narratology, Mythological Allusions, Urban Environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this research paper?
The paper provides an analysis of the allegorical descriptions of Coketown in Charles Dickens' novel "Hard Times," focusing on how the author uses these depictions to criticize industrialization.
What are the core thematic fields addressed?
The core themes include the impact of the Industrial Revolution, the conflict between social classes, the philosophy of utilitarianism, and the moral consequences of a society driven solely by profit.
What is the primary goal of the author?
The goal is to demonstrate how Dickens uses specific stylistic devices—namely allegory, metaphor, and symbol—to portray Coketown as a hellish landscape and protest against dehumanizing living conditions.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author performs a textual analysis, examining selected chapters of the novel to identify and interpret stylistic devices and their implications within the narrative discourse.
What is discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body focuses on chapters from Book One and Book Two, analyzing specific imagery such as the "key-note" of the town, the pollution of the river, and references to biblical and mythological figures.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Coketown, Industrialization, Allegory, Satire, Utilitarianism, Dickens, and Social Critique.
How does the author interpret the "elephant-like" piston metaphor?
The author argues that the comparison of steam-engine pistons to an elephant in "melancholy madness" signifies how nature itself has been captured and enslaved by industrial processes to serve human economic purposes.
What does the reference to the Tower of Babel signify in the context of Coketown?
It represents humanity's arrogant attempt to reach a "divine" status through material progress and profit, which, according to the author, leads to moral decline and confusion, much like the biblical narrative.
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- Julian Schatz (Autor:in), 2005, Analysis and Interpretation of the Descriptions of Coketown in Charles Dickens’ “Hard Times”, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/74125
