Hard Times Essay

Firstly, dickens bleak choice of names for the characters reveals much about their individual personalities. Gradgrind, the informteacher, epitomises Dickens rebuke of his contemporary educational system, which was based on the principle that facts are noesis. The name metaphorically suggests that he is grinding down his pupils image and successor it with facts in their memory. The name also h former(a)s connotations of the gradual, crying motion of grinding which mirrors the dull, repetitive manner in which he teaches his pupils.Also, the name Gradgrind is composed of hard seem syllables, giving the impression he has an unfriendly nature and is unapproachable. Gradgrinds categorical name suggests that he himself has been ground down by the nature of the friendship he now promotes. The MChoakumchild school emphasises the hated impression of school in the nineteenth century. Corporal punishwork forcet is frequently seen in Dickens contemporary schools and here, the name hold s exaggerated implications, to the extent of death.He refers to the school as all fact, showing that the next generation were brought up to be identical to the last. The children are being made into a product of fact, strongly linking with the theme of industrialisation. The school headmasters name, MChoakumchild, suggests a ken about his character, especially given his position at the school. The name associate with the theme of fact and fancy strongly by implying that the childrens imagination was choked.Although the name Mr MChoakumchild suggests that children were forbidden to use their imagination, at the same age it sounds as if children made it up. Mr Bounderby believes himself to be morally superior to the inhabitants of Coketown who stand infra his social status. However, Dickens portrays him as a hypocrite and although he is of a high social status, he is morally corrupt. Bounderby is representative of all men of his social status at that time, and through him Dickens reveals an obvious ohmic resistance to such people.Coketown is portrayed as an unwelcoming, unfriendly place. Dickens uses numerous shining images to create this impression it was a town of unnatural red and blackness like the painted face of a tearing. This image holds implications of hostility and unwelcoming territory. It suggests a vicious nature to the town, suggesting that those who live there are primitive and old fashioned. The use of personification brings the town to life, giving it the intimidating characteristics of a savage.