Hard Times:Discussion

Throughout Hard Times, we often see the metaphors of fire when Dickins describes Coketown.  These metaphors give the reader a sense of gloom and monotony, which is contradicting to a fire's vibrate, sparking presence.  How Dickins portrays fire seems to stay consistent throughout; this suggests how Coketown is stuck in this monotonous cycle of learning facts, working in the factories, etc.  An example of the fire metaphor is revealed in Book 2, Chapter 6; after Louisa visits Rachael and Stephen at their shelter, Dickins says towards the end of the chapter, "Day was shining radiantly upon the town then, and the bells were going for the morning work.  Domestic fires were not yet lighted, and the high chimneys had the sky to themselves.  Puffing out their posionous volumes, they would not be long in hiding it; but, for half an hour, some of the many windows were golden, which showed the Coketown people a sun eternally in eclipse, through a medium of smoked glass" (162).  Portraying Coketown as "golden" and "shining radiantly" when the fires are not burning constrasts greatly to other instances when the fires were "puffing out their posionous volumes."  Here, Dickins reveals that the fire in Coketown is both constricting and monotonous; the people are constantly under its wrath as it is represented through the burning from the factory chimneys.

Poetry: Group Poem

Alone

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

Edgar Allan Poe

Hard Times:Discussion

One of the greatest displays of emotion in the book comes when Louisa has her breakdown, explaining the ineffectiveness of her upbringing to her father.  In a fiery display of emotion she states “if you had known that there lingered in my breast, sensibilities, affections, weaknesses, capable of being cherished into strength, defying all the calculations made by man, and no more known to his arithmetic than his creator is”(209).  Dickens really establishes the emotion of Louisa within this passage through the specific diction he uses.  Words such as “sensibilities”, “affections” and “weaknesses” show the anger and angst that Louisa has compiled within in her and the amount of emotion that she has really comes through because of the use of these very specific words.  The overall effect of this is that it cements a real split between Louisa and the ideologies of her father, this is the climax of the book in which Louisa finally will become her own woman.     

Hard Times:Discussion

One of the most beautiful and prominent passages of Hard Times comes in the final chapters of the first book.  Louisa seems stricken with the sense of entrapment as she stares longingly at the fire after she has met with her dear brother Thomas.  Dickens expertly writes her thoughts on her current situation by stating that Louisa “tried to discover what kind of woof Old Time that greatest and longest established Spinner of all, would weave from the threads he had already spun into a woman” (95).  This passage has wonderful imagery and symbolism.  The allusion of the spinner captivates the reader, emphasizing the fact that Louisa has no control over her life and the only one that can dictate her future is the “longest established Spinner of all”.  The allusion to the Spinner also signifies that while time can be compared to the machines of Coketown, it is actually a very delicate and careful process that takes time to produce something beautiful.  Ultimately this passage asserts the powerlessness that Louisa holds, but the reader is assured that the Spinner is doing a detailed and careful job and the end product will be beautiful. 

                                                                                          

Hard Times:Discussion

Since Louisa has been the character most involved with the fire metaphor, I thought that it might be helpful to find an outside reference that would aid with the understanding of her inner struggles. In the Disney production of "Pocahontas", a young Native American woman demonstrates similar battles: Marrying not for love, but to help the family, taking a path to a newer and more flexible world, and obeying her father. This exerpt from the film exemplifies some of Lousia's struggles through the character of Pochontas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRliKvrs2jA

Hard Times:Discussion

We've been talking a lot about the "fire" within the text, but haven't really touched upon this idea of "darknes", which is closley related too the "fire" that is consistantley talked about. In the beginning of chapter three after Louisa speaks to her father about how terrible of a childhood she has, she spills out all of her emotions to Sissy. Louisa stated " I am so proud and so hardened, so confised and troubled, so resentful and unjust to every one and to myself, that everything is stormy, dark, and wicked to me" (Dickens 220). It is extremely important to note that Louisa is saying she feels all of these terrible emotions as a result of her "fact" based childhood. Although everyone in the town was forced to endure the same factual unbringing, Louisa is the only character to come forward and admit all of the terrible effects it has had on her. It has made her life "dark" and "stormy" and it stripped her of her individuality. She know is stuck in this very distraught state because she has come to the realization that her childhood has ruined her. Dickens suggests that this "factual" lifestyle will bring darkness to the people of Coketown's lives. Louisa who we often say is the only character in the text who has the fire in her to change, was also the only one to admit to this feeling of "darkness". It is apparent that Gradgrind must reevaluate his ideas on facts because his daughter has finally brought these "stormy and dark" reprecautions to his attention.

Hard Times:Discussion

            In the third book the symbol of the fire is continued as Dickens displays the passion that now has festered within the main character of Louisa   Her inner fire symbolizes the warmth created by her secret fancies in her otherwise lonely, monotonous existence.  This is first exemplified in the third book when Louisa is talking to her father the day after she has had her complete breakdown.  After she talks to him Dickens writes “A dull fire….smoldered within her like an unwholesome fire”(218).  This allusion to fire again in the passage indicates the passion that Louisa possesses inside of her being.  The significance behind this is that no longer is Louisa longing to posses this fire, no longer does she aimlessly stare at it, she finally possesses it, and it is there to last as it “smolders” within her.  This signifies the break from her false life of being a fake wife and daughter, and shows that now she is going to let her passions guide her.  This identical idea can then be seen later on in the passage, Dickens writes “Louisa on the night of the same day, watching the fires as in days of yore, though with a gentler and milder face”(286).  This passage establishes that no longer does Louisa stare at the fire with a longing feeling within her spirit, now she seems to understand that she posses this power as she stares at it with a “gentler and milder” face.  This seems like a fitting ending to the journey of Louisa.  Rather than becoming consumed by the ideas of her father and Bounderby, Louisa has discovered her own passions and no longer will fall victim to the false philosophies of individuals within her life.          

Hard Times:Discussion

Since fire has been used throughout the text to convey certain themes (such as Louisa's inner conflicts and industrialism), I thought the use of it to present a biblical allusion in book two was quite significant. Chapter eight of book two begins with Harthouse's view of his relationship with Louisa, which is followed by a brief paragraph about the Devil: "When he is aweary of vice, and aweary of virtue, used up as to brimstone, and used up as to bliss; then, whether he take to the serving out of red tape, or to the kindling of red fire, he is the very Devil" (Dickens 175). Are the related images of fire (i.e., brimstone and kindling) and the fire itself consistent with how it has been previously represented? If not, how does this new image of fire (presented as an allusion) reveal something new about Harthouse's motivations or characteristics?

Hard Times:Discussion

I found this poem that displays the different attributes of fire, such as how  it can "hypnotize" ,"drive away the cold", and "signify desire". I feel that throughout Hard Times, Louisa is impacted by fire in these manners. Hopefully, this will help with drawing connections between the fire and what it can represent: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fiery-love-2/

Hard Times:Discussion

To continue the analysis of fire throughout book two, I noticed that Dickens chose to title chapters seven and eight "Gunpowder" and "Explosion" (respectively). Given the content of these chapters (including the bank robbery and how Harthouse begins to intervene with how Tom treats Louisa in chapter seven, and then how Louisa confronts Tom about stealing money in chapter eight),  how has the nature of fire in regards to the metaphors of  "gunpowder" and  "explosion" implied a foreshadow of how Louisa's relationship with her brother Tom is progressing? That is, taking into consideration how fire can be sparked by gunpowder to later explode, is there a correlation between the events of chapters "Gunpowder" and "Explosion" and how Louisa and Tom are growing apart?