Chapter 1-3 Flashcards
From the very beginning, Dickens establishes himself within a contemporary debate on the nature of _________,_______ and ______
learning
knowedlge
education
How is the description of the classroom in the opening chapter deffinately satire?
as it is a critique of utilitarianism
the description of the classroom is definitely satire, a critique of utilitarianism, and similar philosophies that suggests the absolute reliance upon calculations and fact sin opposition to ______,_____ _____ and _______.
emotion
artistic inspiration
leisure
What are the 3 books?
Sowing
Reaping
Garnering
The novel is divided into three books entitled Sowing, Reaping and Garnering. This agricultural motif is introduced by the “sowing” of facts as “seeds” into the fertile minds of who?
young boys and girls
The imagery of “sowing” and horticulture varies from the children as the planted field an the children as the plants themselves. Give an example/
“the Speaker” charges the instructor to “plantand root out” in order to form the children minds. Later, the children are described as “little vessels then and there arranged in order”
Against the archetype of youth (spring, sowing fertility) the older men are “square;” and Dickens hyperboles makes _________ out of the physical description of The Speaker.
architecture
Dickens de-personifies the Speaker (being more of an object than an actual person), and various objects in the schoolroom, in particular the Speaker’s clothing. The Speakers ties is “”.?
trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp”
What is significant about the fact that “the speakers” tie is “trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp”
as the Speaker has trained the tie to be as unaccomdating as the school system.
The sum of Dickens images from sowing to strangulation by the tie, clearly foreshadows what?
the “hard times” that are ahead
the use of the word “sowing” corresponds to the old proverb “”?
“you reap what you sow”
What is misanthropic?
anti-human, dislike of other people
What is the effect of the Speaker’s anonymity, the power of his voice and his pointed “square forefinger”?
they combine as a symbol of a man with God-like authority
What reflects the obedience of the children in chapter 1?
there is no dialogue, only the Speaker’s reiterations and the bystanders silent assent
Dickens stays close to the classical tripartite structure by divide the work into three books that have an internet narrative. What suggests this?
the names of the books.
After sowing comes reaping, after repeating comes garnering
Thomas Gradgrind sows the seeds of Fact, not _____, of sense, not __________; of conformity, not ________.
fancy
sentimentality
not curiosity
Thomas’ Gradgrinds very description is one of fact. What quotes?
“square forefinger….square wall of a forehead…square coat…square legs, square shoulders”
Who is the only “little vessel” who cannot be filled with facts such as the statistical description of a horse?
Sissy Jupe
Who did Sissy Jupe live among which hindered her performance in this school?
“savages”
Who is the unnamed Speaker?
thomas Gradgring
What number girl is Sissy Jupe?
Girl number 20
As is to be expected of Dickens, the names of the characters are emblematic of their personality; what is the names an immediate indication of?
of where they fit on Dicken’s moral spectrum
In chapter 1 who is the lone embodiment of “fancy”?
Sissy Jupe
Sissy’s character is a romanticised figure. Her last name comes from the french word for skirts and her first name represents the sainted patroness of music. Why is this important?
as, as a member of the travelling circus, we can expect Sissy to represent Art and Fancy
Why are Dickens’ allusions ironic?
as hough his characters argue against fanciful literature, Dicken’s is relying upon it to compose his story
What is the most important allusion to the first chapter?
its title “Murdering the Innocents”
The reference to the chapter title “Murdering of the Innocents” to King Herod would have been immediate for Dickens’ audience in 1854, what is it>
Soon after the birth of Christ, Herod feared for his throne and had all male babies in Bethlehem executed. In literary circles, the phrase “murder of the innocents” is exclusively used to describe this biblical story
The reference to the chapter title “Murdering of the Innocents” to King Herod would have been immediate for Dickens’ audience in 1854, Soon after the birth of Christ, Herod feared for his throne and had all male babies in Bethlehem executed. In literary circles, the phrase “murder of the innocents” is exclusively used to describe this biblical story. What does this imply in the novel?
that those who are targeted and singled out (SIssy, Blackpool) will ultimately escape the tyrant.
What does Cecilia represent in opposition to mechanisation?
art
Dickens is not arguing against education, science or progress. He is arguing against what?
a mode of factory style, mind-numbing, grad-granding production that takes enjoyment out of life.
What does Dickens suggest is required for art?
an inquisitive and desiring mind
What does Mr.Gradgring forbids and instead encourages classification and dissection?
“wonder”
How does Dickens describe the noise of the circus?
that his ‘ears were invaded by the sound of music’
How does Gradgrind describe his daughter and son?
as his own metallurgical Louisa” and “his own mathematical Thomas”
What other Dickens character does Bounderby parallel?
Mrs.Grundy
What can be said about Mr.Bounderby given what Gradgrind said about his reaction to Louisa and Tom peeping at the circus
“What would Mr. Boundary say!”?
that they are similarly boring and uninspiring adults with a heavy handed disciplinary air about them.
Coketown is the setting of the novel and is an explicit critique of what?
the social politics, corruption and depression of heavily industrialised areas in England
Which chapter is murdering the innocents?
chapter2
Hard Times is not a subtle novel and most its moral themes are explicitly articulated through extremely sharp, exaggerated characterisation and through the narrator’s frequent interjection of his own ______ and __________.
opinions
sentiments
Cold rationalism divorced from sentiment and feeling can lead to what?
to insensitivity about human suffering, and imaginations can enhance one’s sense of sympathy
Grad grinds philosophy of fact is intimately related to the industrial Revolution, which caused what?
the mechanisation of human nature
Dickens report that when Gradgrind found his children at the circus, “Tom _____________________ __________ _________”
gave himself up to be taken home like a machine
What is signifiant about the fact that Dickens report that when Gradgrind found his children at the circus, “Tomgave himself up to be taken home like a machine”?
as by dulling Tom’s feelings and his sense of free will, his education has rendered his thoughts and actions mechanical.
Dickens establishes himself within a contemporary debate on the nature of learning, knowledge and education. The description of the classroom is definitely satire, a critique of what?
of utiliatariansm and similar philosophies that suggest the absolute reliance upon calculations and facts in opposition to emotion, artistic inpirsation and leisure
