Chapter 8-10 Flashcards
What does Mrs.Gradgrind warn Louisa not to do in chapter 8?
“never wonder” as this contradicts the philosophy of fact , making her wish she had never been cursed with a family
What does Mr.Gradgrind’s name evoke?th
the monotonous grind of his children’s lives, as well s the grinding of factory machines
To Mr.Gradgrinds dismay, factory workers flock to the Coketown library in order to do what?
to “read mere fables about men and women” to escape and stimulate their imaginations
Dickens presents his novels as a way to counteract the dehumanising effects of the Industrial Revolution; how does he do this?
with his focus on the lives of the common people rather than those of kings and queens and other aristocrats; in writing of the social conditions of Victorian England he is a realist writer
What did many of the rich fear novels would do?
that they would corrupt the minds of ordinary people, making them fanciful and even immoral
By suggesting through his own novel that realist novels can teach and entertain, what does Dickens defend?
his novel against these charges
Why does Sissy Jupe do poorly at school?
as she is simply unable to adopt the cold, hard devotion to fact that is demanded of her, instead clinging to what Mr.Gradgrind thinks of as fanciful notions such as the idea that her father will return
What chapter is named “Stephan Blackpool”
Chapter 10
Blackpool is a Hand, what is this?
one of the lowest menial labourers in Coketown
Who does Dickens use to represent the plight of the poor?t
the impoverished denizens of Coketown
Blackpool immediately contrasts with the blustery self-obsessed Bounderby; how does Bounderby, rather hypocritically remind Stephan during the conversation of a possible divorce?
that “theres a sanctity in the relation” of marriage that “must be kept”
What does Bounderby believe of all Hands?
that they are improvident and dishonest, wanting “turtle soup with a gold spoon” without working for it
What is Bounderby’s belief that all Hands are lazy part of?
his rhetoric of the self-made man
Dicken’s satire on the educational systtem is expounded through his children how?
through young Tom’s dissatisfaction with his own education and Louisa’s desire to do and learn more
What does Sissy’s stories of her life at the circus do for Louisa?
they provide nourishment to the small seeds of doubt that she feels for her upbringing and education
Dickens injects some of his own philosophy into the character of Blackpool. In this chapter when are Blackpool’s seeds of discontent revealed?
when he returns to his lonely apartment after walking his beloved Rachael home finding that his drunken wife has returned
Between which 2 constructs were all the youthful impulses to winder notably supressed?
Between Mr.Gradgrin and Mr.M’Choakumchild
What does tom say about his life in chapter 8?
that he is “sick of life”
What does Louisa do in her room with Tom telling him stories of her imagination?
she looks into the fire
The scene of a sister reading the fire to her younger brother is repeated in which other Dickens’ novel which provides a symbol of familial warmth and love between siblings?
Our Mutual Friend
We see mechanical imagery in the treatment of the Gradgrind parents to their children. How do Louisa and Tom describe their emotions?
as a coiled “spring”, lacking in freedom and repressed emotions
How do mistakes come to Sissy in the classroom?
they “seem to come natural”
Although the Gradgrinds are part of the progress of the Great Industrial Revolution, how does Sissy seem to grow more in comparison to Mr.Gradgrind?
as his eye is a “wintry piece of fact” whereas Sissy can grow for she is attached to images of spring, youth and life
Mr.Gradgrind accepts Sissy’s failure in the classroom and instead allows her to care for mrs.Gradgrind and do chores. Why is this important?
as Sissy represents that which cares for society and its citizens, whereas Louisa and Tom represent that which holds an abrupt and disconnected view of the poor
Sissy’s sobbing over being denied the stories she loves (“the wrong books”) is an example of what?
censorship and the theme of surveillance and observation
How is Blackpool descried?
as a man of “perfect integrity”
Who is the personification of Coketown?
Stephan
What does the name “blackpool” rely upon?
basic negative imagery to suggest his dim prospects
Only bad things happen to Stephan regardless of his incredibly virtuous person throughout this adversity. Stephan and who else fall into Dicken’s sentiment; depicttion of the working class as more decent and morally fit than their alleged superiors?
Rachel
Coketown is described as a labyrinth which in Greek mythology is a sort of maze. This is due to the identically resembling streets. Why is this important?
as it supports the idea of claustrophbia and entrapment in your social sphere
