Thinking Activity:Hard Times

This Blog-post is a response of thinking activity on 'Hard Times' by Charles Dickens, which is given by our professor Dr. Dilip Barad Sir.

''Hard Times:For these Times'' is a novel which was written by a Victorian Novelist Charles Dickens.The novel is very ironically, mocking and satirical.  This Era is known as Industrialization,classism and escapism of Realism also present Social and Economical condition. This novel is serialized in  Here, in this Novel this all things are noting down by Dickens.Novel was serialized  in Household Words Magazine Series in April 1854, divided in three parts,

Bool-I:"Sowing"(16 chapters) 

Book-II:"Reaping"(12 chapters)

Book-III:"Garnering"(9 chapters)

Short Review about Screening:

After completing Charles Dickens novel "Hard Times: For this times," we had one screening session based on this particular novel. Beautiful musical play by Khilona theater for children. It was very well scripted in lyrically, musically and acting as well. The study of lighting is as important as studying the text. The chief and silent characters were lightnings or spot light while played very significant role to show past in present. Here I would like to share some lines of the musical play. The Narrator of this play introduced his audience that,"You are in Imagination" In this play, there are some mocking sings of some characters like Cecelia's song that about her deep desire to listen stories during her childhood"शोख मुझे हैं बचपन से की सूनु हर कहानी मैं.." There is also one horrible scene while Mrs. Sparsit to think to flattering to her master about Louisa, there is very creatively make stairs through the another people in wearing white color dress.So, it's quite interesting to see rather than a movie. To see this play, Go through this hyperlink to Dilip Sir's Blog.

• Good test वहीं हैं जो Fact हैं।

कमाल की कहानी ये है तो बड़ी पुरानी जी।

पर गौर से जो देखेंगे तो साफ नजर आएगी

सच्चाई इसमें आज की....

• Materialism पैर अपने अच्छी तरह से जमा चुका हैं...

Utilitarianism:

According to Merriam Webster dictionary,"a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number."

Charles Dickens "Hard Times" openly tell us about Class conflicts,Divorce Law during Victorian Era, and knowledge, Education:the head and the heart,dehumanization,materialism etc. Among this all themes, Utilitarianism is the main theme of this novel. The concept of behind this theme is about, Utilitarianism is a morally right if it can be helps to the majority of people rather than creativity or Imagination. In simple words, there is no space for Imagination or creativity. If there is something which is fact or which will be used in future, it is the right not that which delight for us. I would like to tack a source of one Article by ZUBAIR AHMAD BHAT(Click the Name of  Scholar to read)

Social Utilitarianism:

In the novel, Dickens shows us that, the English Victorian legislation is too much beneficial to rich class people and reckless to the poor class people.Charles Dickens explain through the character portrayal of Stephen Blackpool,

when he talks to one of his employee in the factory as:

Deed we are in a muddle, Sir. Look round town… so

rich as tis…and see the numbers o` people as has been

brighten into bein heer, fur to weave, an`to card, an`to

piece ou of livin`…. Look how we live, an` wheer we live

an` what numbers, an` by what chances, and wi` what

sameness… Look how you consider of us, and write of

us, and talk of us… And how you are awlus right, and how

we are awlus, wrong… Look how this ha` grown and

growen, Sir, bigger an` bigger, broader an` broader, harder

and harder, from year to year, from generation to generation.

Who can look on it, Sir, and fairly tell a man `tis not a

muddle   

 

Blackpool is a poor guy who can not free from his marriage life. The marriage of Josiah Bounderby with Louisa Gradgrind on one hand and that of Stephen Blackpool to his legal wife on the other hand. The benefit of divorce laws would only goes to Bounderby but not to Stephen Blackpool because of restraints of the law. Along with this, Tom also used this term, while he uses Blackpool's poor situation with classicism. He tell to him to stand  in front of Bank and after some days we come know about Bank robbery which was conducted by Tom, not by Blackpool.

Economical Utilitarianism:

David Lodge wrote in his study The Rhetoric of Hard Times as:

On every page Hard Times manifests its identity

as a polemical work, a critique of mid-Victorian

industrial society dominated by materialism,

acquisitiveness and ruthlessly competitive capitalist

economics. To Dickens at the time of writing Hard

Times, these things were represented most articulately,

persuasively, (and therefore dangerously) by the

Utilitarians.

Dickens present Coketown as Economic Utilitarian.The city is highly influenced the materialism. In the system of Economics is about “buying in the cheapest market and selling in the dearest.” Here same as in novel about Bounderby that he may make men and machines equal to each other, he may regard man as so many horse powers to be bought in the cheapest market and their products sold in the dearest market, but the process of inner growth always continues and is never absent.There is no charm towards the laborers or workers.

This is a video on Utilitarianism:

Words:930