"Cliff Notes - Hard Times" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

Hard Times is rich in symbolism, from Louisa's identification with fire to Tom's depiction as a sad clown in one of the final scenes. Metaphorically, Coketown is described as a jungle, its smoke a series of serpents, its steam engine an elephant's head.

Other metaphors abound. Gradgrind's hair is a "plantation of firs"; Mrs. Gradgrind is "a bundle of shawls"; time is compared to machinery, with "innumerable horse-power." Watch for Dickens's use of metaphors as you read. Draw up a list of your favorites.

4. ALLUSIONS

Dickens peppers his works with allusions to literature, mythology, the Bible, current events. Most of his readers would be familiar with these allusions, but some of them might be confusing to the modern reader. This guide will help you to understand the most important ones.

5. RHETORICAL DEVICES

Rhetorical devices are those which mirror techniques used in speech-making: exclamatory sentences, direct address to the audience (and to characters), questions. There are times when you might feel that Dickens is making a speech rather than writing a novel. "Ah, rather overdone, M'Choakumchild," he chides the teacher in Chapter 2, Book the First. "Where was the man, and why did he not come back?" he wonders about Stephen Blackpool in Chapter 5, Book the Third. "Dear reader!" he says in the final chapter. Many readers find these devices pretentious and inflated, but others find them energizing and vivid. How do you feel about them? Do they contribute to your enjoyment of the book?

6. COMIC RELIEF

There are few greater comic writers than Dickens. Some say he is a better writer when he is comic than when he is serious and sentimental. Hard Times can be a grim and bitter novel, but it is saved from being completely depressing by its comic moments (although there are fewer in this novel than in most of Dickens's work). The tension is relieved by Sleary and his troupe, by Mrs. Sparsit (before she decides to undo Louisa), even by the pathetic Mrs. Gradgrind with her total lack of logic.

Look at Chapter 6, Book the First, "Sleary's Horsemanship." The tension is high because Gradgrind and Bounderby have come to scold Jupe for bringing up so poorly educated a daughter. But Jupe is missing, and everyone is afraid of Sissy's reaction. Dickens relieves the tension by the comic jousting among Bounderby, Childers, and Kidderminster. Bounderby doesn't realize he's being made fun of, but the ways in which the two performers deflate his pomposity enliven a gloomy scene.

The lack of humor in the Stephen Blackpool scenes is one reason some readers feel these parts of the book are less successful than others.

^^^^^^^^^^HARD TIMES: POINT OF VIEW

A great entertainer, Dickens was a storyteller of the highest degree, and in Hard Times--as in most of his novels--he weaves a wonderful story. Dickens himself is the narrator, observing his characters, commenting upon them, and talking directly to the reader. (You saw in the style section how these devices work to pull in the reader.) With few exceptions (the first-person David Copperfield is one), Dickens favors this third-person point-of-view in his novels.

Dickens as narrator is selectively omniscient. For example, you may go for a long time without knowing what Tom is thinking, but then--for a brief moment or two--you'll be allowed entrance into Tom's mind. This choice of when and how you may see into the minds of the characters gives the narrator a great deal of power over how he wants you to view the story.

The strength of this narrator also dictates how you are to feel about each character. There's no ambiguity for Dickens here. You are told that Bounderby is a "bully," Tom a "hypocrite." Dickens is firm in these judgments; you know from the start which characters engage his sympathies and which repel him. Thus the morals he draws from his characters are very clear, down to the last bit of advice he offers in the novel's final paragraph.

You may find yourself resisting Dickens's opinions now and then, since his narrative voice is so strong. You may not need to be told, for example, that Tom is a monster and a hypocrite; you'd rather form that opinion yourself. If so, you're not alone among those who resent such narrative intrusion. But even if you do disagree with Dickens's moments of moralizing, you're not likely to question the passion and sincerity with which he voices these thoughts.

^^^^^^^^^^HARD TIMES: FORM AND STRUCTURE

Hard Times is divided into three sections, or books, and each book is divided into three separate chapters. The structure of the book takes its shape from the titles of the books, all of which are drawn from farming images that have biblical connotations.

Book the First, "Sowing," shows us the seeds planted by the Gradgrind/Bounderby philosophy: Louisa, Tom, and Stephen Blackpool.

Book the Second, "Reaping," reveals the harvesting of these seeds: Louisa's unhappy marriage, Tom's selfishness and criminal ways, Stephen's rejection from Coketown.

The first two books recall the biblical passage, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

Book the Third, "Garnering," details the results of the harvest. The title of the book recalls the biblical character Ruth. Ruth followed her mother-in-law Naomi to Naomi's homeland. There Ruth was allowed to follow the harvesters in the cornfield and gather what they did not pick up. The owner of the fields, Boaz, was so moved by her sense of duty and hard work that he took her for his wife.

In Hard Times, the characters must "take home" the results of what has been reaped--that is, they must live with the circumstances of their mistakes. Louisa's marriage fails, Tom must escape from the country, and Stephen dies.

Hard Times was written as a weekly magazine serial in twenty parts. This accounts for the number of chapters that end in suspense or in minor climaxes. You might enjoy guessing where each weekly installment began and ended. If so, don't look at the chart that follows.

Here are how the chapters were divided into weekly "numbers."

Installment Number Chapters