The Novel “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens is a story that is in a 19th century setting about the industrial town of Coketown which is in England. The ideologies presented by Dickens presents were not only relevant to the society at the time, but they can also be traced in the society today. The ideologies reflect the realities that are at play in societies and families such as utilitarianism, the ideological state apparatus (ISA), social class, and morality just to mention a few.
Thomas Gradgrind and Josiah Bounderby are followers of utilitarianism. This is true in the sense that they believe that facts alone will make one progress in society; so only facts should be taught to children from birth. Thomas Gradgrind, who is a retired rich trader in the city of Coketown, England, raises his children Louisa and Tom based on the ideologies of self-interest, facts, and rationalism (Dickens 6-14). The details of his ideologies include not allowing them to participate in fanciful or creative exercises. In line with his beliefs, he forbids his children from participating creative activities. Utilitarianism is also evident when Gradgrind informs his daughter to Bounderby’s proposal to marry her. Upon Louisa’s inquiry whether Bounderby wanted her to love him, Gradgrind replied that her idea was a “misplaced expression” and went ahead to give her lots of facts and statistics on how different marital relationships (Dickens 84). Eventually, Louisa agrees to the proposal. Another show of utilitarianism at play is through Tom, Grandgrind’s son who makes his decisions and does actions that are out of self–interest. Tom’s decisions and actions are based on how the outcome will benefit him. For instance, he lets people think that Stephen Blackpool robbed the bank because he had the notion that fewer people would get hurt; in this case, he was hurting Bounderby, and Blackpool was unpopular due to the union saga, he had no family and was poor.
Another point is that Gradgrind and Bounderby are authoritative figures. Gradgrind is a politician and a teacher while Gradgrind own a factory and a bank. Therefore, they make decisions that affect many people in the society. Prasetya and Nurulhady state that the bourgeoisie (business class) uses ISA’s maintain control over the Coketown society, through non-oppressive means such as education and religion (4). For instance, Gradgrind urges his students to be realistic about the distribution of wealth (5). In addition, Coketown also demonstrates adherence to religious persuasion (5). Hence, the business class takes advantage of education and religion to maintain dominance in Coketown.
William Blake points out human beings can only perceive things through their senses (Glyndwr 1). Therefore, human beings need education so that they can understand the society. This is the role of Gradgrind in the story although he teaches his disciples to believe in facts only. Blake’s argument that religion is not natural also makes sense (Glyndwr 1). This is because; the business class uses religion to control the working class with minimal opposition (Prasetya & Nurulhady 5). William Blake’s notion that all philosophers are inspired by something is also true (Qcpages 1). In “Hard Times,” Gradgrind is a philosopher who believes in using past statistics and facts to make decisions that will affect the future. Later, Gradgrind understood that his ideologies were not perfect after Louisa complained that her upbringing was to blame for the fact that she was married to a person she did not love. Therefore, facts are relevant in some aspects of life, but in matters of love, emotions are powerful.
The other issue that Dickens’ novel addresses is morality; most of the characters in the story are presented with various situations that require them to make decisions that portray their moral stance. Moreover, Dickens gives a sad ending to all individuals that took part or made actions that were morally questionable. Tom was responsible for the robbery of Bounderby’s bank and in the end; he died without seeing his family again from the time he fled from England. Mrs. Sparsit witnessed the relationship of Harthouse and Louisa and was eventually fired by Bounderby. Sissy marries and gets a big family while Louisa decides never to get married again. However, Sissy’s family loves Louisa, and she also learns to empathize with other people. Louisa aided in the escape of his brother and left her husband Bounderby in the end she decides never to get married again. The special case in the tale is that of Blackpool, who is a hardworking person with integrity, he refused to join Slackbridge’s union because he saw that it was a potential source of conflict between workers and employees, but he eventually was sacked for refusing to spy on his colleagues. Ironically, he later becomes a robbery suspect, and he eventually dies accidentally before he could clear his name from wrongdoing (Dickens 198, 206- 222).
In conclusion, there are aspects in the society that will always be present such as the classification of the rich, the poor, the ruling class the business class and so on. Regardless of one’s social class or creed, each person has the free will to make decisions, which affect them individually or other members of the society, but they are responsible for their actions.
Works cited
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Bradbury & Evans. 1854. Print
Glyndwr University (glyndwr). ”There is no Natural Religion”. Glyndwr University. Web. 7 Aug. 2013.
Prasetya, Farid Adi and Eta Farmacelia Nurulhady.” The Roles of Ideological State Apparatus in Maintaining Hegemony in Charles Dicken’s Hard Times”. Diponegoro University. Web. 7 Aug. 2013
Qcpages .”William Blake: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and other metaphysical poems”. Qcpages. Web. 8 Aug. 2013
