Essay on Themes, Symbolism, and Atmosphere in Dickens...

When Charles Dickens was writing his commentary on a fast industrializing world, the thought that Hard Times would still be relevant over 150 years later is assumed to be far from the forefront of his mind. And yet at present, 158 years after its first publication, Charles Dickens’ tale of industrialization and its implications still holds a prominent place in today’s society. The following is one interpretation of Dickens’ story of an industrialized dystopia, and discussed are its ever-relevant theme, the symbols and motifs which reinforce it, and the effective atmosphere which it creates. Throughout the novel there are two very prominent themes: the notion that industrialization has a mechanizing effect on human beings and the†¦show more content†¦However, Dickens, through both the plot and his narrator, does his best to bias the argument, providing the reader with sound arguments against the accumulation of facts and the mechanization of humanity. â⠂¬Å"It is known, to the force of a single pound weight, what the engine will do, but not all the calculators of the National debt can tell me the capacity for good or evil, for love or hatred, for patriotism or discontent, for the decomposition of virtue into vice, or the reverse, at any single moment in the soul of one of these quiet servants, with the composed faces and the regulated actions.† (Dickens 78-79). Not only is this a welcome insight into the moral compass of the narrator, but so too is it a statement which shows where it is that fact has no frame of reference. Dickens is pointing out that fact can never reveal the reasons behind the aspects of human nature that separates man from machine, humanity from industry. This can even be seen as foreshadowing as Dickens later details a transformation in Mr. Gradgrind that facts could never endeavor to explain. It could be said that Mr. Gradgrind’s change of stance is the most symbolic of the battle, since, from the beginning of the novel, he seems to represent all that is logical, practical, and utilitarian. In the final book, we see Mr. Gradgrind’s change of heart in practice as he helps his son to escape to America so that he may avoid punishment for his robbing Bounderby’s bank. Dickens mostShow MoreRelatedCharles Dickens was one of the Brightest and Most Influential Writers of His Time1325 Words   |  5 Pages The British writer Charles Dickens was one of the brightest and most influential people of his time. 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