Discussion Topic

The significance and implications of character names in Hard Times

Summary:

In Hard Times, character names are significant as they often reflect their personalities or roles. For example, Mr. Gradgrind's name suggests his grinding, rigid approach to education, while Sissy Jupe's name evokes warmth and humanity. These names help Dickens underscore the novel's themes of industrialization, dehumanization, and the importance of compassion.

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How do the character names in Hard Times reflect their roles or personalities?

Charles Dickens, like William Shakespeare, used character names to conjure up certain perceptions of the characters in the reader's (or audience member's ) mind. In the case of Hard Times, some of his satirical inventions are very easy to decipher; clearly, a teacher named "McChoakumchild" is not a paragon of progressive educational methods.

The use of "Gradgrind" as a surname continues Dickens' custom of portraying many in the merchant class as grasping and selfish, dedicated to "grinding down" workers without adequate compensation or any compassion. "Bounderby" of course brings to mind the classic epithet of "bounder," which means an unscrupulous cad.

"Sissy," on the other hand, should not be interpreted the way a modern reader might see it. As a nickname for "Cecelia," it's intended as a loving comment on this character, more evocative of, for example, a "sister of mercy."

"Sparsit," for a landlady who also provides...

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board, brings to mind someone whose meals are likely very "sparse" and therefore not very nourishing or comforting.

Look for this kind of name usage in all Dickens' work, as interpreting it is part of the enjoyment of reading his books.

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What are the similarities and differences in the characters' names in Hard Times?

In the tradition of the eighteenth century novel and theater, most of the character names share a similarity in that they tell us something about the nature of the person in question.

Gradgrind, for example, is a harsh name with repeated guttural "gr" sounds, and it reflects the grinding quality of Mr. Gradgrind's emphasis on facts and figures as the only things that count in the world. This philosophy, unfortunately, is learned by the Gradgrind children, who live up to their names, and it causes them to suffer.

A similarly harsh name is Mr. M’Choakumchild, and it well describes how this teacher chokes the imagination and love of learning out of his students.

Mr. Bounderby is another name that suggests the nature of its owner. A bounder was a common word to describe a disreputable, dishonorable person in Victorian England, and Bounderby lives up to this moniker.

Mrs. Sparsit's sharp name, which includes the word "sparse," also tells us something about the sharp-eyed spy she will turn out to be. Likewise, Mr. Harthouse has the word "heart" in his name, and it sounds like "hothouse," as in a hothouse flower—something artificial. He fittingly tricks unhappy Louisa into an affair with him.

On the more positive side, Cecilia (Sissy) Jupe, has a somewhat poetical name, befitting a circus girl with strong emotions and an imagination.

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