Charles
John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870), was one of the prominent English novelists of
the Victorian era. Both the Victorian and Romantic eras have their own Characteristics and Features. He can be counted as the Major Writers of all time in English history. He was a social satirist, and best regarded for his
fictional characterization. Hard Times first published in 1854, is a book that surveys
English society and satirizes the social and economic conditions of that
particular era.
Good characterization is the foundation upon which any good novel is built. For a symbolic novel, Dickens has an amazingly intricate character foundation. The characters in Hard Times have both the simplistic characteristics of a character developed for allegorical purposes, as well as the complex qualities of "real" people. These characters think and feel like we do and react to their circumstances in the same way that most of us would. These qualities are what give the characters life and let us relate to their choices.
Dickens's art of characterization in Hard Times is one of the important features of the novel. His characters show both individualities as well as symbolism. It is generally considered that Dickens's characterization represents the Victorian age in a very vivid manner, which is one of his great achievements. Dickens employed villains, heroes, heroines, and bystanders who are representative of that contemporary society.
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Read also Art of Characterization of PRIDE and PREJUDICES,
MILL ON THE FLOSS and HARD TIMES |
Even though many of these characters have names
that specify their personalities or philosophies, they are not caricatures,
but people gifted with both good and bad human characteristics. Shaped by both
inner and outer forces, they are like Shakespeare's characters — living,
breathing beings, who love, hate, sin, and repent. True to the class or caste
system of nineteenth-century England, Dickens sketched them from four groups:
the fading aristocracy, the vulgar rising middle class, the downtrodden but
struggling labor class, and the itinerant group, represented by the circus
people.
The characters that play a big role are Mrs. Sparsit and James Harthouse, who represent the fading aristocracy as well. Josiah Bounderby; is a representation of the middle class, the well-off factory owner, the retired merchant who is a champion of facts, the "whelp," and the beautiful Louisa cherished in truths. The last social group that Dickens pictures is the best represented by Cecilia Jupe, who is the opposite of the scholars of Gradgrind's school. This group, the circus people whose attempt is to make people happy, is despised by the Gradgrinds and the Bounderbys of the world.
Each character in Hard Times
embodies something and stands for something. Each is the representation of an
abstract principle. And yet we could surely say that each of the characters is a living individual and not merely a typical character. Gradgrind and Bounderby
are undoubtedly and irrefutably a personification of what was known as the
utilitarian principle in the Victorian economy.
He characterizes the utilitarian principle in its firmest form in the sphere of education, which is based on the importance of facts, figures, and statistics. In this way, the characterization in Dickens’s Hard Times is one of the main concerns regarding giving the social vision of Victorian society inside the overall purpose of the novel.
