Utilitarianism in Dickens Hard Times Essay - 1233 Words

‘Hard Times’ is a wonderful story, but when one thinks about the reality that lies behind the work, the novel becomes a masterpiece. This novel becomes very important because utilitarianism was the main thought in Victorian era. Utilitarianism, â€Å"the forms of liberty and equality that will produce the greatest happiness depend on the state of the educational, political, economic, and social structure† (Harris). Everything is explained by logic and facts. It is easy for the reader to find out that Dickens teases this theory, but the exciting thing is how he does it through the characters. â€Å"Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out nothing else†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦One can almost hear Tina Turner singing â€Å"What’s love got to do, with it† in the background. Marriage is an important event in one’s life. Only the facts ar e important in every single situation, and the fact was that Louisa had received a marriage proposal from Mr. Bounderby. She is in between both the world of facts and the world of fancy. Louisa has realized that her fathers training has denied her a life of any â€Å"aspirations and affections† (Stiltner) but one reason for claiming this is the fact that she was a grown woman before she was able to stand up to it, so it may have been too late for her to leave everything ever taught to her completely behind. Even at the end of the novel, she could see things happening to other people around her, but for herself she could not imagine anything good happening. Mr. Gradgrind is a pragmatic character, who is â€Å"a man of realities, a man of facts and calculations† (Princeton’s Gradgrind). He uses utilitarianism in his daily life such as the way that he raises his kids, the way he talks about Sissy’s ‘education’, the talking with Louisa about the proposal, etc. This makes the reader recognize that he is a man living in the world of facts, until something happened. When Louisa comes to him after the problems with Mr. Bounderby, he shows little care to Louisa; her words to him surprise him: â€Å"If I had been stone blind; if I had .......... respects, than I am with the eyes I have† (Dickens 285). IShow MoreRelatedEssay on Industrialization and Utilitarianism in Dickens Hard Times1505 Words   |  7 PagesIndustrialization and Utilitarianism in Dickens Hard Times       Charles Dickens uses his fictitious town in Hard Times to represent the industrialization of England at that time or close to it. Most of this representation, however, isnt accurately described compared the way things really were during industrialization. It is important to remember throughout this paper that not only is Hard Times a work of fiction, it was meant to be a satire, a parody of ideas and ways of thinking at the time. In mostRead MoreThe Effects Of Industrialization On English Towns Essay1730 Words   |  7 PagesHard Times symbolizes the negative effects of industrialization on English towns (Coketown in the story) including education. Charles Dickens was born in 1812, and was a contemporary of the Industrial Revolution. Industries were growing by leaps and bounds; bringing with it pollution, social imbalance and individual confusion. Dickens was rather poor and had no proper education. At the age of 12 he worked in Warren’s Blacking Factory attachin g labels to bottles. He labored hard to educate himselfRead MoreGeorge Dickens s Hard Times1183 Words   |  5 PagesThe Victorian Era marks the rise of Industrialism within Great Britain, and with it, philosophies to match new ethics. Specifically, Utilitarianism became a prominent concept. The idea, born from the minds of Jeremy Bentham and James Mill, considers actions morally correct if they perform the greatest good for the greatest number. Charles Dickens, a famous author of the era, criticized the philosophy for its dehumanizing qualities. Bentham and Mills s philosophy allowed for consequentialism, whereRead More Utilitarian Logic in Hard Times Essay1679 Words   |  7 PagesUtilitarian Logic in  Hard Times Utilitarianism Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in spring...... A perfect example of a product of utilitarian education, Bitzer defines a horse off the top of his head in a split second. Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Dickens provides three vividRead MoreAnalysis of the Credibility of Characters in Charles Dickens Hard Times1512 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of the Credibility of Characters in Charles Dickens Hard Times Hard times was written in 1854 by Charles Dickens. Dickens was a prominent Victorian novelist who wrote about the society that surrounded him. He was educated and middle-class but had some sympathy with the way poor people were treated. He was critical of utilitarianism and felt that those in power showed little understanding of the poor. His sympathy with the poor stemmed from his childhood andRead MoreCharles Dickens Hard Times1494 Words   |  6 Pages May 1, 2015 Mr. Johnson Literature Dickens Calls for Desperate Measures in Hard Times â€Å"I want to change the world.† How many times is that line heard from small children, aspiring to be someone who achieves their maximum potential? If a child is asked how they might go about doing so they might respond with an answer that involves a superhero or princess who helps people for the greater good. As one grows and adapts to their surrounding society, the art of seeing the big picture includingRead MoreUse of Exaggeration in Hard Times1545 Words   |  7 PagesDickens has cleverly used exaggeration in Hard Times, in the form of caricature and farce to criticize the theory of utilitarianism; the popular way of living in the Victorian age. Utilitarianism comes under the theory of consequentialism which dictates that one should always judge an action from its consequences, and follow the course which benefits the majority. By exaggerating his characters he essentially uses them to represent varying views on utilitarianism; ie; what it implies not only asRead M ore Charles Dickens Hard Times Essay1107 Words   |  5 PagesCharles Dickens Hard Times Charles Dickens’s novel Hard Times critiques the use of extreme utilitarianism as an acceptable means to governing a society in which citizens are able to lead happy, productive, flourishing lives. â€Å"Just the facts,†19th century English utilitarianism argued, are all one needs to flourish. Those answers that we can arrive at by way of mathematical, logical reasoning are all needed to live a full human life. Hard Times shows however that a â€Å"just the facts† philosophyRead MoreCharles Dickens Utilitarianism Analysis996 Words   |  4 PagesUtilitarianism and Charles Dickens - The Analysis of Impact of Utilitarianism in Hard Times towards Humanity The utilitarianism, is one of the ethical theory genres which greatly affects the western and even world’s development of philosophy. Its originality can be traced back to ancient Greece Democritus and Epicurean Hedonism theory. Jeremy Bentham is considered to be the founder of the utilitarianism theory during the latter half through 18th century in England. Based on the theory of utilitarianismRead MoreAnalysis: Hard Times by Charles Dickens1807 Words   |  7 PagesHard Times as a Social Commentary with Parallels in the Modern Era The novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens is clearly an incitement of the economic and social burden associated with economic and social disparity. The work is set in a small fictional mill town, Coketown, where the challenges of the newly emerging industrial revolution were fundamentally being set at the footsteps of the poor, who had little if any opportunity for upward mobility. During this period the alternatives for those with