Hard Times, by Charles Dickens

Hard Times, by Charles Dickens

Introduction

This is among the most interesting of Dickens novels because it is among his leanest and his most political.

Table of Contents

We will study the following elements

Stand and Deliver
Style
Reading Aloud
Hard Times: Sowing Chaps 1-6

Stand and Deliver

Introduction

In order to give everyone a brief overview of Mr. Dickens, his works, his times, and the philosophy underneath it all, I am assigning you this project.

This project will ask you to research, work as a group, present clearly, and listen closely.

Instructions

Everyone will need to get into groups of three. I will randomly assign those groups.

From those groups, I will give you readings on a certain topic. Please read the reading, briefly summarize them, then prepare to deliver those summaries to the class.

After one person from the group has delivered the summary, I will quiz the class.

Summary

A summer needs to s minimum of the relevant information, but presented clearly enough for most people to understand.

Topics

These are the following topics for the relevant groups. (Note the focusing question)

Dickens (Professionally, where was he when he began

Hard Times)

John Stuart Mill (What are the main tenets of

Utilitarianism)

1845-1855; (What is going on in the world during

those years, particularly England)

Jeremy Bentham (What were his beliefs)

Thomas Carlyle and Chartism(What were his main

beliefs)

Victorian Age (What is it?)

Child Labor (Draw a political cartoon about Child

Labor)

Dickens Style

Introduction

Charles Dickens wrote in a style that was better suited to the auditorium and concert hall than to the library.

Satire

Dickens writes very few things with a straight pen. Almost everything has the bent of satire to it. Unlike Swift, this satire is not particularly subtle. However, it is always important to ask What is he making fun of and what does he stand for?

Rhetorical Tricks

Be aware of the following tricks.

Alliteration: This is an old favorite. Dickens will let the first letters of the words run in a string. Note the way he plays with sounds. Generally, sibilants (S sounds) connote gentle things, while harsh sounds (ks, ts and the like) connote bad things.

Repetition: Dickens will repeat ideas over and over again until you get it. Sentences and phrases get repeated until they begin to mean the opposite of what they seem to intend.

Similes: These are not subtle, but they are colorful.

Allusions: Dickens goes to the Bible often in this work as well as some references to Carlyle

Sentence Games: Dickens will run sentences into the next county, but generally to underline a content point. He will also use a parallel construction in matching sentences. Remember that long sentences generally build emotion, while short ones dissipate it.

Apostrophe: Dickens likes to talk directly to his readers and his characters

Rhetorical Questions: Only where the answer is blatantly obvious.

Reading Aloud

Introduction

Each day, I will ask two or three of you to read aloud. Reading aloud is a trick here. You need to be very familiar with the text and the author.

Background

Dickens was a frustrated actor. He frequently strode the boards, but not with the success he reached on the page. However, his dramatic work infuses his writing. The novels are very successful when read aloud, as witnessed by several American tours where he made thousands (millions today) by reading aloud.

Assignment

I will ask you to read three or so pages of text accurately.

I will grade you on the following criteria

Accuracy

Inflection (Are you characters different)

Pauses and Runs (Do you pause at appropriate times)

Accent (Do you hit the meaningful words?)

Understanding

Hard Times: Sowing

Introduction

In order to help you through this difficult novel, I have crafted some questions to bring you through.

Note the chapter titles.

Chapter 1