Student : Angela Lucia Tudoran

Professor : Juan Jos Torres Nuez

Subject: Textos De Literatura Inglesa: Siglos XIX Y XX

The use of satire in Charles Dickenss Hard Times

Generally speaking, as Dickens progressed he used humour for perhaps more serious purposes, attaching
and persuading the reader more and more subtly (1)
With the present essay I will try to show how Dickens uses irony to satirise the Victorian society in his novel
Hard Times.
Dickens wants to expose mainly Victorian society's hypocrisy though the use of irony and in my humble
opinion, Dickens' irony lies in how he portrays some of the characters such as Mr. Bounderby, Mrs. Sparist,
James Harthouse, Tom Gradgrind whose appearance and reality contrast. On the other hand, Dickens satires
against Victorian society's values on fact guided education, utilitarianism, capitalism, industrialism or
against Victorian morality and hypocrisy.
Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form
the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts.(2)
The quotation clearly shows that Gradgrind feels chlildren like machines, and only facts are important and
not fancy or imagination. Here Dickens satirises the education system in which Victorian children went
through, the absurdity of only teaching children the facts and stifling their imaginations. They are not
allowed to "wonder" about anything! This is why Dickens introduces the circus, to show the magic in
children's imaginations.
Grandgrind s philosophy proves to be ironic because, throughout the novel he understands that his teaching
methods are wrong after Louisa tells him that the harsh education made her insensible and she cannot
express her feelings.

2. James Kincaid Dickens and the Rhetoric of Laughter pag 4

I had proved mymy system to myself, and I have rigidly administered it; and I must bear the
responsibility of its failures.
The ironic satire is effective here because in the opening chapter Gradgrind was a self-esteemed speaker,
but incapable to put words together now, and he has always been a man who backs his own decisions and
not one who makes mistakes and has to apologise. But despite Gradgrind being sorry Louisa cannot confort
him, because as a product of his education system is not able to express emotions.
She could give him no comfort herein. She had suffered the wreck of her whole life upon the rock.
Here Dickens satirises the nature of Gradgrind who has always felt that anything could be weighed and
measured like in trade, and it is satirised because he realize that his own philosophy is wrong.