The Negative Effects of Industrialism in Hard Times - Assignment Example

?Miles B. Ehrenkranz, M.P.A. Literature 355 Dr. Kirschstein November 27, The Negative Effects of Industrialism in Hard Times In Hard Times, Charles Dickens characterizes the factories as “fairy palaces,” an ironic metaphor because the Victorian factories were dangerous and dull places to work. Dickens uses his novel as a social critique of how the factory influenced life in Victorian England, as well as a reflection on Industrialism. Dickens characters are carefully constructed to mirror the effects of Industrialism on society at that time. Historical events such as strikes and reports on factory conditions influenced Dickens to portray the idea throughout his novel that Industrialism steals time and life from the humblest of citizens. The setting of the story conveys the serious tone with which Dickens approaches his belief that Industrialism takes more from society than it benefits in return. In the opening of the novel, Dickens describes the morning scene of the factory using hectic sound and visual imagery: The Fairy palaces burst into illumination, before pale morning showed the monstrous serpents of smoke trailing themselves over Coketown. A clattering of clogs upon the pavement; a rapid ringing of bells; and all the melancholy mad elephants, polished and oiled up for the day's monotony, were at their heavy exercise again (56). Ringing bells, clattering shoes, and a heavy blanket of smoke set the scene. In addition, the labor is described as monotonous and heavy. Through this passage, the life of a factory worker is viewed as boring, loud, and difficult. Dickens further describes the industrial landscape of the setting of the novel in Book 1, Chapter 5: “It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled” (20). According to Graham Law, the landscape throughout the novel is described “in a grim, deterministic way, as uniformly stunting and distorting the lives of all who live there” (13). Dickens uses imagery of dark colors and cacophonous noises to illustrate the gloomy factory life. Historical events inspired Dickens to create his subtle social critique of Industrialism in Hard Times. Dickens refers to the factory workers as “Hands” throughout the novel. The strike in the novel mirrors the real-life strike that occurred in 1853 in the town of Preston. The Preston strike was a test case of the power of the trade unions. Kaplan states that the strike ended in defeat after eight months (287). Butterworth discusses how Dickens traveled to Preston for 48 hours in order to speak with the workers and understand what was happening with the strike (312). Dickens wrote his article “On Strike” based on these experiences. In his article “On Strike,” Dickens states that the Preston strike was a waste of time, waste of people’s energy, waste of wages, and a “great national affliction” (295). Robert Barnard’s critique of Hard Times, “Imagery and Theme in Hard Times” explains Dickens’ view: “At this period Dickens adopted the pusillanimous view that workers had a right to strike but were unwise to use that right” (387). Dickens’ feelings towards the Preston strike are mirrored in Hard Times. Slackbridge, along with the other factory workers in the novel, stage a strike and are meant to be unlikeable characters. Dickens creates these characters to be unlikeable on purpose in order to demonstrate his negative opinions towards strikes. While Dickens understands that the conditions of the factories are dangerous, he does not see a strike as a viable and ethical option. In his article “Dickens the Novelist: The Preston Strike and Hard Times,” R.D. Butterworth explains the importance of understanding England during the Victorian Age in order to fully grasp the social criticism Dickens commences: “It was in the context of a society that Dickens came to write about the industrial world and to portray an England splitting into contentious factions willing to use their collective power to gain the ends of their members” (318). Dickens used his experiences and observations in Preston to create the characters in Hard Times. Butterworth claims Dickens was preoccupied “with a perception of a diseased society,” and this perception influenced the tone with which he wrote about the strikes (317). The argument has been made by Butterworth that since Dickens’ account of the Preston strike was impressionistic in his article “On Strike”, it can be assumed that Hard Times is impressionistic in relation to English culture (316). Certain critiques of Dickens’ portrayal of factories claim that he inaccurately represented the lives of the factory workers. Harriet Martineau claims that Dickens held a responsibility to the common people and failed (309). The novel Hard Times does not mirror the true conditions of the Victorian Era factories. Perhaps Dickens did not have a comprehensive view of the factories because he based his novel on his experiences in Preston. It is possible that Dickens attempted to justify the actions of the factory management. Martineau’s critique of Dickens’ work conveys a resentful and bitter tone towards the popular author. She claims that defending Dickens as a fictional writer is not a plausible argument since he began to write realistic articles for the newspaper. Martineau concludes that “the Tale, in its characters, conversations, and incidents, is so unlike life, -so unlike Lancashire or English life,-that it is deprived of its influence” (310). The critique calls for Dickens to continue writing fiction but to cease defending factory owners. Another critique of Hard Times by R.D. Butterworth states that Dickens did not spend enough time in Preston to create an adequate assessment of the true nature of conditions in the factories. Dickens’ short trip may not have been long enough: “It is questionable how much he could have hoped to get out of a visit of a bare forty-eight hours” (313). The review further claims that Dickens did not visit factories to the North and therefore lacks perspective. In addition, Butterworth says his descriptions do not have enough detail. Characterizing the factories as “fairy palaces,” an image carried throughout the novel, conveys the view of an outsider. Butterworth claims that Dickens attempted to imitate the real person George Cowell in his character of Slackbridge. George Cowell was influential in forming the Union in Preston. Cowell was considered morally upright and reasonable. Dickens’ character, on the other hand, is brash and irrational. Dickens may have based Slackbridge on a different person in Preston, a person who had been banned from the factories (Butterworth 314). It is interesting that Dickens did not base Slackbridge, the fictional Union leader, on the Union leader in Preston. Instead, he chose to base the character on a loud and obnoxious person that no one wanted around. Perhaps Dickens did this for entertainment purposes. Alternatively, Dickens may have intentionally done this because he did not agree with labor unions. The fact that Dickens himself called the strikes to form the labor unions a “waste of time” in his article “On Strike” demonstrates that his opinion may be biased. Ironically, modern labor unions protect workers. Butterworth comes to the conclusion that Dickens may have seen the formation of unions as a waste of time and energy, but the concept of the union ironically evolved into a beneficial buffer between the modern employer and employee (318). Industrialism had multiple negative effects on the lower classes of England. One of the primary reasons for this was the lack of safety in the factories and the failure of the government to enforce change. Dickens’ negative outlook towards industrialism is demonstrated subtly throughout the novel. Dickens’ opinion was heavily influenced by an article by Henry Morley written in 1854. The article, “Ground in the Mill,” claimed that 10,000 accidents occurred in the factories within a three-year period. According to Butterworth, the owners of the factories reported a mere 2.5% of these accidents (314). Morley’s description of a man being torn apart by a man in a factory reflects the author’s critical attitude towards factory leaders: “What he suffered was all suffered in mercy. He was rent asunder, not perhaps for his own good; but, as a sacrifice to the commercial prosperity of Great Britain” (308). Morley’s sarcastic but effective tone points the finger to the dangerous factory conditions. Morley claims that the factories could easily be made safer but the factory owners prioritize production over human life. The factories were required by law to fence dangerous machinery by the Factory Act. Those that did not fence their machinery properly were fined. Morley claimed that the small fees paid to the government for accidents because of improper fencing were not a large enough incentive to get the factories to change (309). Corporate greed is not a modern phenomenon, as evidenced by the greed of factory owners who determined that human life was a small price to pay for a larger bottom line. Dickens’ treatment of the factory worker characters conveys empathy he gained from reading Morley’s article. Dickens implies his negative view towards factories throughout the novel. Kaplan states that in the original version of the book, Rachael’s little sister had her arm torn off in a factory accident (288). The reference to the “Old Hell Shaft” appears to be an indirect accusation of the lingering negative effects of industrialism. Dickens describes the mining pit as cursed: “the Old Hell Shaft, the pitman said, with a curse upon it, was worthy of its bad name to the last” (202). The mining pit is a metaphor used in the novel to illustrate the effect industrialism had on society. Industrialism squeezed the life from disposable people and negligently left behind dangerous reminders of that greed. The character of Stephen Blackpool exemplifies the negative effects of Industrialism on Victorian society. Blackpool, a “Hand” at the factory, refuses to join in the strike. As a result he is shunned by the other Hands and eventually accused of robbing the bank. Blackpool represents Dickens’ idea of a dreamer mispresented and abused by society. Smith claims that Blackpool is a martyr of Industrialism: “the good, victimized working-man, whose perfect patience under infliction we are expected to find supremely edifying and irresistibly touching as the agonies are piled on for his martyrdom” (159). Blackpool is further characterized by Fielding as a saint throughout the novel, and is either regarded as a “dramatic perfection” or “pathetic” (404). His ability to stay positive throughout his unfortunate circumstances causes him to be an unrealistic character. When asked about his co-workers, Blackpool replies with loyalty and a positive perspective: They've not doon me a kindness, ma'am, as I know and feel. But there's not a dozen men amoong 'em, ma'am - a dozen? Not six - but what believes as he has doon his duty by the rest and by himseln. God forbid as I, that ha' known, and had'n experience o' these men aw my life - I, that ha' ett'n an' droonken wi' 'em, an' seet'n wi' 'em, and toil'n wi' 'em, and lov'n 'em, should fail fur to stan by 'em wi' the truth, let 'em ha' doon to me what they may! (113). This example shows the simplicity of Blackpool’s speech as well as the simple honesty of his opinion. He states that he has known the men all his life, worked with them, and drank with them. Although they have “not done him a kindness,” he refuses to become disloyal. Throughout the novel, Blackpool becomes a victim of circumstances from Industrialism. He becomes ostracized from his co-workers during the strike, is accused of bank robbery because his reputation has been tarnished from the strike, then falls down an old mining shaft and dies. Blackpool embodies the typical Industrial worker. While tragic, Blackpool’s character is reflective of a life heavily influenced by the negative effects of industrialism. Another negative effect of industrialism on the working class happened as a result of the factory strikes. Dickens used facts from the Preston strikes to create the fictional strike in Hard Times. An anonymous letter to the times gives a firsthand account of strikes in the factories in 1853. The letter explains how the workers who went on strike ultimately lost even though they won. The factories gave in to their demands to increase wages, but news travels fast. Other factory workers outside of the area found out that wages were that high, they traveled to the area where the strike had occurred. The factory fired the original workers and hired the new workers. In the end, the workers who had gone on strike were left without a job. The anonymous author featured in the Kaplan text describes the strike as an “uncomfortable and ruinous state of affairs” (292). At the time, what appeared to be a good idea ended up hurting the workers. Dickens aimed to convey social predicaments in his fictional endeavors. His characters mirror the draining effects of Industrialism on Victorian Era workers. Dickens used his real life experience to construct the novel’s characters. While subtle, Dickens relayed a sense of blame towards the leaders of Industrialism. Dickens’ character of Stephen Blackpool embodies the negative effects of Industrialism. The factory took Stephen’s time, the most important gift a person possesses, throughout his life and ultimately through his death. Dickens aimed to illustrate the effects a life filled with monotonous factory work through his characters. Through fictional characters, Dickens creates an indirect but powerful social critique aimed at blaming Industrialism for stealing the time and life from innocent people. Works Cited Barnard, Robert. “Imagery and Theme in Hard Times.” Hard Times: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Fred Kaplan. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. 387-399. Print. Butterworth, R.D. “Dickens the Novelist: The Preston Strike and Hard Times.” Hard Times: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Fred Kaplan. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. 312-321. Print. Dickens, Charles. “On Strike.” Hard Times: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Fred Kaplan. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. 295-299. Print. Dickens, Charles. Hard Times: an Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. Print. Fielding, K. J., and Anne Smith. "Hard Times and the Factory Controversy: Dickens vs. Harriet Martineau." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 24.4 (1970): 404-27. Print. Kaplan, Fred, and Sylve?re Monod. Hard Times: an Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. Print. Law, Graham. Introduction. Hard Times: for These times. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 1996. Print. Martineau, Harriet. “The Factory Legislation: A Warning Against Meddling Legislation (Manchester 1855).” Hard Times: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Fred Kaplan. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. 309-312. Print. Morley, Henry. “Ground in the Mill.” Hard Times: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Fred Kaplan. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. 307-309. Print. Smith, Anne. "The Martyrdom of Stephen in Hard Times." The Journal of Narrative Technique 2.3 (1972): 159-70. Print. Read More