Hard Times

Tom and Louisa grow up in the same house but develop two very different characters. At what point and in what ways do their characters diverge?

Sissy is the antithesis of everything Gradgrind believes, yet she emerges as a singularly happy individual. In what ways is her existence a rebuke of his beliefs?

What is the symbolic function of the circus in Hard Times?

The factories of Coketown represent the changing nature of life in Great Britain (and much of the world) at that time. How do the factories impose themselves on the people and the landscape?

Blackpool regrets that he didn’t attempt to intervene when his wife was about to kill herself. How does his guilt influence his later actions?

Bounderby is revealed as an arrogant liar. What is the purpose of his lies? Why is he so desperate to mythologize his own childhood?

In what ways does the workers’ union represent a potential power shift in Coketown? In what ways is this power shift undermined?

At the end of the novel, Tom writes to Louisa to apologize. To what extent does this small moment of catharsis give her peace? Do you think she’ll ever be able to forgive her father? Why or why not?