Classism and Racism

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer maintains that many stories are wrought with messages that are progressive and even revolutionary for their time but are considered archaic in the legacy of the work. The writer notes that two good examples are Charles Dickens in 'Hard Times' and Mark Twain in 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn', which portray both classism and racism. Further, the writer points out that the perceptions of the works detail both a step back into a time when people were openly dehumanized by virtue of the status of their birth and also represent a marginal look toward progress away from dehumanizing and exploiting people. The writer points out that Dickens and Twain both express the need for social change, yet only in the guise of what will be accepted by the masses and the villains. The writer concludes that the demands of the writer often leaves him or her with an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to go far enough in mind and with the pen, but each work reflects the acknowledged need for change.

From the Paper:

"Dickens' early life reflects a view of the rapidly industrializing England in which he lived, where nature is pushed back, reserved only for those who could afford to live in it or at least visit it, while the urban centers became choked with pollution and poverty as a reflection of the birth of the man woman or child, relegated to it. Though Dickens was a member of the middle class, afforded the luxury of propriety, he was also a writer of words for many and Hard Times itself was written as a serial for his magazine, meant to be received by the masses, with a new sense of empathy and a new sense of hatred toward those who profited from the poor, utilizing self serving ethics like those taught in the early part of the novel by Gradgrind, that were later capitulated at least by him but not by some of his followers."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barnard, Robert. "Imagery and Theme in Hard Times." Charles Dickens's Hard Times. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 39-null8
• Connor, Steven. "Deconstructing Hard Times." Charles Dickens's Hard Times. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 113-120.
• Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Ed. Paul Schlicke. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Leonard, James S., Thomas A. Tenney, and Thadious M. Davis, eds. Satire or Evasion?: Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1992.
• Paine, Albert Bigelow. Mark Twain: A Biography: The Personal and Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Vol. 1. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1912.

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• Essay # 90712 : "Systemic Racism"

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