Comment on the description of Coketown in the novel Hard Times?

Answer 1

Dickens' description of Coketown is interesting and highly significant. He brings forth various images to put forward is ideas and themes effectively in the novel.He describes the smoke of the industrialized Coketown as "the smoke of serpents", a sinister image implying that something evil hovers around the catchments of Coketown.He also describes the pistols of the factories as those that go up and down like the head of an "elephant" moving in utter madness. This is significant in understanding the hectic schedules of 'mad' industrialized town.Dickens also uses color symbolisms to describe Coketown. He associates colors to vitality and individualism and relates the colors of black and white with the loss of vitality and individuality. He therefore uses the color black or white not only to describe the environmental damage brought about by industrialism, but also the loss of people's individual freedom, joy and liveliness in their town.Indeed, the sinister intricacies of industrialized towns and the lives that revolve around are brought into vivid images in Hard Times.

Answer 2

Coketown in "Hard Times" is depicted as an industrial town dominated by pollution, noise, and mechanical monotony. It reflects the negative impact of industrialization on society, dehumanizing its residents and emphasizing materialism over human relationships. Charles Dickens uses Coketown to criticize the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution.