Bibliography
Course Hero. "Hard Times Study Guide." Course Hero. 4 May 2017. Web. 21 Sep. 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Hard-Times/>.
In text
(Course Hero)
Bibliography
Course Hero. (2017, May 4). Hard Times Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved September 21, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Hard-Times/
In text
(Course Hero, 2017)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "Hard Times Study Guide." May 4, 2017. Accessed September 21, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Hard-Times/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "Hard Times Study Guide," May 4, 2017, accessed September 21, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Hard-Times/.
Mr. Gradgrind instructs his schoolmasters to teach only facts, nothing imaginative.
Book 1, Chapter 1Mr. Gradgrind takes charge of Sissy Jupe's schooling after her father abandons her.
Book 1, Chapter 6Sissy Jupe laments her difficulties at school and tells Louisa about life with the circus.
Book 1, Chapter 9Stephen Blackpool asks Mr. Bounderby how he can divorce his alcoholic wife and learns he can't.
Book 1, Chapter 11Louisa agrees to marry Mr. Bounderby so she can help her brother Tom, who works in the bank.
Book 1, Chapter 15Mrs. Sparsit, no longer Mr. Bounderby's housekeeper after he marries, settles into life at the bank.
Book 2, Chapter 1James Harthouse takes a teaching job at Mr. Gradgrind's school and decides to seduce Louisa.
Book 2, Chapter 2Mr. Bounderby fires Stephen Blackpool for refusing to inform on union organizers.
Book 2, Chapter 5The bank is robbed, and Mr. Bounderby suspects Stephen Blackpool, who has left town.
Book 2, Chapter 8Louisa visits her dying mother who tells her Mr. Gradgrind's philosophy is missing something.
Book 2, Chapter 9Jealous of Louisa, Mrs. Sparsit plots to catch her behaving questionably with James Harthouse.
Book 2, Chapter 10James Harthouse, declaring his love for Louisa, precipitates Louisa's emotional breakdown.
Book 2, Chapter 11Having fled from James Harthouse's attempted seduction, Louisa goes to her father for help.
Book 2, Chapter 12With Louisa in crisis, Sissy intervenes and convinces James Harthouse to leave town.
Book 3, Chapter 2Mr. Bounderby declares if Louisa does not return home immediately, the marriage is over.
Book 3, Chapter 3Rachael writes Stephen to ask him to return and defend himself against robbery charges.
Book 3, Chapter 4When Stephen does not return, Rachael and Sissy look for him and find him fallen into a coal pit.
Book 3, Chapter 6Rescued but dying, Stephen declares his innocence and says goodbye to Rachael before he dies.
Book 3, Chapter 6Tom Gradgrind, the real robber, hides with the circus and escapes abroad before Bitzer catches him.
Book 3, Chapter 8Louisa, now widowed, never remarries, does good works, and is loved by Sissy's children.
Book 3, Chapter 9| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| Book 1, Chapter 1 | A man makes a speech in a classroom. He demands the teaching and learning of "nothing but Facts," as facts are the only ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 2 | Mr. Gradgrind thinks of himself as a purely rational man oriented to the value of facts. When interacting with Sissy Jup... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 3 | As Mr. Gradgrind walks home from the school, he reflects on his role as a parent, feeling confident he is bringing up hi... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 4 | Mr. Bounderby is a local "banker, merchant, manufacturer, and what not." A large, rotund man with a loud voice, who can ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 5 | Coketown is built of red brick covered and streaked with black ash from the factory smokestacks. The city's canal runs b... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 6 | The circus is lodging at a public house called the Pegasus's Arms. Mr. Bounderby and Mr. Gradgrind meet with two perform... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 7 | Mr. Bounderby's housekeeper, Mrs. Sparsit, originates from an upper-class family and married an upper-class man 15 years... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 8 | A defining event of Louisa's life occurs when she is very young and begins a conversation with her brother by saying, "T... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 9 | Sissy complains to Louisa about how poorly she is doing in school and about her mistakes when Mr. M'Choakumchild asks he... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 10 | Stephen Blackpool, a worker in Mr. Bounderby's factory, is 40 years old, but his years of labor have given him an appear... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 11 | Stephen Blackpool goes to see Mr. Bounderby for advice about his marriage. Mr. Bounderby greets Stephen warmly, saying S... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 12 | Outside Mr. Bounderby's office Stephen one day meets an old woman who asks him questions about Bounderby. She wants to k... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 13 | When Stephen returns home, Rachael is there, sitting next to the bed and taking care of his wife. The house is in order ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 14 | Several years pass, and Mr. Gradgrind tells Sissy it is best for her to leave school. He has been disappointed by her pr... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 15 | When Mr. Gradgrind and Louisa speak together after breakfast, he tells her Mr. Bounderby wants to marry her. He explains... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 16 | Mr. Bounderby is nervous about breaking the news of his engagement to Mrs. Sparsit because his marriage means he will no... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 1 | Coketown lies "shrouded in a haze of its own." The pollution from factory smokestacks has created a murk of smog around ... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 2 | The stranger is James Harthouse. A wealthy young man, he has come to Coketown to teach at the Gradgrind school after a s... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 3 | In James Harthouse's hotel room, he and Tom drink and smoke cigars. As Tom gets drunk, he reveals his own dislike for Mr... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 4 | Under the fiery leadership of unionizer Slackbridge, the workers at Mr. Bounderby's factory have agreed to unionize. Sla... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 5 | When Stephen arrives at Mr. Bounderby's house, Louisa, Tom, and James Harthouse are present. Mr. Bounderby asks Stephen ... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 6 | Stephen finds Rachael and the old woman he encountered on his last visit to Bounderby's outside the house. The old woman... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 7 | James Harthouse now spends much of his time in the Bounderby home, often alone with Louisa. When Mr. Bounderby buys a co... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 8 | The day after his conversations with Louisa and Tom, James Harthouse is pleased with himself for cultivating Louisa's co... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 9 | Mrs. Sparsit remains at the country house, doing a lot of prowling about, and becomes friendly with James Harthouse, who... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 10 | Mrs. Sparsit remains at the country house, appearing polite to Mr. Bounderby while shaking her fist and calling his port... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 11 | Mrs. Sparsit's spying and hopes for Louisa's downfall appear ready to pay off. On Friday Mr. Bounderby is called away on... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 12 | Louisa does not meet James Harthouse after his declaration of love. Instead she goes to her father's house, deeply distr... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 1 | Louisa wakes up in her old room in her father's house and sees her little sister, Jane. Louisa learns Sissy put her to b... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 2 | Tom visits James Harthouse to ask why he never appeared at the station the night before. Harthouse replies only that he ... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 3 | Mrs. Sparsit follows Mr. Bounderby to London and tells him about her observations of Louisa and James Harthouse. Mr. Bou... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 4 | Investigation of the bank robbery continues, and Slackbridge presents a wanted poster of Stephen Blackpool at the union ... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 5 | Sissy visits Rachael every night for news of Stephen, and Rachael begins to wonder if someone has killed him to keep him... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 6 | On Sunday Sissy and Rachael go to the countryside to look for any sign of Stephen. Near the edge of a disused coal pit k... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 7 | During the activity surrounding Stephen's rescue, Sissy whispers to Tom in the crowd, urging him to escape while he can.... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 8 | Mr. Gradgrind attempts to appeal to Bitzer's better nature and allow them to proceed with their plan for Tom, but Bitzer... Read More |
| Book 3, Chapter 9 | Mrs. Sparsit and Mr. Bounderby quarrel because he resents her for exposing his mother, and she resents him for marrying ... Read More |
Have study documents to share about Hard Times? Upload them to earn free Course Hero access!
