Certain characters, mainly Louisa, seem to be more affected by fire than others. How does fire add to the characterization of each of these characters?
In Hard Times, the symbol of fire serves to differentiate between those who are naturally sentimental and those based on facts. Louisa becomes mesmerized when looking into the fire. The fire brings out her curiosity about her future as she tells Tom that it has her “wondering about you and me, grown up” (57). In contrast to Louisa-- a naturally sentimental girl when young—Tom and many others in Coketown aren’t affected by fire. Tom says, “It looks to me as stupid and blank as everything else looks” (57). Only certain characters seeing the importance of fire reveals its representation of life and how only sentimentalists realize what’s important.
In Hard Times, the symbol of fire serves to differentiate between those who are naturally sentimental and those based on facts. Louisa becomes mesmerized when looking into the fire. The fire brings out her curiosity about her future as she tells Tom that it has her “wondering about you and me, grown up” (57). In contrast to Louisa-- a naturally sentimental girl when young—Tom and many others in Coketown aren’t affected by fire. Tom says, “It looks to me as stupid and blank as everything else looks” (57). Only certain characters seeing the importance of fire reveals its representation of life and how only sentimentalists realize what’s important.
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