English downtrodden workers in the first industrial revolution in Charles Dickens’ hard times

ABSTRACT

Literature is one of the most exiting parts in the study of a language. Literature creates imagination through its words and also expression of human life, thoughts, and emotion of human being. A novel is one form of literary works, in which readers can get better knowledge about other people’s mind. They will meet various kinds of characters since it contains a mber of incidents, conflicts, and climax. Literary works have the capacities for being truthful in conveying the reality of human experience and interpreting the real world even when they alter facts.

This study aims is to find out how the condition of the downtrodden workers is described in Hard Times whether the condition reflects the English workers condition in the first industrial revolution. The approach used to analyze the data is the mimetic approach. Mimetic approach describes the literary product as reflection of the reality or the reflection of real life. By using mainly the mimetic approach, the researcher tries to answer the research problems. The novel is analyzed through the description of the situation of the English worker in the first industrial revolution. These data were used as evidence to answer the research questions.

The aspects discussed are the workers condition in England in the first Industrial Revolution, the Industrial Revolution in England, downtrodden workers, mimetic approach, factory and factory system which strengthen the depiction of the English downtrodden worker.

From the analysis, it is found out that English downtrodden workers in the first industrial revolution is clear reflected in Hard Times by Charles Dickens. After analyzing the data, the researcher comes to the result that the researcher finds the downtrodden workers in the factory system and law. The evil of factory system that oppressed the English workers in the first industrial revolution are they earn low wage, they work long hours in little rest, and the most pity is they live in a bad dwelling condition. All these condition is reflected in Hard Times through the characters of the workers Stephen Blackpool and Rachel and the evil of the employer Mr. Bounderby. The research«• also finds the downtrodden workers in the Law of divorces. The workers who most of tliem are the poor should spend fifteen hundred poimd if they want to divorce.

From the result of this thesis, the researcher would like to suggest that future study should make a comparison and discussion on the social feet to the suffering and poverty of the working people as well as the injustice practiced so far in Indonesia. Thus, the student of English literature will become aware of the problems feced by Indonesian people.