Hard Times Quizzes

Hard Times Quiz 1

1 What is Sissy's real name?

Meredith

Josephine

Cecilia

Sleary
2 Who offers the "correct" definition of a horse?

Bitzer

Louisa

Mr. Sleary

Mr. Thomas Gradgrind
3 What is the model for Mr. Gradgrind's school?

Parliament

The factory

Stone Lodge

The panopticon
4 Where does Mr. Gradgrind live?

In his school

Westminster

In "a banker's room"

Stone Lodge
5 Who is not one of the Gradgrind's children?

Charles

Louisa

Adam Smith

Jane
6 At the beginning of Hard Times who is Sissy's "legal guardian"?

Mr. M'Choakumchild

Mr. Sleary

Her father

Her mother
7 What is Signor Jupe's true profession?

Banker

Circus Performer

Drunkard

Veterinary Surgeon
8 What is the name of the Public House where Sissy lives?

Pegasus's Legs

Pegasus's Wings

Pegasus's Arms

The Pegasus
9 Coketown is a literary representation of which major British city?

Liverpool

London

Birmingham

Manchester
10 What does Mr. Bounderby think that the poor want?

Turtle soup and a golden spoon

Venison and a golden egg

An endless supply of gin

Public welfare
11 What killed Mrs. Sparsit's husband?

French liquor

The fits

A burglar

A train
12 Why does the "mysterious old woman" come to Coketown each year?

To see the fine city gentlemen

To lodge at Mr. Bounderby's house

To smell the city air

To cheer up Stephen Blackpool
13 Dickens compares Mr. Gradgrind to which character of children's fairy tales?

The giant from "Jack and the Beanstalk"

King Arthur

Ali Baba

Bluebeard
14 Where does Mr. Bounderby say that he lived as a young man?

Overseas

In a small country town

London

In the gutter
15 Who pays Stephen an unwelcome visit in the middle of the night?

His drunk wife

Slackbridge

The "mysterious old woman"

Tom Gradgrind
16 Who arranges the marriage between Louisa and Mr. Bounderby?

Mr. Gradgrind and Mr. Bounderby

Louisa and Mr. Gradgrind

Mr. and Mrs. Gradgrind

Tom Gradgrind and Mr. Bounderby
17 Who does Louisa love more than anyone else?

Her mother, Mrs. Gradgrind

Her brother, Tom Gradgrind

Herself

Her new husband, Mr. Bounderby
18 Coketown is likened to what fallen city of the Bible?

Babel

Babylon

Jerusalem

Albion
19 What name is used to describe Tom in the second half of the novel?

"Icarus"

"Malthus"

"Kid"

"Whelp"
20 Who is not an employee of Mr. Bounderby at some point in the novel?

Tom Gradgrind

Stephen Blackpool

Mr. Harthouse

Bitzer
21 What is the name of Slackbridge's labor movement?

United Aggregate Tribunal

United Coketown Hands

Coketown Hands United

United Tribunal of Hands
22 Why does Stephen Blackpool refuse to join the labor movement?

Because he does not trust Mr. Slackbridge

Because he is afraid of losing his job

Out of loyalty to Mr. Bounderby

Because of a promise to Rachael
23 When does Mrs. Sparsit move into Bounderby's bank?

After Bounderby is married

After she retires

After Bounderby sells his country house

After the theft
24 What is Harthouse's nickname?

Hart

Great Pyramid

Jem

Kid
25 What is Louisa's "curious reserve"?

Her resistance to Mr. Harthouse's advances.

Her insistence on attending lectures

Her spite for Mrs. Sparsit

Her hidden stash of bank-notes

What is the name of Slack Bridge labor movement?

I believe the movement is called the "Brotherhood"

Asked by Tumasang Ngum T #601967

Answered by jill d #170087 on 7/2/2025 7:59 PM

The theme of fidelity touches upon the conflicts of personal interest, honesty and loyalty that occur throughout the novel. Certainly, characters like Josiah Bounderby and James Harthouse seem to be regularly dishonest while Louisa Gradgrind and...

Asked by Paramjit S #1000474

Answered by Aslan on 1/6/2021 2:55 AM

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Is Mr. Slackbridge an honorable man?

Slackbridge is the dishonorable and deceitful leader of the labor movement: The United Aggregate Tribunal. He takes the legitimate concerns of the laborers and exploits them for his own power.

Asked by Roop K #1050217

Answered by jill d #170087 on 9/11/2023 9:34 AM

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Hard Times

by Charles Dickens

Hard Times Quiz 1

Hard Times Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Hard Times

Essays for Hard Times

E-Text of Hard Times