Hard Times Quizzes

Hard Times Quiz 1

1 What is Sissy's real name?

Sleary

Cecilia

Meredith

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

Mr. Sleary

Bitzer

Louisa

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

Parliament

The panopticon

Stone Lodge

The factory
4 Where does Mr. Gradgrind live?

In "a banker's room"

Stone Lodge

Westminster

In his school
5 Who is not one of the Gradgrind's children?

Louisa

Charles

Jane

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

Her father

Her mother

Mr. M'Choakumchild

Mr. Sleary
7 What is Signor Jupe's true profession?

Drunkard

Veterinary Surgeon

Banker

Circus Performer
8 What is the name of the Public House where Sissy lives?

Pegasus's Arms

Pegasus's Legs

Pegasus's Wings

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

Liverpool

Birmingham

London

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

Venison and a golden egg

Turtle soup and a golden spoon

An endless supply of gin

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

A burglar

The fits

A train

French liquor
12 Why does the "mysterious old woman" come to Coketown each year?

To smell the city air

To see the fine city gentlemen

To lodge at Mr. Bounderby's house

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"

Bluebeard

Ali Baba

King Arthur
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?

The "mysterious old woman"

Slackbridge

Tom Gradgrind

His drunk wife
16 Who arranges the marriage between Louisa and Mr. Bounderby?

Mr. and Mrs. Gradgrind

Louisa and Mr. Gradgrind

Tom Gradgrind and Mr. Bounderby

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

Her new husband, Mr. Bounderby

Herself

Her mother, Mrs. Gradgrind

Her brother, Tom Gradgrind
18 Coketown is likened to what fallen city of the Bible?

Jerusalem

Albion

Babylon

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

"Kid"

"Malthus"

"Whelp"

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

Stephen Blackpool

Tom Gradgrind

Bitzer

Mr. Harthouse
21 What is the name of Slackbridge's labor movement?

Coketown Hands United

United Coketown Hands

United Tribunal of Hands

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

Because he is afraid of losing his job

Because he does not trust Mr. Slackbridge

Because of a promise to Rachael

Out of loyalty to Mr. Bounderby
23 When does Mrs. Sparsit move into Bounderby's bank?

After the theft

After Bounderby sells his country house

After she retires

After Bounderby is married
24 What is Harthouse's nickname?

Jem

Hart

Kid

Great Pyramid
25 What is Louisa's "curious reserve"?

Her resistance to Mr. Harthouse's advances.

Her spite for Mrs. Sparsit

Her hidden stash of bank-notes

Her insistence on attending lectures

I think he brags about having grown up an orphan and rising to prosperity through talent and determination.

Asked by Victoria P #987433

Answered by Aslan on 3/5/2020 5:20 PM

What does Dickens mean by Bounderbys absolute power?

Mr. Bounderby is one of the central characters of the novel. He is a business acquaintance of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind. He employs many of the characters in the novel and he is very wealthy. He marries Louisa Gradgrind (several decades his junior) and...

Asked by Victoria P #987433

Answered by Aslan on 3/5/2020 5:16 PM

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Compare and contrast the chapters entitled " The One Thing Needful and " Another thing Needful?

The novel begins with a short introduction. Inside a classroom, "the speaker" repeats the exclamation "Now, what I want is, Facts." He presents the argument that the formation of a child's mind must be rooted in the study of fact. The schoolroom...

Asked by Hussein A #1026762

Answered by Aslan on 6/2/2020 5:21 PM

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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