Stephen Blackpool in Charles Dickens' Hard Times

The book Hard Times is a book written by Charles Dickens a man that

Dickens described as a man with great integrity, is introduced in this

book his name is Stephen Blackpool.

Stephen Blackpool lives in the town of Coketown Dickens describes this

town: “In the innermost fortification of that ugly citadel where

nature was as strongly bricked out as killing airs and gases were

bricked in”. I think most people would agree that this is not a nice

place to live in and it does not bring a nice town were the glissading

sun rays were shining over every house, also the grass nourished and

bright green as if it was just cut. No this is not the picture that

comes to mind what this town looks like is a dark and damp place to

live in were nobody would love to live only tramps living on the

sidewalk and the air thick and poisons and pitch black as coal this

was not a good place to live in not a place Dickens liked. Dickens

hates the industrial revolution as it created a bad habitat also his

father used to work in a factory which he died because of toxic fumes

so you can tell that Dickens does not like this town. Stephen

Blackpool is not a young man he is about in his forties and gray hair,

he was not a clever person they would not call him smart he even had

problems with speaking. Dickens starts of describing Stephen Blackpool

by saying “ It is said that every life has it’s roses and thorns there

seemed however to have been a misadventure or mistake in Stephens case

whereby somebody else has been possessed of his roses, and he had

become possessed of the same somebody else’s thorns in addition to

his. This clearly states that Stephen Blackpool does not have good

luck on his side he has twice as much thorns, thorns being the

mistakes in life and he has no roses, roses being the correct

decisions in life. So what Dickens is saying what ever this man does

it will be the wrong decision to make. Stephen could not be described

as a clever person as he is not and intelligent man he barley can make

a speech but Dickens calls him a man of perfect integrity, what I want

to do here is tell you the definition of integrity what integrity

means is truth or honesty so is what Dickens is calling Stephen is he

is a man with perfect truth or honesty in his heart .

Stephen has a friend called Rachel she is what keeps him together