The Use of Simile in Charles Dickens’ HARD TIMES

Abstract

As a literary work, Charles Dickens’ Hard Times is full of different themes expressed by various linguistic devices. The novel embraces several facts related to the author’s Victorian society. In Hard Times, the writer varies his style using different linguistic features. The most frequently used linguistic device in Hard Times is simile. The author has an objective behind the overuse of this figure of speech: Dickens wants to transmit his impressions and views towards the Victorians. This paper comes to examine two main issues. First, it attempts to clarify the status of simile in the novel. Second, it tries to elucidate the concept of simile by formulating an operational definition and assessing different theories on this figure of speech. Our study attempts to cast light on the author’s motives behind the use of such a figure of speech (simile). This investigation aims at laying a finger on Dickens’ overuse of simile in the novel, focussing on its structure and meaning. The adopted simile model is descriptive and it consists of particular structural and semantic components such as the tenor (T), the vehicle (V), the ground (G), the marker (SM) and the topic (Tp). All in all, this inquiry reveals that this linguistic device operates in an active manner and that the decoration’s view needs more reconsideration. Finally, some suggestions are presented for further research on the subject.