Sissy and Bitzer

A detailed Summary of Sissy and Bitzer

"Give me your definition of a horse," (Pg 3) says the eminently practical Mr. Thomas Gradgrind of Charles Dickens? unforgettable novel, Hard Times. Can anybody really define a horse? Cecilia Jupe, also known as Sissy, was unable to answer this question because she was, well, normal. Bitzer, the boy brought up in Coketown, the city of facts, answered, "Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely, twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive..." (Pg. 4). Clearly the contrast between Sissy and Bitzer can be seen. The differences between Bitzer and Sissy are shown not only in their definitions of a horse, but also in their physical appearance, personality, background, and the different philosophies that they each represent: fact and fancy.

From the very beginning, Dickens had made it clear to the reader that Sissy represents fancy and Bitzer represents facts. He uses the two characters in many ways to portray the differences between fact and fancy. One way of doing this is describing Sissy and Bitzer?s physical appearance. Dickens has a tendency to make his characters? physical appearance reflect their personalities. This is true for both Sissy and Bitzer. Sissy is described as vibrant and full of dark, rich col

The main reason why Sissy and Bitzer act and think the way they do is because of how and where they were raised. Bitzer was raised in the labor-filled Coketown and had a utilitarian education, in which facts were stressed and nothing else in the world mattered except for one?s self-interest. The children in the school where both Sissy and Bitzer attended was just a ?plane of little vessels then and there arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim? (Pg. 2). Bitzer?s education consisted of facts, facts, and more facts. Nothing else was important and nothing else will ever be of any more importance than facts. This way of growing up instilled in Bitzer the unpleasantness that expresses when he grows older. Sissy, however, was brought up in a circus. Her father had been a horse trainer and doctored horses. The circus represents the one thing that the ?school of facts? resents: fancy. As Mr. McChoakumchild said, ?Aye, aye, aye! But you mustn?t fancy. That?s it! You are never to fancy? (Pg. 6). The ability to wonder, which was strictly forbidden in the Gradgrind household, was encouraged at the circus. It was how circus performers earned their living. Although Sissy was sent to live with Gradgrind, she was immune to his teachings of facts, facts, and more facts because she was raised in a circus. She had become kind of immune to that sort of teaching. Sissy was able to grow up happy and caring, full of imagination. This just goes to show that a child?s surroundings will influence the way the kind of person they will become when they grow up. In this case, Dickens shows a child growing up with laughter and happiness and another child growing up with obedience and structure. It represents, once again, the two philosophies fact and fancy.

As anyone can tell when they read Hard Time, the characters Sissy and Bitzer are not in the story just to make the novel more interesting. They are symbols for something greater: fact and fancy. Sissy represents the human nature because she is human. She was brought up and treated like a human so she has feelings like a human. Her vibrant colors, compassion, and friends from the circus

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Approximate Word count = 1497
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English