Mr Bounderby is an extract from Charles Dickens' Hard Times. In the extract Charles Dickens describes Mr Bounderby, a self-made man who has achieved great results in his life.
Also, the extract is composed of two sequences. The former one is extremely descriptive, as the main character is characterized by his personality and his external features. Everything is aimed to represent a man who is ignorant and not very beautiful, who has sacrificed his life to the carrier. Furthermore the writer uses the repetition of the noun "man" to represent his mentality made up of facts.
In the former sequence Charles Dickens uses a dialogue between Mr Bounderby and Mrs Gradgrind to further characterize them and to expose the living conditions in the Victorian Age. In fact, Mr Bounderby was just a poor child who could rely only on himself to go on living, as nobody ever tried to help him since he was born. In this way, Charles Dickens criticises the Victorian social welfare and mentality, especially the Puritanism, and the Darwinism, with the survival of the fittest mentality towards the world. Therefore, the presence of the social classes, and the difference between them is made clear by the position the two characters have in the room, which is of predominance of the higher class component.