Activities Mr. Bounderby

Ex. 1

The words and phrases describing Mr. Bounderby are:

• devoid of sentiments,
• Mr. Bounderby was as near being Mr. Gradgrind's bosom friend,
• He was a rich man: banker, merchant, manufacturer, and what not. A big, loud man, with a stare, and a metallic laugh. A man made out of a coarse material, which seemed to have been stretched to make so much of him. A man with a great puffed head and forehead, swelled veins in his temples, and such a strained skin to his face that it seemed to hold his eyes open, and lift his eyebrows up. A man with a pervading appearance on him of being inflated like a balloon, and ready to start. A man who could never sufficiently vaunt himself a self-made man. A man who was always proclaiming, through that brassy speaking-trumpet of a voice of his, his old ignorance and his old poverty. A man who was the Bully of humility,
• A year or two younger than his eminently practical friend, Mr. Bounderby looked older; his seven or eight and forty might have had the seven or eight added to it again, without surprising anybody. He had not much hair. One might have fancied he had talked it off; and that what was left, all standing up in disorder, was in that condition from being constantly blown about by his windy boastfulness.

Ex.2

The 4 phrases are:

• A man with a pervading appearance on him of being inflated like a balloon, and ready to start.

Inflated: exaggerated, excessive, overblown, pompous, bloated

• A man who could never sufficiently vaunt himself a self-made man.

Self-made man: Self-made is used to describe people who have become successful and rich through their own efforts, especially if they started life without money, education, or high social status.  

• A man who was the Bully of humility.

Bully: persecutor, oppressor, ruffian, tormentor, intimidator. 

• And that what was left, all standing up in disorder, was in that condition from being constantly blown about by his wind boastfulness.

Boastful: proud, arrogant, vain, vaunting, egoistic, vainglorious, full of yourself.

Ex.3

The whole characterization of Mr. Bounderby is strictly connected to the author’s comments because the description of the protagonist is in a third-person narrator, who is the “spokesperson” of Charles Dickens, the writer of “Hard Times”. Some words used, linked with the author’s opinion are metallic, puffed, proclaiming himself, ignorance and poverty.

Ex. 4

Bounder is a man who behaves badly or in a way that is not moral, especially in his relationships with women. In Italian bounder is canaglia, mascalzone, farabutto, furfante. The sentence which reinforces the meaning of his surname is: “A man who was the Bully of humility” .

Ex. 5

Mr. Bounderby is described as coming from a poor family, without education, but self-made. In other contexts these attributes might be considered positive and presented as worthy of sympathy and admiration. In the text these are considered negative, because of the way in which he behaves. Indeed Mr. Bounderby is an arrogant, proud, conceited and presumptuous man.  

Ex.6

Moving now on reading the extract, the reader can read some Bounderby’s sentences, which shows clearly how the old protagonist is. His words are perfectly consistent with the narrator’s description of the man. The words unveils his personality and confirm the description of him.

Ex.7

The main aspects of Mr. Bounderby’s character which are emphasized in the extract are: his origin from a poor family, his determination, his strength, his firmness, his self-reliance, that makes him the perfect self-made man.

Ex. 9

In the extract there are a lot of repetition of the pronoun “I”, the possessive adjective “my” and the relative pronoun “myself”. The exaggerated use of these words shows that Mr. Bounderby is totally focused on himself when he speaks with someone else. This confirms the description of him made by the narrator, who presents him as an arrogant and proud man, who is completely interested only in himself and in his business.