Activities about 'The Signs of the Times'

Instructions:

Read the text from the coursepack "The Signs of Time" and answer the following
questions:
• What type of text is it?
• What is the author's intention? Provide examples from the text.
• What are Carlyle's major critiques to the Industrial Revolution? Provide examples from
the text.
• What does Carlyle relate machines with and why?
• What do you think the author means by saying "They have lost faith in individual
endeavour, and in natural force of any kind" (Paragraph 4)?

QUESTION 1: What type of text is it?

'Signs of the Times' is an essay. An essay is a prose text that explore, makes an analysis, interpret
and evaluate a specific topic. In this case, Carlyle makes an essay about The Industrial Revolution
and how society has lost values and the whole world and systems are driven by machines.

QUESTION 2: What is the author's intention? Provide examples from the text.

The intention of the author is criticize the new system imposed due to the Industrial Revolution.
Values, as I explained in 'QUESTION 1' have been lost ('Heroical, Devotional, Philosophical or
Moral Age' in lines 2 and 3) and it has been implanted a 'Mechanical Age'. He laments all this new
revolution affects human minds with a sarcastic tone ('a greart art of adapting' in line 6).

QUESTION 3: What are Carlyle's major critiques to the Industrial Revolution? Provide
examples from the text.

The Carlyle's major critiques to the Industrial Revolution is how absolutely every thing and
system within the new society has been change and controlled by machines even education and
religion (see paragraph 3 'Thus we have machines for Education ... of all imaginable varieties').

QUESTION 4: What does Carlyle relate machines with and why?

Carlyle associates machines with the whole entire world. Education and Religion as 'Question 3'
answered, but also sciences, arts, politics... As he said in line 4 from the fourth paragraph 'Men are
grown mechanical in head and in heart'.

QUESTION 5: What do you think the author means by saying ''They have lost faith in
individual endeavour, and in natural force of any kind'' (Paragraph 4)?

Carlyle says that everything is subordinated to some kind of mechanism, the things people did with
no machine aid are now done by mechanical forces.