Make a critical appreciation of the chapter explosion

Although there is no literal explosion, the events of this chapter suggest that some of the tension and conflict building up to this point in the novel have reached a kind of climax. The "robbery" clearly has been orchestrated by Tom giving evidence that his upbringing has not produced a strong moral character. The fact that Stephen is in the wrong place at the wrong time reinforces the stereotype the life is "awlus a muddle" for the working class. Louisa has been tempted by Harthouse who is portrayed in this chapter as a character content to drift along without any moral backbone. Dickens uses the metaphor of gunpowder and explosion as a device to emphasize how the events in the lives of the characters have created a tension that must be released.