Hard Times

Hard Times by Charles Dickens is a social and moral tale of his normal vein. It takes place in a fictional mining town during the height of the industrial revolution and introduces characters intended to represent the extremes of society during that time. Mr. Gradgrind and his family, as well as his associate Mr. Bounderby and his employee Mrs. Sparsit all represent the no-nonsense upper middle class to upper class of the time (mid-nineteenth century). They were raised in religion with a basis in

The shortest of Dickens' novels, Hard Times, was also, until quite recently, the least regarded of them. The comedy is savagely and scornfully sardonic, to the virtual exclusion of the humour - that delighted apprehension of and rejoicing in idiosyncrasy and absurdity for their own sakes, which often cuts right across moral considerations and which we normally take for granted in Dickens. Then, too, the novel is curiously skeletal. There are four separate plots, or at least four separate centres

Dickens’ Hard Times “Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life.” (Dickens, 1854, p.1) With these beginning sentences of the novel “Hard Times”, Charles Dickens has made readers doubt whether it is true that facts alone are wanted in life. This question leads to the main theme of the story, fact against fancy, that author has never been written this kind of plot in his other stories before. In fact, Hard Times is considered as "the

the course without straying from it. If you do, you are considered broken. Yet, what exactly is the point of mindlessly walking the same path as everyone else, only to constantly find yourself memorizing empty facts over and over again? In Hard Times for these Times, Charles Dickens embodies the consequences of an absolutely factual world: blindness, imbalance, and nonfulfillment. Through the convoluted stories of the opposite worlds, Sissy’s journey to becoming a jewel of balance, Louisa’s tragic fight

May 1, 2015 Mr. Johnson Literature Dickens Calls for Desperate Measures in Hard Times “I want to change the world.” How many times is that line heard from small children, aspiring to be someone who achieves their maximum potential? If a child is asked how they might go about doing so they might respond with an answer that involves a superhero or princess who helps people for the greater good. As one grows and adapts to their surrounding society, the art of seeing the big picture including

The novel Hard Times written by renowned author Charles Dickens is a tale that takes place in Coketown, England, during the Industrial Revolution. The book primarily focuses on two distinct classes within the city. The wealthy class, makes up a minority of the population, consisting mostly of unimaginative business owners. While the lower class is made up of workers, whose only reward in life, is death. One of Dicken’s main characters, Thomas Gradgrind Jr. plays an important role, validating the

novel, Hard Times by Charles Dickens, concentrates on the Gradgrind family; of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, his daughter Louisa, and son Thomas Jr. A major theme of friendship is portrayed in the books through the character of Mr. Gradgrind as he struggles with the idea of friendship between other characters. According to the Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle, it explains a detailed account of friendship and what it is to be a friend to others. In comparing the character Mr. Gradgrind in Hard Times, to the

In Hard Times, Dickens presents life philosophies of three men that directly contradict each other. James Harthouse sees one’s actions in life as meaningless since life is so short. Mr. Gradgrind emphasizes the importance of fact and discourages fantasy since life is exactly as it was designed to be. Mr. Slearly exhibits that “all work and no play” will make very dull people out of all of us. He also proclaims that one should never look back on one’s life and regret past actions. Dickens is certainly

In the book Hard Times (1856/1995), by Charles Dickens, the citizens of Coketown are faced with moral situations. The characters have caused emotional harm to others or themselves due to their decisions. Most of the replies to these moral dilemmas are based on how selfish or selfless these characters. They can only choose between the choices that value the other people or value themselves. Two characters that make these decisions are Stephen, a worker at the Hand in Coketown, and Louisa, the daughter

The novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens is a fictitious glimpse into the lives of various classes of English people that live in a town named Coketown during the Industrial Revolution. The general culture of Coketown is one of utilitarianism. The school there is run by a man ready to weigh and measure any parcel of human nature . This man, known as Thomas Gradgrind, is responsible for the extermination of anything fanciful and integration of everything pertinent and factual into the young, pliable