Ideas of social change and progressive ideals are prominent in many nineteenth century works of literature. Charles Dickens’ Hard Times is a prime example of a social criticism novel, putting prominent ideas of the time period, such as utilitarianism and social class, to the test....
Inventor and scientific pioneer Albert Einstein once commented that “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Though he was not referring to the industrialization of England during the nineteenth century, his sentiment was echoed by many during the Victorian Age...
Charles Dicken’s Hard Times is a novel depicting the destructive forces of utilitarianism on the modern world following the Industrial Revolution. Through the vivid characters interwoven throughout the text, Dickens exemplifies the devastation caused by the mechanization and dehumanization of human beings as factory workers....
Introduction Charles Dickens, one of the big names in Victorian literature, often had a lot to say about the 1834 Poor Law. In books like “Oliver Twist” and “Hard Times,” he really went after it. He showed just how awful life was for folks who...
The Dehumanizing Effects of the Industrial Revolution Charles Dickens, you know him, right? He was this big shot writer back in the Victorian times. His novel “Hard Times” is like a spotlight on all the mess England was going through during the 19th century due...
Factory System and Dehumanization Charles Dickens, you know, that famous writer from the Victorian times, was really worried about what was happening in industrialized England. In his book “Hard Times,” he paints a picture of how industrialization wasn’t all that great for society. It kind...
Charles Dickens, one of the most renowned Victorian authors, was a master at using figurative language to enrich his storytelling. Whether it be similes, metaphors, or personification, Dickens skillfully employed these literary devices to evoke emotions, create vivid imagery, and convey complex themes in his...
Background and Upbringing So, in Charles Dickens’ novel “Hard Times,” there’s this interesting clash between two characters: Sissy Jupe and Bitzer. They really show the tug-of-war between imagination and utilitarianism. These two couldn’t be more different in terms of how they grew up and what...
Introduction You know, our relationship with nature is kinda complicated and literature has been talking about it for ages. As more people fill the planet, this topic just gets more important. So, let’s dive into how books and stories show us society’s ups and downs...
Early in Hard Times, Dickens develops the portrait of Gradgrind in the classroom delivering a lesson centred on horses at his model school to his model students. Dickens carries Gradgrind’s factual theories, utilitarianism and educational system principle into his domestic family life as well as...
In Dickens’s Hard Times, Christianity is often alluded to both symbolically and literally. Because of the time period in which the novel was written, the presence of these religious themes are not surprising, but the way Dickens presents these allusions, sometimes with an air of...
In Charles Dickens’ literary satire, Hard Times, geometry–especially that of squares and circles–serves an important thematic function. The “man of hard facts,” Thomas Gradgrind, has a “square forefinger,” “square wall of a forehead,” and a “square coat, square legs, square shoulders.” (11) The very schoolroom...
In today’s society, mental illnesses are slowly being recognized as serious health problems that require some sort of treatment, whether the treatment is therapy, medication, or both. In the 1700s, however, mental illnesses were not acknowledged as a problem and were simply brushed off. Such...
Though many have argued that Dickens used the character of James Harthouse to criticize Romanticism in his novel Hard Times, it is his utilitarianism that makes him such a danger. Harthouse himself notes early in the novel that there are many similarities between himself and...
“Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts” (9) pronounces Mr. Thomas Gradgrind in the opening line of Charles Dickens’s novel Hard Times. Gradgrind employees this utilitarian philosophy in his schoolhouse and repeatedly reminds the reader that there is...
Hard Times
Character
Charles Dickens
Published
Serialised April 1854 – 12 August 1854; book format 1854
Author
Charles Dickens
Genre
Novel
Characters
Mr. Gradgrind, Mr. Bounderby, Louisa, Sissy Jupe, Tom, Stephen Blackpool
