Hard Times - Charles Dickens

To be honest, I read this book because we were studying it for English Literature GCSE. I have to say, had I not been made to read it, I don't think that I would have. However, when I did read it I was somewhat pleasantly suprised. It is a very indepth and political read, not for the faint hearted; The story is set in nineteeth century Britain in an industrial town called Coketown. It starts with Mr. Gradgrind's schoolroom, where he is teaching the 'little vessels' all about 'Fact'. Here Dickens first introduces Sissy, a main 'good' character with which Dickens contraststo the almost inhuman ... more

I've entitled this book review "the Britain Dickens hated" because he used this book "Hard Times" as an instrument with which to demonstrate his contempt for the Victorian, industrial society he lived in. The book opens in a "white-washed classroom", with the school children being taught nothing but "fact". The theme of fact is one of the principle ones which continues throughout the book. More specifically it is the conflict between "Fact and Fancy". Dickens used some of his characters to represent fact, and others to represent fancy (fancy is the name given to any imaginative thinking). His ... more

In some ways, Hard Times isn't altogether my cup of tea. I tend to prefer Dickens' contemporary Wilkie Collins to the man himself, possibly due to an infantile yearning for obvious 'excitement' as I read. And Hard Times is about as far from Collins that Dickens gets: very little 'action' as such and a large amount of social comment. However, I find the book absolutely absorbing, compulsive reading. The reader doesn't turn the pages to find out what happened so much as simply for the pleasure of reading. In terms of Dickens' work, I rate it below Oliver Twist and above A Tale of Two Cities. In ... more

Like Dickens' other books, Hard Times is no different, in that it is a novel that brings to the attention of society!! Those of you who are regular readers of Dickens work know that he was a real struggler for the things that HE thought was WRONG in society, and Hard Times is just that! Set in an imaginary factory city called Coketown, Hard Times is a story about class structure and influence. Gradgrind, an MP, runs the local school, an educates the children of the school with "facts, facts, facts". He believes there is no need for an imagination, and prevents his own children Tom and Louisa ... more

When your sitting in English and your teacher tells you the standard question for a book is something along the lines of "Is it a novel or a parable?" you know its not going to be an easy read. In the case of Hard Times you might be forgiven for thinking that it will be a difficult read because its by Dickens and its victorian. You'd be wrong. The problem is not when it was written but how it was written. Hard times is a story about education and society's desire for wealth rather than spiritual happiness. It begins with the education of Tom and Louisa Gradgrind and shows how their factual ... more