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Hard Times
Hard Times by Charles Dickens. Published by MobileReference (mobi).Hard Times is told so compassionately. The reader cares for these people and their tragic lives. The story is also told with biting humor that still cuts at today's society. I would certainly recommend this novel to fans of Dickens and to fans of the truly literary novel.
Hard Times
Readers should always remember that while reading. Instead of the usual monthly periodical installments with room to spare, "Hard Times" was done in weekly installments with a very limited space allotment, for the newspaper "Household Words." Dickens found the combined pressure of time and space nearly intolerable, given the breadth and depth of his vision for needed social reform. One can only imagine how much better, fuller, and more satisfying this book would have been -- in plot, character-development, dramatic impact -- if Dickens had written it as 900 pages over two years, rather than 300 pages in five months.
Hard Times
This book at times was challenging to read due to its drab setting (Victorian England) and heavy (read: depressing) subject matter, but its clear message and singularity of theme helped keep me focused: all work and no play makes Jack (or in this case, the Gradgrind children) a dull boy. All in all, an excellent and convincing criticism of Utilitarianism. The characters were well developed and evoked genuine feeling, although ultimately you either hate or feel sorry for all of them. Poor Louisa was piteous, having bypassed childhood and forgone love to slavishly follow her father's iron rule; while Josiah Bounderby elicited the kind of loathing one has for a sleazy politician, the way he concealed his privileged background in order to appear self-made and humble.Despite being almost 150 years old, this tale wasn't dated one bit, and its lessons are appropriate today along the lines of "stop and smell the roses." However, its teachings are not of the inspirational sort, and to read this I would suggest being free from distractions (you will need to concentrate to get through some of the slower parts), and keeping some sort of emotional pick-me-up nearby afterwards. Lastly, unlike some reviews I have seen, I thought it was seamless, despite its being published in installments.
Hard Times
Although critics dislike Dickens' novels for their twisted, drawn-out plots and his maddening penchant for creating soap-operas in the midst of otherwise realistic plots, these faults must be considered in light of the genre that Dickens wrote for: the magazine serial. Even if one is not fond of the structure of Hard Times, a closer example of the story as a period piece crafted to satisfy the tawdry tastes of the rag-reading public exposes a masterpiece of suspense and morality. A very important work and worth reading with or without this context.
Hard Times
I think everyone can agree right from the start that "Hard Times" is not Charles Dickens's greatest work. It is certainly nothing compared to works of a similar length, such as "Tale of Two Cities" or "Great Expectations." But even Dicken's lesser works are gems, although a bit less refined.The tale spreads across three households, the upright and serious Gradgrind family, the wealthy blowhard Joseph Bounderby of Coketown, and the dismal, poverty stricken Stephen Blackpool and his wretched, drunken wife. Gradgrind is all facts, and raises his children to be without imagination or wonder. Bounderby, a self-proclaimed self-made man is all appearances, having dragged himself out of the gutter into station. Blackpool is all honesty, unable to commit even the smallest wrong that would bring his own happiness.Into this mix are thrown two strays, the orphaned but lighthearted Sissy Jupe and the immoral and charismatic James Harthouse. They are the catalyst for the downfall of the orderly lives built by Gradgrind and Bounderby, and the further descent of Blackpool. No good deed goes unpunished in "Hard Times," but neither does an ill deed go rewarded.Dickens's shortest novel, "Hard Times" is only a small investment of time to spend with such rich characters. Lacking the light-hearted balance from his longer novels, the short length is a relief as too much more dreariness could be an undoing. At the same time, a deeper exploration of the lives and philosophies of the storyline would have made for a richer experience.
Hard Times
It is unfortunate that HARD TIMES by Charles Dickens is not usually read outside the classroom. It is an unforgettable glimpse of an age that did not prize the worth of the individual over a collective society--sort of like today's emphasis on the same. What stamps HARD TIMES as the classic that it is is Dickens' continual focus on the rights of the individual and his championing of anti-child labor laws. In an age that routinely crushed individuals in the grinding gears of a society that was hell-bent on automating the factory system, it was only lone voices like Charles Dickens who, in his novels, cried out to stop the madness. In HARD TIMES, Dickens takes a savagely satirical poke at a then popular system of thought: utilitarianism, a philosophy which saw men and children as interchangeable cogs in a machine that demanded that all facets of life and output be reduced to facts, numbers, and quantifiable data. Thomas Gradgrind opens the novel by insisting that the students in his school be just like Officer Joe Friday from "Dragnet" fame: give me the facts, and only the facts. Those who can deliver advance. Those who cannot get routinely squashed flat. Josiah Bounderby is the villain as he represents the ultimate in a selfishness and fact-centeredness way of life. As typical of Dickens, there is a vast assortment of subplots that he manages to tie neatly together by the closing pages. What stamps HARD TIMES as relevant in this or any future age is Dickens' insistance that, regardless of technological advances, the individual will always matter. HARD TIMES says this as well as any other book.