Hard Times by Charles Dickens - Book Critique

"You are not impulsive, you are not romantic, you are accustomed to view everything from the strong dispassionate ground of reason and calculation. From that ground alone, I know you will view and consider what I am going to communicate." –Mr. Gradgrind

Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, is written in the industrializing Coketown, England. Thomas Gradgrind, the father of Louisa and Thomas, is a rational, fact-loving man. Along with his good friend Josiah Bounderby, another rational, fact-loving man, he drills factuality into the people around him. Bounderby asserts that he was born in a ditch, his mother left him when he was young, his abusive grandmother raised him, and he made his fortune from nothing. A student at the school, Cecilia “Sissy” Jupe, is abandoned by her carnie father. Mr. Gradgrind decides to take her in so she can learn to be less fanciful. Sissy becomes friends with Louisa, Mr. Gradgrind’s daughter, who desperately yearns for a more creative and free existence. Bounderby has his eye on Louisa while the whole of this is going on. She gives in and marries Mr. Bounderby like a good girl would. However, she is still deeply unhappy with her bland, factual life. Meanwhile, a factory worker, Stephen Blackpool, is also deeply unhappy with his life of bland factuality. He is in love with Rachael, another factory worker, but is unable to marry her because he is already married to a drunkard who often goes missing for months or even years at a time. Later, it is established that only rich men can get divorces and he is stuck with his current wretched wife. One day, Blackpool meets an odd old woman outside of Bounderby’s house. Ms. Pegler tells him that once a year she comes into Coketown and waits outside Bounderby’s house. She is not even positive he will come out, but she waits one day every year. Back at Stone Lodge, Mr. Gradgrind’s house, Thomas, Gradgrind’s son, is apprenticed to Coketown’s bank. Thomas is somewhat unreliable however because he robs the bank. He is forced to flee Coketown when his family finds out. With the help of Louisa and his father, Thomas escapes but he is never able to see his family again. Around Stephen Blackpool, there is a union being formed. However, Blackpool does not want to join the union because he believes a strike would further develop the tension between employees and employers. Blackpool falls in Old Hell Shaft, a mining pit outside of Coketown. After an emotional goodbye with Rachael, Stephen Blackpool dies. James Harthouse, a young, rich man from London, comes to become a political disciple to Gradgrind. He discovers Louisa whom he decides to woo and corrupt. Of course, Louisa decides she wants the sophisticated, young man instead of the bland, old man who she married. Louisa goes to her father and breaks down in front of him. She tells him she has made a mistake in marrying a man she doesn’t love and she wishes she had a less structured and factual life. Gradgrind realizes he has made mistakes in depending on factuality and he begins helping the poor instead of supporting his factual agenda. All the while, Bounderby is stressing his fact-based agenda and hunting down the thief, Thomas. In his investigation of young Thomas, Bounderby comes across Ms. Pegler who is revealed as his loving mother whom he banished from visiting him, also his whole story of being born in a ditch, abandoned by his mother, having an abusive grandmother, and a hand-crafted fortune, was exposed as a sham. Later, Bounderby dies alone and unsupported because of a “fit” in the streets of Coketown. Cecila Jupe, the abandoned girl who Gradgrind adopted, obtained a happy family. After Bounderby died, Louisa never remarried but was adopted by Cecilia’s new family, finally having a happy, and free family.

Obviously, Dickens wrote this book in order to show people how the Industrial Revolution was actually worsening many people’s lives at the time. Factory workers didn't have any rights to protect them. Even though they grew up with most likely no education, they were required to work twelve-hour days, and if the machines handicapped them, they weren't supported and would have to deal with it on their own. But generally, people at the time were put into a different mindset than before. They seemed to lose the thought of creativity, emotion, imagination, and faith, turning them into the very machines they created. Fact, reasoning, and calculation come from the left hemisphere of the brain. Before factories, many of the factory workers were people who were very intact with the right hemisphere of the brain, where they were advanced in their specific craft. All of this seems to have come and gone in America and Europe, but those trends from a few centuries ago have practically moved into China, where sweatshop workers have yet to attain laws to protect them. These same problems very well might be in full effect in other countries for a couple centuries to come.

Charles Dickens’ writing style is very descriptive. In his book Hard Times he goes in to depth with just about everything; he is very precise. An example is two characters in the book, Mr. Sleary and Stephen Blackpool. He uses a writing technique with words that are pronounced as the character would if they were talking in real life. Stephen Blackpool has a deep accent, an example of his talking is “I’ve tried a long time, and ’ta’nt got better. But thou’rt right; ’t might mak fok talk, even of thee…”. An example of how Mr. Sleary talks is, “Your thervant! Thith ith a bad piethe of bithnith, thith ith.” As you can see he uses extreme detail in his writing, which makes the book somewhat difficult to decipher what he is try to get at, or say. He also uses a humorous style and suspense to keep you sitting on the edge of your seat.
This story should be remembered because this book can teach about the real world. Mr. Gradgrind is a man that teaches nothing but facts. He believes that all things imaginary should not be mentioned, everything he wants is facts. This gives us an idea for the real world. In the real world are not be any excuses in jobs, you have to give bosses want they want. You have to grow up into the real world. Also, when Louisa married Mr. Bounderby, it causes family fights, jealousy and many other problems, which gives the idea that during life many obstacles are going to mess you up. This book gives a lot of clues for the real world. This book should be remembered for a long time.

Though Hard Times is quite a difficult read there were certain aspects which make Charles Dickens’ writing unique and intriguing. As the book start out, a conversation arises between several different characters. We thought that the beginning was a good way to start it now that we have finished the book, but as we were reading towards the beginning we had no idea what the first conversation had to do with the rest of the story. Something that Dickens’ did well in his writing was taking the problems of the industrial revolution and creating them into a type of story for readers to comprehend and enjoy. For some characters in this book he used a different type of language to try and describe what a particular character was like. For example: “I ha’ coom, to ask yo yor advice. I need’t overmuch. I were married on Eas’r Monday nineteen year sin, long and dree…” (75) that was the character of Stephen Blackpool, one important character. We thought that this use of language was effective because it got us to really listen and understand the text, since we would have to pay closer attention to the words to understand them.

Out of many of the classic books Hard Times is a great book. Even though to some it may not be as interesting as a comic book or adventure book. It is one that tells history in an interesting way. This book would be best read by young adults, in high school or above that think a high level reading is for them. For one thing, the reader has to be able to pay attention because as in many books it has its up’s and down’s in the story plot. Overall it has worked up to its acclaimed title as an American Bestseller and classic.