Charles Dickens' Hard Times

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Charles Dickens' Hard Times

The book "Hard Times" was written in 1854. It was written in weekly

instalments in a magazine called Household Words. This is like a

normal soap but was weekly. The magazine was owned by Charles Dickens

as he was a journalist. The book was written at the time of the

Industrial Revolution. This was when factories were being built near

major towns and cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

The Industrial Revolution was a time when there were big improvements

in transport as there was vast expansion in the production of iron.

The factories were in the towns so people from the countryside came to

the towns for work and a house. They moved because their own mills

weren't making enough items of clothing etc whereas the factories

could mass produce. However, there weren't enough houses so many were

hastily built. This meant they had no fresh water, no sewers and no

toilets. This led to a poor quality of living where people got water

from communal water pipes and put their waste in a big "pile" which

was cleaned by a "waste disposal man". The poor quality of living was

added to by the huge smoke clouds which hung over the cities. This

"smog" made it hard to breathe and was so bad seeing things became

harder.

The book starts when Dickens introduces the characters; the first two

chapters are short yet are scene-setters. Dickens explains that;

Mr Gradgrind - a politician and schools owner,

Mr McChoakumchild - a new teacher and

Another man - we are not told who the man is or why he is present, are

in a classroom full of children. Dickens describes Mr Gradgrind as

being a square man and Mr McChoakumchild as a school teacher who was

fresh for the factory which "mak...

... middle of paper ...

...r those concerned. This is alike real life

where people we meet can be different, alien like or how might we say

normal.

In "Hard Times" Dickens' does write realistically in a sense. However,

in the first two chapters he writes in a more exaggerated way to

arouse interest in the book. As this was written in weekly instalments

he would have wanted to excite his readers with interesting first

chapters so that they continue to buy the magazine. I think that after

the first couple of chapter when Dickens' has an interested audience

he starts to write in a more realistic fashion. In conclusion, life

didn't turn out the way that was expected by many characters in "Hard

Times." Those who strived to have perfect children didn't. And those

who were looked down on proved to be essential characters in finding

that there was more to life than what they were taught.

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