Dickens' Views of the Victorian Society Revealed in his novel Hard Times

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Dickens' Views of the Victorian Society Revealed in his novel Hard Times

Hard Times wasn't originally meant for a book. It was written in entry

format for a magazine. Each chapter in the book able to hold its own

without the help or the chapters before or after. This makes the book

slightly bitty, each chapter not flowing as freely into each other as

they would do in a normally written book. Like so many of Dickens'

novels, "Hard Times" puts societal problems of the day on trial. In

this work, the problems Dickens focuses on are those of the

poverty-ridden, dehumanising factory towns that sprung up in England

during the Industrial Revolution. In the world depicted in the novel,

workers are treated as little more than interchangeable parts in the

factory's machinery, given just enough wages to keep them alive and

just enough rest to make it possible for them to stand in front of

their machines the next day.

We are introduced to a style of teaching that is dependent only on

facts. Thomas Gradgrind champions this system and has raised his

children, Tom and Louisa (and their siblings) this way. His long-time

friend, Bounderby, a factory owner, also appreciates the system.

Louisa is a misled, miserable girl and Tom is an ambitious and

unwholesome youth. When a circus performer's daughter, Sissy Jupe

joins the Gradgrind School, she shakes things up a little by her

interpretation of life other than of hard facts. Her father has

outlasted his usefulness with the circus and he runs away, deserting

her. Gradgrind takes pity on her and takes her in as one of his

servants.

As time goes on, Sissy Jupe becomes a member of the family and is ...

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...ardships and how it has affected them later on in

life. Children today are still being brought up in much the same way.

They may not have to deal with choosing their on paths at such an

early age, but they do have to deal with racism, popularity and

bullying. Dickens language, settings and times may be quite far off

the modern suburban life we live in now but as for the plot and

scenario's he couldn't be more exact. Even Dickens views on education

are still pretty close to today's curriculum. Many authors like Swift

have learnt a great deal from Dickens, you can see how his early texts

have been newly interpreted and changed to suit new authors styles. As

far as Dickens style is concerned, I think you'll find a lot of

authors have copied it, adding a slight twist here and there to try to

copy there idol's amazing work.

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