Hard Times: Literally

Although times now are very different from the times that Charles Dickens lived in for example there are many things that remain the same. School is still a require place to be for all of us under the age of eighteen with the requirements to stay in the school system for twelve years and finally graduate… it’s not done though then we are headed to university for even more education. The times of Charles Dickens weren’t all that easy and as it becomes apparent in his novel titled Form Hard Times the times for the school students were just as difficult as the outside world. The way it is described the schools could have been easily mistaken for a prison type setting. Although the schools were much different from now which some may argue that they have more similarities then differences. In Charles Dickens times he disagreed with some of the things in schools which basically was that everything within school was based around facts all school was back then was the cold hard facts which has it’s relation to the title. This is very unlike today where more schools provide both sides of the brain to work and spark the word imagination. From Hard Times by Charles Dickens really gives a feel for the entire setting by first of all having a certain name for the character, the characters word choice and finally a detailed description of the place.

To be, the names Charles Dickens picks for each character always either has a word within the characters name that describes the character or rather gives a feel of the name. Thomas Gradgrind is the main character in this story. Gradgrind teaches and educates children in this novel all based around the cold hard facts and nothing else. Anything else said does not have any meaning to him the only ...

... middle of paper ...

...forehead,” The setting is described as plain and monotonous also that is was a bare place and they call a school room a vault. The school room was set up just as Thomas Gradgrind seems to be very plain and all about the facts and nothing else. There was no variation within the room everything was the same it was bare meaning not colorful a dark cold room where only facts were taught a sad place indeed.

In conclusion, obviously through this reading and Charles Dickens detailed descriptions of a sad school room of this time and how terribly the teachers mean were. Dickens wanted a change to all of this and this was his way of saying that by describing that there was no imagination allowed or creativity but rather only facts. The classrooms were dull and boring a cold place as was the rest of the country at this time.

Works Cited

From Hard Times by Charles Dickens