Charles Dickens' "Hard Times"

Paper Summary:

An exploration of the main themes raised in this novel and the comments that the novel makes on society. The paper focuses on the issue of the struggle between fact and fancy/fantasy. It also deals with Dickens' comment on the Lancaster education system and looks at the idea of education as a microcosm of society.

From the Paper:

'In "Hard Times," Dickens presents education as a microcosm of the social picture of the times. The Industrial Revolution has taken root in England, and "Coketown" is a typical city: smoke stacks of factories belching out pollutants, black soot and grime enveloping the city. A new breed of employee the factory worker has been born. The novel opens with Thomas Gradgrind admonishing the children of a school he has helped set up. Gradgrind emphasizes facts. While pursuit of facts is the very definition of education, Dickens (mis)uses the word to mean a very stringently, narrow focus of education. In Gradgrind's world, education is assumed to mean strict dedication to the accepted norms of the sciences, engineering and mathematics. According to Gradgrind, children are empty vessels that need to be filled with knowledge. Any pursuit of the arts or creativity, derived from an active imagination, is derided as a flight of fancy. Even the teacher aptly named M'Choakumchild is very literate but equally uneducated. The novel is really a struggle between Fact and Fancy.'

More papers on Charles Dickens' "Hard Times":

• Comparison Essay # 21596 : "Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and Charles Dickens' "Hard Times"
• Essay # 86047 : " Labor Activism in Charles Dickens' 'Hard Times'"
• Book Review # 2179 : "Freedom of the Heart in Dickens' 'Hard Times'"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: