Hard Times

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer analyzes Charles Dickens' novel 'Hard Times' and notes that it is constructed around the opposition between fact and fancy. The writer points out that Dickens criticizes the nineteenth century materialist and utilitarian philosophy, which had turned man into a simple cog in the large machine of the society. The writer maintains that the book is, at the same time, a social and a philosophical critique. The writer relates that Dickens denounces the political economy and the law system of the age, which were only concerned with raw facts and statistics, not minding the poverty and the hardships of the working class individual. The writer concludes that Dickens completely demolishes the materialist and reductionist philosophy of his age, showing the absurdity of cultivating nothing but the totally inhuman ideas connected with fact and palpable reality.

From the Paper:

"The emphasis on the name is significant, as the character sees himself as a sort of epitome for the mechanic philosophy. He is constructed as being directly related to the philosophy he represents. Gradgrind shapes himself thus as to fit perfectly in the general mechanism of the world. Personality, no less than life itself, is based entirely on facts. Everything, including a human being, has a precise definition according to Gradgrind, who seems to imply that "Thomas Gradgrind" is only another name for definitions, calculations and demonstrations."
"There are many metaphors in the novel that support Dickens' characterization of Gradgrind."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.

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