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"Hard Times", 2005.
This paper discusses three interviews from Louis 'Studs' Terkel's "Hard Times", each of whom relate a very different experience and social status during the Great Depression.
2,095 words (approx. 8.4 pages), 0 sources, $ 65.95
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Abstract
This paper presents the interviews of Emma Tiller, Cesar Chavez and Blackie Gold from Louis 'Studs' Terkel's "Hard Times" to provide a more intimate portrayal of the truth, which made the Great Depression so stark. The author points out that this book is not a monochromatic perspective, which happens when the Great Depression is analyzed in the aggregate. The paper, stressing the emotional experience of the reader, discusses in detail these selected interviews, which are representative of varied backgrounds, ideologies and experiences during this period.
From the Paper
"Cesar Chavez tells a different tale. His family is forced to become migrant workers during his childhood, after a loan is foreclosed by the president of the bank. The same president who, coincidentally, owned the land surrounding the Chavez's and therefore maintained all the power. Chavez's story is a representation of the life of other agricultural workers. He talks about racism, and speaks of a waitress who gives him a gesture, a "gesture of total rejection'. Curiously, the tone that he uses is not one of anger, resentment nor indignation but of complacence. He tells no stories of attempted revolts against the system which allowed discrimination. A system that perhaps even supported it. Instead, he treasures his experiences, refusing to forget either good or bad. He says, "I don't want to forget it...I don't want it to take the best of me...This is the truth, you know. History.""
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Labor Activism in Charles Dickens' 'Hard Times', 2005.
This paper reviews 'Hard Times' by Charles Dickens, one of his last great pieces of work.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 3 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper examines Charles Dickens' treatment of trade unionism and labor activism in 'Hard Times'. The paper notes Dickens' distaste for wanton capitalism but notes also his distaste for the factionalism and divisiveness sparked by labor militancy. As it turns out, his preference is for workers and employers to find a common ground and to re-discover their common humanity.
From the Paper
"The work of Charles Dickens surely ranks among the best and most moving in all of English literature. Dickens' work is especially poignant when he talks of the plight of the laboring poor in nineteenth century England. The following paper will explore Dickens' attitude towards trade unionism and labor agitation by looking carefully at one of his last great works, 'Hard Times'. As will soon become apparent, Dickens was far in advance of his times when it came to according labor activists the respect they deserved - with a few notable caveats. With that in mind, it is to a discussion of Dickens' Hard Times that this paper now turns. Dickens' attitude towards trade unionism and labor agitation was plainly evident in 'Hard Times'."
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Mrs. Sparsit from "Hard Times", 2002.
Discusses the function of the character, Mrs. Sparsit, in Charles Dickens' "Hard Times".
650 words (approx. 2.6 pages), 1 source, $ 26.95
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Abstract
In Charles Dickens' novel "Hard Times", the character of Mrs. Sparsit is a secondary figure that plays an important role in determining the lives and actions of the novel's primary characters. As this essay will argue, Mrs. Sparsit represents a classic example of the malevolent gossip whose bitterness drives her to attempt to ruin the reputations of those around her.
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"Hard Times" by Charles Dickens, 2002.
This paper analyzes the story, "Hard Times," by Charles Dickens, specifically the character Sissy Jupe, one of the major characters in the novel.
1,425 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 47.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the techniques that Dickens uses to portray the character Sissy Jupe in "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens. The author feels that Dickens describes Sissy delicately and with grand detail; he sees her as the innocent angel of the story. The paper concludes that Sissy Jupe is a major character in farcical novel; she is the good character who somehow manages to touch all the other characters' lives.
From the Paper
"In the end, the book only ends satisfactorily for Sissy. She eventually has children, who her dear friend Louisa comes to love. Louisa loses her brother, who is the only person she really loves. Tom is banished for the bank robbery. When he tries to return home, he dies before he gets there. Louisa's husband also dies, and Mr. Gradgrind finally discovers that education, along with facts and figures, is not everything in the world. Life ends happily for Sissy because she is truly good and decent; it is the only thing imaginable that could happen to her. Life ends tragically for the others because they did not have the goodness in their hearts such as Sissy did."
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Social Classes in "Hard Times", 2003.
Examines social classes and stereotypes in the world of Charles Dickens' novel "Hard Times".
1,493 words (approx. 6.0 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 49.95
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Abstract
This paper argues that the stereotypical characters in "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens are part of an overall scheme to develop a theme and message about social classes. The paper argues that while it may seem like the characters are unrealistic, they play a part in something larger and more significant. How realistic they are does not seem so important when one realizes that they serve to teach us something about class structure.
From the Paper
"When Gradgrind realizes how he has hurt his two oldest children, he vows to change his ways and be a better person. It is important to notice that the upper-class male thought he knew everything and what was best for everyone, but it is the underprivileged young female that teaches his family what is actually important. Dickens is using this contrast in social classes that begins in the first chapters, to tie to the end of the novel with an important lesson."
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"Hard Times", 2004.
Analysis on the book, "Hard Times," by Studs Terkel.
1,124 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 0 sources, $ 38.95
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Abstract
Discusses the book, "Hard Times," which is about the Great Depression. Discusses how Terkel's book is filled with human experiences, interviews, and narrations from men and women who lost everything, remained unaffected, or grew stronger during the Great Depression.
From the Paper
"Studs Terkel supplies his readers with memories, reflections, and visions of the Great Depression in his book "Hard Times." It is not a history book or a book of facts; instead it is a personal collection of impressions and stories that present an overall feeling of the decade. These stories are told by those who were both directly and indirectly linked to the Great Depression. "
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"Hard Times", 2005.
A review of "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens.
2,070 words (approx. 8.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 71.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how through the use of various literary devices such as plot, characterization, setting and symbolism, Charles Dickens is able to develop what becomes a poignant piece of propaganda in his novel "Hard Times," focusing his lens as a novelist on the plight of the poor and to awaken the conscience of his readers. It looks at how although Dickens is not in the end, a propagandist, he is able to develop a viable argument against a Utilitarian philosophy of rational self-interest and to awaken the audience's sensibilities to the depraved environment that this philosophy fosters.
From the Paper
"In Hard Times Charles Dickens depicts a society that is suffering in the wake of the climate of the Industrial Revolution. Certainly this reflected the realities of the Victorian England in which Dickens himself lived. During ..."
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Freedom of the Heart in Dickens' 'Hard Times', 2001.
An analytical essay that discusses the faulty nature of a seemingly perfect society in Dickens' novel 'Hard Times'.
2,150 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 1 source, $ 67.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the themes of courage, natural goodness, bravery and strength in Charles Dickens' novel, "Hard Times". The author discusses the applicability of these themes and their relevance.
From the Paper
"Dickens confronts mid- nineteenth century views of workers in industrial England. In Hard Times, certain members of the working class are highlighted as complex, noble and sentimental individuals. The workers struggle to survive against the repressing forces of industrial society obsessed with statistics and fact. Dickens characterizes the working class in order to reveal the abuses of a system obsessed with profit. In his depiction of the lower class, a collection of social disgraces surface. Both Stephen Blackpool and Cecilia Jupe are affected negatively by the system. Stephen Blackpool remains a victim of the unjust society, yet proves that there is hope within the crowd of workers. Cecilia Jupe is also a victim, yet maintains happiness regardless of her inability to assimilate. Cecilia and Stephen are hurt by notions and prejudice of the working class, yet exert the most admirable qualities of the "heart" in Dickens Hard Times."
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"Hard Times", 2003.
An review of Charles Dickens' "Hard Times".
1,840 words (approx. 7.4 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 63.95
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This paper provides an analysis of how Charles Dickens' viewed industrialism as regressive in its impact on human beings and society as illustrated in his novel "Hard Times". It looks at Dickens' contention that industrial society is harmful to human growth and development and how his use of satire and humor to appeal to readers.
From the Paper
"In Charles Dickens' "Hard Times" we see the author's view that industrialism and industrial society are deleterious to human growth and development. In the novel Dickens expresses his belief that the impact of capitalism and industry..."
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"Hard Times", 2002.
An in-depth analysis of Charles Dickens' critique of 19th century England, "Hard Times".
3,010 words (approx. 12.0 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 88.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the main themes and the main characters of "Hard Times". The author shows how Dickens presented education as a microcosm of the social picture of the times and how Dickens explicitly critiqued the education system that existed in 19th century England, the Lancasterian system. The author also explains Dickens' view on the Industrial Revolution that had taken root in England through "Coketown", a typical city, and the new breed of employee that had been born - the factory worker.
From the Paper
"Imagine a world where there was only one, generic form of employment characterized by an assembly line. After a hard day's work there was no entertainment to be enjoyed: no sports, no opera, no theatre and no movies. No Le Louvre, no La Scala, no Mona Lisa and no Rudolph Nureyev. And lastly, imagine if one person enforced all of this. That person would be perfectly represented by Thomas Gradgrind. In reality, if Thomas Gradgrind had had his way, Newton who probably discovered more facts than any person in our history would not have given the world the foundations of physics that we enjoy today."
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Hard Times, 2007.
This paper discusses the characterization of Thomas Gradgrind and Josiah Bounderby in "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens.
1,748 words (approx. 7.0 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 56.95
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Abstract
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."
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Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and Charles Dickens' "Hard Times", 1994.
This paper discusses portrayals of personal and social good and evil in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and Charles Dickens' "Hard Times".
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 2 sources, $ 47.95
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From the Paper
"The struggle between good and evil is a primary subject in art and literature, and the conception of evil that is adopted by the artist determines the way that struggle is depicted. Novelists Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre and Charles Dickens in Hard Times show different conceptions of evil, conceptions that shape the way they portray their characters and the struggle of those characters with their own personal battle with good and evil. Evil for Bronte is a palpable entity in the world, deriving from a metaphysical and psychological framework and thus with a strong religious underpinning that infuses not only the acts of human beings but the very landscape within which they interact. That view of evil is not found in Dickens, where evil is rather a more truly human product. For Dickens, evil is to be found in the destructive institutions of society and in class ... "
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"Hard Times" by Charles Dickens, 1990.
Analyzes Dickens' use of realism in constructing a social message in his novel "Hard Times".
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 3 sources, $ 47.95
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From the Paper
"Realism was a reaction to the romanticism in literature at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and realism manifested itself in a number of ways in different works of fiction by different writers. Realism was an attempt to recreate the world as perceived by the novelist. The novel had always tended toward realism over supernatural elements--Nathaniel Hawthorne had called several of his novels "romances" for this very reason, because they contained supernatural elements or hints of the supernatural and so were not in his view novels as then defined. The realists took this further and presented people in real settings without the sort of allegorical underpinnings found in, say, Herman Melville and instead strove for a form of psychological and social reality in which human actions could speak for themselves. Realism is an essential element in Charles..."
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Charles Dickens's "Hard Times", 2002.
Examining the themes of reason and imagination in Charles Dickens' "Hard Times".
3,453 words (approx. 13.8 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 97.95
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Abstract
This paper shows how throughout the novel Dickens satirically portrays the fallacy of reason as society's main motivator not to suggest that imagination's role is more important or should dominate reason, but rather to arouse an awareness of the need for middle ground, an equal helping of both reason and imagination in order for Coketown to maintain its "great place under the sun."
From the Paper
"The text first presents this persisting need for balance through its portrayal of the industrialized city of Coketown. In its physical description, Coketown is portrayed as a "town of machinery and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed themselves" as well as a town "where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down, like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness" (Dickens 20-21). The narrator describes the factories further as "fairy palaces burst[ing] into illumination, before pale morning showed their monstrous serpents of smoke trailing themselves ... all the melancholy-mad elephants, polished and oiled up for the day's monotony, were at their heavy exercise again" (56). In addition to imaginative description, the text makes repeated reference to the book The Arabian Nights as well as allusions to other fairytales and mythic stories. In emphasizing the imaginative aspects of the strictly Utilitarian Coketown, passages "invoking the world of fairy-tale ironically, making the inhabitants of this drab, gritty, Victorian mill town re-enact the motifs of folk-tale and legend, [Dickens] drew attention to that repression or elimination of the human faculty of imagination ... which he believed was the culturally disastrous effect of governing society according to purely materialistic, empirical criteria of 'utility'" (Lodge 408). This repressive Utilitarian work ethic of Coketown inspires an imaginative "craving" in the townspeople for "some relaxation, encouraging good humor and good spirits," a craving that "must and would be satisfied aright, or must and would inevitably go wrong, until the laws of the Creation were repealed" (Dickens 23). The text here implies that one of its purposes is to stress the importance of an equally balanced social order-work/play, reality/fiction, reason/imagination-and fully realizes its purposes through the actions of its characters."
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Charles Dickens' "Hard Times", 2002.
A critical review of Charles Dickens' Novel -"Hard Times".
1,300 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 0 sources, $ 43.95
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Abstract
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.'
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