Hard Times was first published in 1854 and is Charles Dickens’ shortest novel. Charles Dickens set the scene for Hard Times in an imaginary mid Victorian Northern industrial town named Coketown where dark and dreary factories line the streets and where hard workers spend their long days.
Coketown is dominated by the figure of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, school owner and model of Utilitarian success. He strictly lives by the rules of ‘facts and figures’ and leaves no room for the imagination or wonder for young minds.
‘Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.’
Consequently, Mr. Gradgrind’s daughter Louisa marries a loveless businessman Mr. Bounderby, and his son Tom rebels in gambling and robbery. Feeding both his pupils and his family with facts, he bans fancy and wonder from young minds.
Gradgrind is eventually forced to recognize the value of the human heart in an age of materialism and machinery.
Many modern critics have praised the book, calling it a gripping and revealing exploration of Victorian society.
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