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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
I love Dickens: he is a master of characterisation; a genius at creating complex plots that interweave, diverge and then seamlessly coalesce; a craftsmen of the highest order when it comes to exposing societal wrongs and divisions. I look forward to reading every one of his novels whether it be ‘Great Expectations’ with the memorable depiction of Miss Havisham and her tragic self conflagration or the brilliant ‘Dombey and Son’ with its stunning depiction of financial and business corruption and demise. So I was genuinely looking forward to entering into ‘Hard Times,’ which in comparison to the Behemoth ‘Dombey and Son’ or the epic ‘Little Dorrit’ is fairly slim at just over 300 pages.
As much as I want to praise Dickens and hyperbolise about the brilliance of his writing, I just cannot do this for ‘Hard Times.’ The novel portrays the Gradgrind family who, amongst other things, run an educational establishment where lessons are dictated by the aptly named Mr Choakumchild. Their educational ethos is based on, ‘facts, facts, facts’ and the suppression of any form of imagination or creativity. Thus Tom and his sister, Louisa, naturally suffer under the suppressive hand of this doctrine. Louisa’s plight is somewhat eased by the adoption of a surrogate child, Sissy, who is forced to leave Sleary’s idiosyncratic circus when her father abandons her when he is no longer able to perform as a clown or make the crowd laugh in the way that he wishes. Meanwhile, we have the working class community who slave all day in the mills of Mr Bounderby, a rather ridiculous figure who is so full of self importance and expostulation about his impoverished upbringing and the failings of his mother, that it is difficult to see him as anything but ludicrous. Amongst the many workers here is Stephen Blackpool, who is tied to an alcoholic, absent wife and thus unable to pursue his true love, Rachel due to his principled sense of morality. And so the novel begins and charts the way in which the children’s upbringing impacts upon their adult behaviour until all major characters collide in a dramatic final revelation of the truth.
This is a brilliant animated version of the novel's opening and great introduction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Mqy8f2laA
There are many wonderful things about this novel: the bleak depiction of the mills and the monotonous way of life of those who are forced to live as near slaves under their ‘dark, satanic’ shadow; the portrayal of Sleary’s circus, which is not merely a source of fun but a representation of the necessity for entertainment and the need for community and familial unity even if not based on biological ties; the sensitive illustration of Sissy and Louisa’s relationship and the emotional bond shared by Rachel and Stephen; the comic characterisation of Bounderby and his austere side-kick Mrs Sparsit. There is thus much of the Dickens’ magic here.
However, for me, there was just something missing that meant it was not comparable to his previous works in my mind. I think, in part, I missed London. Set in the grim North, the bleak setting drew a melancholic cloud over the whole novel and whilst I am sure that this was Dickens’ intention, for me what is often great about his novels is the light and shade, which this seemed to lack. Moreover, I like the sprawling, epic nature of his works that see us journey from place to place and in confining the reader to this one rather claustrophobic community some of this was lost for me. The plot was also far less complex than many of his other novels dealing really with only a small range of characters. Again, what I have previously enjoyed is the array of faces that pepper Dickens’ novels, the deft characterisation of single figures that dip in and out of his narratives. ‘Hard Times’ lacked this in its focus on only a handful of individuals. Likewise, it had a far more didactic quality to it than the other works I have read. Dickens is clearly presenting a case for the need for education to be offered more widely and to encompass the imagination and creativity rather than simply ‘hard facts’. He is evidently espousing the need for us to recognise that the impoverished need to be dealt with in a far more sympathetic way and thus presents those from the lower classes of society as more empathetic of others, more moral and more interesting than their social betters, who are flawed, blind and selfish. He is clearly presenting the need for a community and demonstrating the vital role that entertainment and an element of freedom and release provide particularly for those whose lives are indeed so bleak, so ‘hard’. However, the manner in which this is demonstrated felt rather heavy handed – this is the lesson I am giving you – this is what I believe should be done. It simply seemed to lack the light touch and subtlety of his previous works.
I am perhaps being unduly harsh. This is an interesting novel and in its depiction of life under the brutal Northern mills it is enlightening. The characters are engaging and the plot itself full of Dickens’ usual sense of intrigue and tension. It is thus perhaps only in comparison to other novels by Dickens, that are, for me, some of the very best in the literary canon, that it suffers.
However, I did find his ideas about education in particular really intriguing. To digress a little, it made me think of the recent claims that the heinous Mr Gove has been making particularly with regards to English in Secondary Schools. For those of you not in the know, amongst the changes he has proposed, he wishes to make all A Level and GCSE exams terminal (thus discriminating against those who find writing at length under timed conditions difficult and taking no account of the stress this places on 16-18 year olds many of whom are already dealing with far too much pressure socially and personally than they can cope with); there will be no coursework; the novels that students study at GCSE should be BRITISH (none of this useful foreign crap like Harper Lee’s stunning ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ or Steinbeck’s much beloved ‘Of Mice and Men’) – oh no our xenophobic education minister insists on British being best and thus anyone who does not go on to A Level study may well never read anything written outside the British Isles. He also wants students to study, (instead of fantastic works of fiction like ‘Lord of the Flies’ or even non-fiction based ‘ I Know why the Caged Bird Sings’), pre-1900 novels. Well all very admirable unless you think of those students who may have special needs or for whom English is a foreign language and for whom the language let alone the ideas of such texts will be inaccessible and thereby ostracise them from the curriculum. Then, of course, he wants there to be a greater focus on historical context and that all responses should link texts to their FACTUAL background. Remind you of anyone? Yes, Gove is the new Gradgrind and one can only imagine what Dickens would have said about such a man if he were writing today. He would have undoubtedly provided rich material for satire and could easily become one of his ridiculous characters like Gradgrind or Bounderby with his proclamations about knowing what it is like to be on the front line or in poverty when he has never spent a day in anything but luxury. In fact, what Gove is doing to English education: forcing it into something that is only accessible to the few, restricting the material we can study, enforcing a factual, historical basis into every text studied, removing any element of creativity or freedom of thought, is exactly what Dickens satirises in ‘Hard Times’ and rails against.
It is certainly interesting how life comes full circle and how much Dickens still has to offer us as a social commentator today. ‘Hard Times’ may not be my favourite novel or indeed the best in Dickens’ oeuvre, but it is well worth reading and still has much to say to us in the twenty-first century and some very salient lessons that those at the top of the social and political tree could well do with learning.
As much as I want to praise Dickens and hyperbolise about the brilliance of his writing, I just cannot do this for ‘Hard Times.’ The novel portrays the Gradgrind family who, amongst other things, run an educational establishment where lessons are dictated by the aptly named Mr Choakumchild. Their educational ethos is based on, ‘facts, facts, facts’ and the suppression of any form of imagination or creativity. Thus Tom and his sister, Louisa, naturally suffer under the suppressive hand of this doctrine. Louisa’s plight is somewhat eased by the adoption of a surrogate child, Sissy, who is forced to leave Sleary’s idiosyncratic circus when her father abandons her when he is no longer able to perform as a clown or make the crowd laugh in the way that he wishes. Meanwhile, we have the working class community who slave all day in the mills of Mr Bounderby, a rather ridiculous figure who is so full of self importance and expostulation about his impoverished upbringing and the failings of his mother, that it is difficult to see him as anything but ludicrous. Amongst the many workers here is Stephen Blackpool, who is tied to an alcoholic, absent wife and thus unable to pursue his true love, Rachel due to his principled sense of morality. And so the novel begins and charts the way in which the children’s upbringing impacts upon their adult behaviour until all major characters collide in a dramatic final revelation of the truth.
This is a brilliant animated version of the novel's opening and great introduction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Mqy8f2laA
There are many wonderful things about this novel: the bleak depiction of the mills and the monotonous way of life of those who are forced to live as near slaves under their ‘dark, satanic’ shadow; the portrayal of Sleary’s circus, which is not merely a source of fun but a representation of the necessity for entertainment and the need for community and familial unity even if not based on biological ties; the sensitive illustration of Sissy and Louisa’s relationship and the emotional bond shared by Rachel and Stephen; the comic characterisation of Bounderby and his austere side-kick Mrs Sparsit. There is thus much of the Dickens’ magic here.
However, for me, there was just something missing that meant it was not comparable to his previous works in my mind. I think, in part, I missed London. Set in the grim North, the bleak setting drew a melancholic cloud over the whole novel and whilst I am sure that this was Dickens’ intention, for me what is often great about his novels is the light and shade, which this seemed to lack. Moreover, I like the sprawling, epic nature of his works that see us journey from place to place and in confining the reader to this one rather claustrophobic community some of this was lost for me. The plot was also far less complex than many of his other novels dealing really with only a small range of characters. Again, what I have previously enjoyed is the array of faces that pepper Dickens’ novels, the deft characterisation of single figures that dip in and out of his narratives. ‘Hard Times’ lacked this in its focus on only a handful of individuals. Likewise, it had a far more didactic quality to it than the other works I have read. Dickens is clearly presenting a case for the need for education to be offered more widely and to encompass the imagination and creativity rather than simply ‘hard facts’. He is evidently espousing the need for us to recognise that the impoverished need to be dealt with in a far more sympathetic way and thus presents those from the lower classes of society as more empathetic of others, more moral and more interesting than their social betters, who are flawed, blind and selfish. He is clearly presenting the need for a community and demonstrating the vital role that entertainment and an element of freedom and release provide particularly for those whose lives are indeed so bleak, so ‘hard’. However, the manner in which this is demonstrated felt rather heavy handed – this is the lesson I am giving you – this is what I believe should be done. It simply seemed to lack the light touch and subtlety of his previous works.
I am perhaps being unduly harsh. This is an interesting novel and in its depiction of life under the brutal Northern mills it is enlightening. The characters are engaging and the plot itself full of Dickens’ usual sense of intrigue and tension. It is thus perhaps only in comparison to other novels by Dickens, that are, for me, some of the very best in the literary canon, that it suffers.
However, I did find his ideas about education in particular really intriguing. To digress a little, it made me think of the recent claims that the heinous Mr Gove has been making particularly with regards to English in Secondary Schools. For those of you not in the know, amongst the changes he has proposed, he wishes to make all A Level and GCSE exams terminal (thus discriminating against those who find writing at length under timed conditions difficult and taking no account of the stress this places on 16-18 year olds many of whom are already dealing with far too much pressure socially and personally than they can cope with); there will be no coursework; the novels that students study at GCSE should be BRITISH (none of this useful foreign crap like Harper Lee’s stunning ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ or Steinbeck’s much beloved ‘Of Mice and Men’) – oh no our xenophobic education minister insists on British being best and thus anyone who does not go on to A Level study may well never read anything written outside the British Isles. He also wants students to study, (instead of fantastic works of fiction like ‘Lord of the Flies’ or even non-fiction based ‘ I Know why the Caged Bird Sings’), pre-1900 novels. Well all very admirable unless you think of those students who may have special needs or for whom English is a foreign language and for whom the language let alone the ideas of such texts will be inaccessible and thereby ostracise them from the curriculum. Then, of course, he wants there to be a greater focus on historical context and that all responses should link texts to their FACTUAL background. Remind you of anyone? Yes, Gove is the new Gradgrind and one can only imagine what Dickens would have said about such a man if he were writing today. He would have undoubtedly provided rich material for satire and could easily become one of his ridiculous characters like Gradgrind or Bounderby with his proclamations about knowing what it is like to be on the front line or in poverty when he has never spent a day in anything but luxury. In fact, what Gove is doing to English education: forcing it into something that is only accessible to the few, restricting the material we can study, enforcing a factual, historical basis into every text studied, removing any element of creativity or freedom of thought, is exactly what Dickens satirises in ‘Hard Times’ and rails against.
It is certainly interesting how life comes full circle and how much Dickens still has to offer us as a social commentator today. ‘Hard Times’ may not be my favourite novel or indeed the best in Dickens’ oeuvre, but it is well worth reading and still has much to say to us in the twenty-first century and some very salient lessons that those at the top of the social and political tree could well do with learning.
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Extremely mid. Not as good as Oliver Twist. Louisa was hot tho
I feel terrible for ranking it so low but my reading experience was definitely affected by the fact that this was a uni assigned book and was an obstacle to get over so I can keep reading Jane Eyre. I found this incredibly boring and I’m so glad to be done with it.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book is slow and boring.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not what I was expecting from Dickens at all so a great, unpredictable read
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is a good book with an interesting premise. My issue is that the language itself made it a hard read. It took longer than it should have for me to finish it. It is Charles Dickens, so he does go on a bit. I think if you like reading classics, you will enjoy this book. In the middle it was very slow but it picked up the pace near the end. Overall, not bad.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes