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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this in one sitting because I had to write an essay on it that night... maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more in a different context
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The words spoke the truth with such beauty> Absolutely loved it. So many characters, so much pain among them , so many stories. The Ugliness of education. What I learned from this is that education is like food , it is required to certain extent but excessive of it can 'ruin' ones life.
Oh, how much did Louisa suffer just because she respected her father and cared for her brother. Her brother, a fine example of man with no moral values. Moral values he lost because they weren't facts which he had to memorize. Life of an uneducated girl, like Sissy turned out happy in the end, at least it left that impression. Made me recollect me seeing 3-4 year old waking up at 3-4 am to go to school. Education is taking childhood from children, taking their innocence and turning it into something worse. Education should be encouraged but not forced both on Universal level as well as family level. People need to realize there is more to life than money,power and education. Charles Dickens expressed this with the best way possible !
I leave this review with the ending quote which tore my soul apart 3
" Dear reader! It rests with you and me, whether, in our two fields of action, similar things shall be or not. Let them be! We shall sit with lighter bosoms on the hearth, to see the ashes of our fires turn gray and cold"
Oh, how much did Louisa suffer just because she respected her father and cared for her brother. Her brother, a fine example of man with no moral values. Moral values he lost because they weren't facts which he had to memorize. Life of an uneducated girl, like Sissy turned out happy in the end, at least it left that impression. Made me recollect me seeing 3-4 year old waking up at 3-4 am to go to school. Education is taking childhood from children, taking their innocence and turning it into something worse. Education should be encouraged but not forced both on Universal level as well as family level. People need to realize there is more to life than money,power and education. Charles Dickens expressed this with the best way possible !
I leave this review with the ending quote which tore my soul apart 3
" Dear reader! It rests with you and me, whether, in our two fields of action, similar things shall be or not. Let them be! We shall sit with lighter bosoms on the hearth, to see the ashes of our fires turn gray and cold"
Dickens is the conscience of the 19th century, with all its rife changes, but this book perhaps better than any other illustrates how angry and troubled he was at the changes he saw happening. In its pages we have: a schoolmaster named M'Choakumchild; a near-adulterous affair; the death of a man by Stephen Blackpool by falling down a mineshaft. These are not lighthearted images or allegorical figures--they're stark representations of what was going on in England in 1854, in Dickens' view, and the picture is quite unflattering.
The two main plots figure in the portrayal of the two main classes, bourgeoise and proletariat, and its component members. Aside from Stephen Blackpool and Rachael, most of the characters come across as arrogant, evil, deluded, passive-aggressive, etc., by turns--there few characters that enjoy a positive representation throughout the novel. It makes for a rather cynical novel, full of authorial intrusion, moralizing, and sarcasm. Hope comes from death, unless Dickens' heartfelt pleas, voiced variously throughout the chapters, are answered with severe economic and labor reform. Pain--emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual--is a constant, with the most pointed example being the pure and chaste love that Stephen and Rachael enjoy amidst the barriers of poverty and alcoholism, which negate any sort of happy ending for the two of them. That Mrs. Blackpool does not make an appearance after her salvation at the hands of Rachael is simultaneously appropriate and troubling, as it underscores the "hard fact" that not resolutions occur from death, which is an increased likelihood when you live, and more specifically, work, in a place like Coketown.
It's my favorite of Dickens' novels, because I get it--I get what he's saying, I feel what he's feeling, and when I laugh, I know that it's a black laughter that suggests an all-too-accurate picture of what was going on in '54. I love Stephen's final speech, and the way that Dickens uses every aspect of his character, speech, and name to present to us a martyr of the proletariat. I love that Sissy Jupe lays one on the jaw of the aristocrat, who is left to feel one burning iota of shame inherent to his lifestyle. I love it all, and how Dickens makes it real for me to think about 150+ years later. Happy Birthday, Mr. Dickens--thanks for the letters.
The two main plots figure in the portrayal of the two main classes, bourgeoise and proletariat, and its component members. Aside from Stephen Blackpool and Rachael, most of the characters come across as arrogant, evil, deluded, passive-aggressive, etc., by turns--there few characters that enjoy a positive representation throughout the novel. It makes for a rather cynical novel, full of authorial intrusion, moralizing, and sarcasm. Hope comes from death, unless Dickens' heartfelt pleas, voiced variously throughout the chapters, are answered with severe economic and labor reform. Pain--emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual--is a constant, with the most pointed example being the pure and chaste love that Stephen and Rachael enjoy amidst the barriers of poverty and alcoholism, which negate any sort of happy ending for the two of them. That Mrs. Blackpool does not make an appearance after her salvation at the hands of Rachael is simultaneously appropriate and troubling, as it underscores the "hard fact" that not resolutions occur from death, which is an increased likelihood when you live, and more specifically, work, in a place like Coketown.
It's my favorite of Dickens' novels, because I get it--I get what he's saying, I feel what he's feeling, and when I laugh, I know that it's a black laughter that suggests an all-too-accurate picture of what was going on in '54. I love Stephen's final speech, and the way that Dickens uses every aspect of his character, speech, and name to present to us a martyr of the proletariat. I love that Sissy Jupe lays one on the jaw of the aristocrat, who is left to feel one burning iota of shame inherent to his lifestyle. I love it all, and how Dickens makes it real for me to think about 150+ years later. Happy Birthday, Mr. Dickens--thanks for the letters.
The first Dickens novel I read it put me off him for several more years. And re-reading it many years later I am not much fonder of it. It is overly didactic, not particularly humorous, the plot feels relatively basic, and the depiction of the industrial revolution is more stereotypical and less imaginative than the fog, dust and red tape of Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend and Little Dorrit respectively. That is not to say there are not good passages and the evolution of Mr. Gradgrind, his son Tom, and their relationship is particularly well done. But Tom's sister Louisa is much more cardboard and the humorous characters like Mr. Sleary and Miss Sparsit are both somewhat annoying.
It is unfortunate that, as Dickens' shortest novel, this one is probably the most assigned in school (which is where I first read it), it really does not serve as the best introduction to the author.
It is unfortunate that, as Dickens' shortest novel, this one is probably the most assigned in school (which is where I first read it), it really does not serve as the best introduction to the author.
You know how in the cheesy cliche high school movies/Pretty Little Liars that the characters are always reading books that reflect their current situation?
I don't know why, but Hard Times really connected with me in that sense. I've been having a rough spiritual time, my sophomore year of college has been difficult, and I still don't know what I want to do with my life.
So, starting my Brit Lit class, we read Persuasion, which is a great novel. Jane Austen is classic, but there was something too happy about her book, and the typical marriage ending just wasn't sitting well in my mind. Things shouldn't always turn out happy.
Hard Times was great. Right off the bat, with the focus of society on "facts," the dystopian-like novel intrigued me in that the pursuit of dreams, imagination, and feelings were forbidden. I wasn't expecting it, and I certainly wasn't expecting to devour the book so quickly.
I love the character names, because Dickens spells things out very clearly for the reader. Gradgrind, Bounderby, Harthouse, etc. all have very significant and obvious names to reflect important character aspects. The imagery of Coketown is flawless, and I will never forget the serpents and the elephants.
The story line is by no means the most amazing thing I have ever read. It's pretty simplistic, but it's rather the reflection of society in the novel vs. the society of the time period that is the most fascinating.
I didn't expect to enjoy the book so much. I never review books, but I really enjoyed Hard Times, and it has impressed me as a classic and thought provoking novel. Maybe it's because I am going through hard times myself, but I feel even more intrigued to read other Dickens novels and decipher the meaning behind his works.
I don't know why, but Hard Times really connected with me in that sense. I've been having a rough spiritual time, my sophomore year of college has been difficult, and I still don't know what I want to do with my life.
So, starting my Brit Lit class, we read Persuasion, which is a great novel. Jane Austen is classic, but there was something too happy about her book, and the typical marriage ending just wasn't sitting well in my mind. Things shouldn't always turn out happy.
Hard Times was great. Right off the bat, with the focus of society on "facts," the dystopian-like novel intrigued me in that the pursuit of dreams, imagination, and feelings were forbidden. I wasn't expecting it, and I certainly wasn't expecting to devour the book so quickly.
I love the character names, because Dickens spells things out very clearly for the reader. Gradgrind, Bounderby, Harthouse, etc. all have very significant and obvious names to reflect important character aspects. The imagery of Coketown is flawless, and I will never forget the serpents and the elephants.
The story line is by no means the most amazing thing I have ever read. It's pretty simplistic, but it's rather the reflection of society in the novel vs. the society of the time period that is the most fascinating.
I didn't expect to enjoy the book so much. I never review books, but I really enjoyed Hard Times, and it has impressed me as a classic and thought provoking novel. Maybe it's because I am going through hard times myself, but I feel even more intrigued to read other Dickens novels and decipher the meaning behind his works.
What Hard Times lacks in plot, it makes up for in character development. Dickens' masterful use of characterization and description enter in full tilt in this industrial age novel. Brilliant characterization, but a great lack of real plot make the story a bit too wordy, especially near the midpoint of the novel. A poignant and humorous beginning and a satisfying ending bookend the story, but the somewhat dull midsection makes it somewhat difficult to make it to the end.