Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, was a representation of his time.
Times were hard for children and adults alike. People who questioned
what they were taught, often went through struggles and "hard times."
Eventually, the people who were looked down were the ones who really
helped those in need. Throughout the book, there are many ironic
Thomas Gradgrind was a man built on the idea that facts and statistics
were the only truth in life and all that was needed to have a healthy and
productive life. The only truth to him was his very own vision of the
truth. Simple put, Thomas Gradgrind strived for perfection. He strived to
be perfect, which is what his philosophy was based on, and he strived to
make his children perfect and not to wonder. He raised his children
never to wonder, never to doubt facts and to never entertain any vice or
fancy. As soon as Gradgrind's children were old enough to absorb, he
was feeding giving more lessons than they could hold. His children were
brought up only knowing one way to live and that was the idea that if it is
not fact, then it is false. He was emotionaless as were his children
because they were brought up only knowing what they were taught by
him. Eventually, as Gradgrind's children became older, what they were
taught began to turn sour in their minds. Tom, Grandgrind's son, began to
despise his father and all he was taught and thus began to rebel. He took
to smoking and gambling, which eventually led to his downfall. Tom had
grown up to become a sycophantic, self-absorbed parasite. He had
turned out the exact opposite as hoped.
Thomas Gradgrind had raised his children never to wonder, but
wondering intrigued them. Gradrgind had observed his children peeking
into a circus tent because they were curious as to what was inside. The
children were scolded for being curious, but seeds were planted into
their minds of how there was more to life than what t...