hard times

             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...

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