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 an

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Gradgrind had tried to avoid whilst

raising his children. He was emotionaless as were his children

because they were brought up only knowing what they were taught by

him. Sissy Jupe showed the Gradgrind

family what it feels like to love and how it feels to care. Eventually, as Gradgrind's children became older, what they were

taught began to turn sour in their minds. A child who was scorned for being

herself was teaching a supposed "perfect" family values they did not possess and they were

grateful. d that was the idea that if it is

not fact, then it is false.

Once more, this is exactly what Mr.

Sissy Jupe, a child who had been scolded for her inability to accept fact over fancy, was not

approved by Mr.

Futhermore, Tom, a usually well-behaved child, began to rebel after this

incident. Josiah Bounderby was a middle aged factory owner who was quite wealthy. The

children were scolded for being curious, but seeds were planted into

their minds of how there was more to life than what they had been taught. " Those who strived to have perfect children, didn't. At first, he was rebelling in his mind, but eventually, after Tom

moved out of his father's house, so began his more visible rebellion. He took

to smoking and gambling, which eventually led to his downfall.

Approximate Word count = 701
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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