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Hard Times
This large print title is set in Tieras 16pt font as reccomended by the RNIB.
Paperback, Large Print, 568 pages
Published
April 1st 2006
by Echo Library
(first published 1854)
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This book is, for me, Dickens' best. I loved every second of it, the darkness of Tom's steady descent into drinking and gambling were brilliant and there were several times I found myself simply rereading a few paragraphs over and over, in awe at them. (The end of Chapter XIX, The Whelp, is something I hold in very high regard as possibly one of his best pieces of writing ever.) I want to deal with the characters individually from here, since I feel they are all very important.
Mr Gradgrind - Fac...more
Mr Gradgrind - Fac...more
Aug 06, 2007
Cori
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
audio book lovers
From my blog:
NOTE: I listened to the audio version.
For some reason, I could never get into Dickens. I was an English major, for goodness' sake. I tried David Copperfield. I tried the Pickwick Papers. I tried Oliver Twist. All meh, and I didn't finish any of them. I have, however, enjoyed many a film adaptation of his novels, including Bleak House (fan. tas. tic.) and Nicholas Nickleby, so I knew that it couldn't be that bad. Anyway, my friend Hillary has recommended Hard Times for a long time,...more
NOTE: I listened to the audio version.
For some reason, I could never get into Dickens. I was an English major, for goodness' sake. I tried David Copperfield. I tried the Pickwick Papers. I tried Oliver Twist. All meh, and I didn't finish any of them. I have, however, enjoyed many a film adaptation of his novels, including Bleak House (fan. tas. tic.) and Nicholas Nickleby, so I knew that it couldn't be that bad. Anyway, my friend Hillary has recommended Hard Times for a long time,...more
Not Dicken's best work, but still, ya know, Dickens.
It's pretty much "Lets light some straw men on fire!" day in Dickens land. Presumably Hard Times was chosen as the title because "Let's Kick Some Deserving Fuckers In The Teeth" was already taken.
Still I don't know anyone I'd rather watch burn people and deliver teeth kicks then Dickens.
It's pretty much "Lets light some straw men on fire!" day in Dickens land. Presumably Hard Times was chosen as the title because "Let's Kick Some Deserving Fuckers In The Teeth" was already taken.
Still I don't know anyone I'd rather watch burn people and deliver teeth kicks then Dickens.
I have had this book on my shelf since my wife studied it at college in 1979. I had avoided reading it (although I've enjoyed every Dickens Book I've read). I suppose I associated Hard Times with Hard Book. Who wants to read about industial strife? It's grim oop t'North etc. The way round this for me was the relatively painless outlay of 95p on a download of the book on to the MP3 to listen to while running. The skill of the narrator immediately transports you into the world of Mr Gradgrind's sc...more
A slim and compact tale whose characters and story packs a powerful punch, Dickens’ Hard Times is as vitriolic an indictment against the institutionalized teaching model Paolo Friere scathingly criticized as the “banking concept” in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Josiah Bounderby is delectably drawn, as is the crooked and colorful characters of James Harthouse, Mrs. Sparsit, and our cold and calculated heroine, Louisa Gradgrind. Dickens, at first, seems to forgo his typical habit of idealizing w...more
" أوقات عصيبة " جميلة بلا شك بس حسيت ف لحظة ان مش ده اسلوب ديكنز او ممكن تكون مكتوبة ف اول عهده
انا معتبراها قصة مش رواية وملاحظة ان ناس كتير درسوها ف المدرسة إلا انا معرفش ليه ؟!
اللى استفزنى من القصة اولا اسمها اللى مش شايفة ليه علاقة اوى بمضمونها .. وكمان النهاية العجيبة ان كل واحد وحش ف الاول بقى كويس ف الاخر فجأة كده مع ان اللى اعرفه ان من شب ع شئ شاب عليه وبالتالى صعب ان الانسان يغير طباعه ف يوم وليلة فحسيت انى قدام فيلم مصرى قديم وهابط كمان !
كمان من عيوب القصة تهميش دور " سيسى " ف اغلب المض...more
انا معتبراها قصة مش رواية وملاحظة ان ناس كتير درسوها ف المدرسة إلا انا معرفش ليه ؟!
اللى استفزنى من القصة اولا اسمها اللى مش شايفة ليه علاقة اوى بمضمونها .. وكمان النهاية العجيبة ان كل واحد وحش ف الاول بقى كويس ف الاخر فجأة كده مع ان اللى اعرفه ان من شب ع شئ شاب عليه وبالتالى صعب ان الانسان يغير طباعه ف يوم وليلة فحسيت انى قدام فيلم مصرى قديم وهابط كمان !
كمان من عيوب القصة تهميش دور " سيسى " ف اغلب المض...more
This is Dickens’ very best at what he does the very best. The so-over-the-top, and yet painfully true-to-life characters, (by virtue of the wonderful names alone: Bounderby, M’Chokumchild, Blackpool) are so precisely defined that they drive the narrative and put such a spotlight on elements of human pride. The story, then, is in the descriptions.
In some books, you can skip the lengthy descriptions, as they just provide realistic detail or clues into the nature of the character’s reaction or his...more
In some books, you can skip the lengthy descriptions, as they just provide realistic detail or clues into the nature of the character’s reaction or his...more
I read this book after watching a DVD version with my family. From what I understand, it isn't considered one of his best books. The characters are fairly sketchy, the moral tone is fairly heavy-handed, and there is little of the poignant hilarity of Dickens at his best. IT is set in a factory town and the general theme has to do with the misery of the working class in contrast to the relative affluence and callousness of the upper middle class who benefits from their toil.
The other theme was t...more
The other theme was t...more
Here's how much of an impression this book made on me: When scanning my (physical) bookshelves adding books to my Goodreads account, I completely forgot that I had read this book (just a couple months ago) and stuck it on my to-read "shelf" rather than read. Then just now driving home a random train of thought led me to think of Dickens, and how I had only read one Dickens novel, but then I had this vague memory that in fact I had read a second Dickens novel. I could only remember the barest det...more
Hard Times stands apart from other Dickens novels -- shorter in length, simpler in plot, and sadder in tone. The action is set in a mill town in the north of England and presents some expected social issues: working conditions, legal discrimination against the poor, labor unions. The main theme of the novel, however, is education. Thomas Gradgrind brings up his children and pupils without any recourse to imagination or emotion. In his household, "I wonder . . ." is a phrase that merits punishmen...more
Reading Charles Dickens was a fascinating experience. Though I read this six years ago in a senior English class, I can still remember a couple of my favorite passages and even their approximate page numbers because of how clever and telling they were to the characters and story; the schoolchildren as "little pitchers" philosophy of Thomas Gradgrind, or Josiah Bounderby, in a heightened state of egomania, ready to explode himself into his own portrait (metaphorically, of course). These two, and...more
Shortest Dickens book I've ever read (listened to actually), but VERY good. I love the come-uppance of Josiah Bounderby in the end! I also like Dickens' way of pointing out that the perfect ending would have been for Louisa to have gotten married and had a bunch of kids, but that is NOT what ended up happening. But then he did give her a happy ending, after all, just a different one. I especially love the way Dickens names his characters. You never have to wonder whether somebody is going to be...more
I am a fan of Charles Dickens' work and looked forward to reading Hard Times. The earlier paragraphs in the novel immediately caught my attention. I sympathised with Louisa and young Tom, rooted for Sissy Jupe and hated Grangrind and Bounderby to the core. Unfortunately, as the story line progresses, I find my attention wandering elsewhere.
I find Hard Times harder to relate compared to other novels of Dickens that I've read as there is no focus on one strong character. I would love to see more...more
I find Hard Times harder to relate compared to other novels of Dickens that I've read as there is no focus on one strong character. I would love to see more...more
Fact, fact, fact; in his proper Utilitarian fashion, is all Thomas Gradgrind concerns himself with. Why live a life of frippery and fancy when you can concentrate on the sheer science of the matter in hand and thus be more efficient, profitable and successful in life? Believing his path to be the only one of any value, Gradgrind brings his own children, Louisa and Tom, and the adopted, willful, circus child Cecilia ‘Sissy’ Jupe up in a drab and loveless environment, to the detriment of all. Alon...more
Thomas Gradgrind's family has been taught that material things are the only things of importance. His daughter Louisa marries an elderly banker to help her brother Tom who works for him. Tom robs the banker and casts suspicion on an innocent weaver, Stephen Blackpool.
I was always aware of Charles Dicken's works after hearing a couple of my friends complain about how depressing he is, so I was a bit wary when I found out that I had to read this book for one of my English Literature modules. Howev...more
I was always aware of Charles Dicken's works after hearing a couple of my friends complain about how depressing he is, so I was a bit wary when I found out that I had to read this book for one of my English Literature modules. Howev...more
Rating. 2.8 Stars
Now, don't get me wrong. I do not in any way shape or form, deny Charles Dickens' talent as a writer or his influence over the industry. In fact I like a lot of his film/TV show adaptions. But I always found him a bit depressing and bleak. I know he lived during pretty horrible times, but would a little ray of sunlight hurt him?
Anyway, I read this on a whim and I was hoping to extend my vocabulary. The vocabulary lesson did not disappoint, that's for sure. I've never Googled so...more
Now, don't get me wrong. I do not in any way shape or form, deny Charles Dickens' talent as a writer or his influence over the industry. In fact I like a lot of his film/TV show adaptions. But I always found him a bit depressing and bleak. I know he lived during pretty horrible times, but would a little ray of sunlight hurt him?
Anyway, I read this on a whim and I was hoping to extend my vocabulary. The vocabulary lesson did not disappoint, that's for sure. I've never Googled so...more
I took this one up with some trepidation, because back when I was stuck at Berkeley doing the English major dance, in 19th Century Lit., there were always assignments of those fat, exhaustive novels, the bountiful Brontës, tireless Thackeray, endless Eliot, always ending up with discursive Dickens.
Most of all, we despaired of Dickens, with all his detours and pontificating, plots growing up and out like weeds in the fields, jammed with twisty side-journeys and sub-plots, ever-so-lengthy dialog...more
Most of all, we despaired of Dickens, with all his detours and pontificating, plots growing up and out like weeds in the fields, jammed with twisty side-journeys and sub-plots, ever-so-lengthy dialog...more
Thomas Gradgrind believes in a system of education in which children should be filled with facts and only facts. There is no room for sentiment or imagination. He runs a school that operates in this fashion, and he has raised his children the same way. Since there is no room for sentiment or love in her life, Tom sees know problem with sending his daughter Louisa to marry Bounderby, a cold businessman who is obsessed with the myth that he has pulled himself up from poverty. Likewise, Gradgrind's...more
I think that by now my dislike for Dickens has been well noted so this review might be a surprise to some. But I had to read it for one of my modules, Studying Literature, and to be honest, I am happy they made me read it. I still don't really like Dickens, but at least now I know why he appeals to so many. 'Hard Times' has been described as being very different from any of other of Dickens' novels so maybe I got the wrong impression here, but then again, I could never get myself to get through...more
ha! ha! the cheek of giving Charles Dickens four stars. i feel positively churlish.
this refers to the audiobook edition, by the way.
what happens when your education pounds your imagination into dust? what happens when logic and reason refuse to let wonder out to play? this book is a rather frightening story of just what that gets you (should be required reading for all those promoters of standardized testing out there).
but alas, it does die hard with a vengeance on the whole industrial revolutio...more
this refers to the audiobook edition, by the way.
what happens when your education pounds your imagination into dust? what happens when logic and reason refuse to let wonder out to play? this book is a rather frightening story of just what that gets you (should be required reading for all those promoters of standardized testing out there).
but alas, it does die hard with a vengeance on the whole industrial revolutio...more
Originally published on my blog here in July 2000.
Generally considered Dickens' weakest novel, and certainly consistently his least known, Hard Times is a campaigning work about the conditions experienced by workers in northern English industrial towns. The reason that it is unsatisfactory is not, in fact, hard to see: Dickens did not become involved in his subject in the way that he did in his other novels attacking abuses (such as David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby and Little Dorrit). The re...more
Generally considered Dickens' weakest novel, and certainly consistently his least known, Hard Times is a campaigning work about the conditions experienced by workers in northern English industrial towns. The reason that it is unsatisfactory is not, in fact, hard to see: Dickens did not become involved in his subject in the way that he did in his other novels attacking abuses (such as David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby and Little Dorrit). The re...more
Hard Times is the first novel I have read of this genre. Although it is not one of my most appreciated novels, the themes are very powerful and the way in which they are depicted is effective.
What I found really pleasant is the narrator’s sarcasm at the beginning of each chapter. It is an amazing way for Charles Dickens to smoothly incorporate his personal voice! Because the tone in those passages is a little different, we, as readers are confused at the beginning; but it is the confusion that...more
What I found really pleasant is the narrator’s sarcasm at the beginning of each chapter. It is an amazing way for Charles Dickens to smoothly incorporate his personal voice! Because the tone in those passages is a little different, we, as readers are confused at the beginning; but it is the confusion that...more
Apr 03, 2012
Heather Clitheroe
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-reads
I must admit...I laughed aloud at this:
'Pretend indeed!’ said Mrs Sparsit....more
‘I am sure we are constantly hearing, ma’am, till it becomes quite nauseous, concerning their wives and families,’ said Bitzer. ‘Why look at me, ma’am! I don’t want a wife and family. Why should they?’
‘Because they are improvident,’ said Mrs Sparsit.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ returned Bitzer, ‘that’s where it is. If they were more provident and less perverse, ma’am, what would they do? They would say, ‘‘While my hAt covers my family,’’
Genre: Classic
Synopsis: Thomas Gradgrind, schoolmaster and father of five, is firm on the idea that what should be taught in the home and the schoolroom is facts, nothing but facts. Fancy of any kind is to be discouraged in the strongest possible terms, and it is with this philosophy that he runs his school and raises his children. It seems to him to be the only way to survive in the world, and it is only as the years pass that he begins to see the consequences of such a philosophy in his life...more
Synopsis: Thomas Gradgrind, schoolmaster and father of five, is firm on the idea that what should be taught in the home and the schoolroom is facts, nothing but facts. Fancy of any kind is to be discouraged in the strongest possible terms, and it is with this philosophy that he runs his school and raises his children. It seems to him to be the only way to survive in the world, and it is only as the years pass that he begins to see the consequences of such a philosophy in his life...more
I have discovered that the only way I can really enjoy Dickens is on audio. Otherwise, as I discovered with Hard Times and Great Expectations, the written voice inflections are difficult to consume. Also, the wry irony and humor is best caught if you hear someone else read the text. At least, this has been the case for me.
Hard Times was not a particularly appealing book. I considered it rather dark, melancholy, and disconcertingly similar to aspects of our current society post 2000. Stephen's s...more
Hard Times was not a particularly appealing book. I considered it rather dark, melancholy, and disconcertingly similar to aspects of our current society post 2000. Stephen's s...more
I think a large party of what makes this book still readable is the fascinatingly loathsome Bounderby. From almost his first appearance I was eager to see him earn his comeuppance, and that alone would have kept me reading. Along the way, though, I found empathy for Gradgrind senior, Louisa, Stephen and Rachel, and it’s the resolutions of their stories that ultimately provides emotional satisfaction. I found Louisa’s emotional rapprochement with her father moving and exquisite. I feel a bit let...more
I hope not all Dickens is like this. If it is, this is going to be a long project, as I keep reading anything other than the next one!
The tale of the Gradgrinds – father, a schoolmaster with a very rigid idea of how children ought to be raised, free of fancy and full of “ologisms”, a mother racked with nerves, a daughter Louisa, who comes to doubt the prosaic quality of her life, Thomas, a lost and petulant gambler, and the adopted daughter Sissy Jupe, whose father abandoned her to their circus...more
The tale of the Gradgrinds – father, a schoolmaster with a very rigid idea of how children ought to be raised, free of fancy and full of “ologisms”, a mother racked with nerves, a daughter Louisa, who comes to doubt the prosaic quality of her life, Thomas, a lost and petulant gambler, and the adopted daughter Sissy Jupe, whose father abandoned her to their circus...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The Mechanization of Human Beings
Hard Times suggests that nineteenth-century England’s overzealous adoption of industrialization threatens to turn human beings into machines by thwarting the development of their emotions and imaginations. This suggestion comes forth largely through the actions of Gradgrind and his follower, Bounderby: as the former educates the young children of his family and his school in the ways of fact, the latter treats the workers in his factory as emotionless objects tha...more
Hard Times suggests that nineteenth-century England’s overzealous adoption of industrialization threatens to turn human beings into machines by thwarting the development of their emotions and imaginations. This suggestion comes forth largely through the actions of Gradgrind and his follower, Bounderby: as the former educates the young children of his family and his school in the ways of fact, the latter treats the workers in his factory as emotionless objects tha...more
I have been going back and reading all the Charles Dickens' books which I have either missed, or not read recently. I don't know how I missed this one, as some consider it one of his best.
The book begins with a speech by Thomas Gradgrind about, "facts, just plain facts," to girl #20, a pupil in his school. She is a child of traveling horse riders, who move from place to place. He is upset that she can't define the word,"horse" by only using facts. (One can just hear Jack Webb in the background a...more
The book begins with a speech by Thomas Gradgrind about, "facts, just plain facts," to girl #20, a pupil in his school. She is a child of traveling horse riders, who move from place to place. He is upset that she can't define the word,"horse" by only using facts. (One can just hear Jack Webb in the background a...more
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A prolific 19th Century author of short stories, plays, novellas, novels, fiction and non-fiction; during his lifetime Dickens became known the world over for his remarkable characters, his mastery of prose in the telling of their lives, and his depictions of the social classes, morals and values of his times. Some considered him the spokesman for the poor, for he definitely brought much awarenes...more
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“There is a wisdom of the head, and... there is a wisdom of the heart.”
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299 people liked it
“She was the most wonderful woman for prowling about the house. How she got from one story to another was a mystery beyond solution. A lady so decorous in herself, and so highly connected, was not to be suspected of dropping over the banisters or sliding down them, yet her extraordinary facility of locomotion suggested the wild idea.”
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Bounderby was priceless and I don't agree with he was made to be hat...more
updated Aug 31, 2009 03:37am
Mar 23, 2011 10:04am
Jan 06, 2013 08:40am