Charles Dickens Hard Times free essay sample

A critical review of Charles Dickens Novel -`Hard Times.` An exploration of the main themes raised in this novel and the comments that the novel makes on society. The paper focuses on the issue of the struggle between fact and fancy/fantasy. It also deals with Dickens comment on the Lancaster education system and looks at the idea of education as a microcosm of society. In `Hard Times,` Dickens presents education as a microcosm of the social picture of the times. The Industrial Revolution has taken root in England, and `Coketown` is a typical city: smoke stacks of factories belching out pollutants, black soot and grime enveloping the city. A new breed of employee the factory worker has been born. The novel opens with Thomas Gradgrind admonishing the children of a school he has helped set up. Gradgrind emphasizes facts. While pursuit of facts is the very definition of education, Dickens (mis)uses the word to mean a very stringently, narrow focus of education. We will write a custom essay sample on Charles Dickens Hard Times or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In Gradgrinds world, education is assumed to mean strict dedication to the accepted norms of the sciences, engineering and mathematics. According to Gradgrind, children are empty vessels that need to be filled with knowledge. Any pursuit of the arts or creativity, derived from an active imagination, is derided as a flight of fancy. Even the teacher aptly named MChoakumchild is very literate but equally uneducated. The novel is really a struggle between Fact and Fancy.