Charles Dickens's "Hard Times"

I have never really been a fan of Charles Dickens, mainly because of the sexist comments he had made about one of my idols, Jane Austen. I had tried to read some of his works but found his style to be quite problematic--I can't understand what he's on and on about. This is why I was so surprised to one of his masterpieces, "Hard Times," turned out to be one of the most enjoyable novels I have ever read.

Dickens creates a world wherein facts are valued above all else. To use a term that didn't exist in Dickens time, this is a "realist" world. This means that all romantic notions are devalued and discarded. Students at school are taught to memorize all the facts in the world, and are prohibited from studying such things as folklore or going to carnivals. With such a setting, it isn't difficult to guess that the rest of the novel will be about the disaster that derives in a world without art and entertainment. The novel doesn't have a protagonist; the main characters all have their own stories to tell, which is what I find to be one of the novel's strongest points--this isn't a journey of one person but of the whole town as they progress and come to a realization that what they fervently believe in is flawed. The novel is also a criticism of capitalism and the class system--the fact-based lives is meant to help people to move ahead in the world, while at the same time turning them cold-hearted and taking away their affection for one another.

I enjoyed this novel tremendously, and highly recommend it to all those who love a good drama, especially a classic one from the 19th century. Dickens could not have done a finer job constructing this complex and insightful story. This novel is to be cherished as a great work of fiction as well as a historical monument of the changing society in 19th Century England.