Hard Times is set in the imaginary industrial town of Coketown, the soulless domain of the strict Gradgind and the heartless factory owner Bounderby. The eminently practical Mr. Gradgrind, teaches nothing but facts, eradicating any imaginative or aesthetic subjects from the curriculum, while analysis, deduction and mathematics are emphasised. Mr. Bounderby himself superintends through calculating tabular statements and statistics, and is always secretly rebuking the people of Coketown for indulging in conceitful activities. Human joy is seen as the open-hearted and affectionate people act as an antidote to the ruthless behaviour Charles Dickens presents. Hard Times appraises English society and highlights the social and economic pressures of the times. Dickens wished to confront the assumption that prosperity runs parallel to morality, a notion which is systematically deconstructed in this novel through his portrayal of the moral monsters, Mr. Bounderby and James Harthouse. Dickens was also campaigning for the importance of imagination in life, and for people's lives to not be reduced to a collection of material facts and statistical analyses.--Publisher's description.
Authors
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2020.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 823/.8
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- e-uk-en
- ISBN
- 9781774375105 9781774376027
- LCCN
- PR4561
- LCCN Item number
- A1 2020eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (249 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00241314 (OCoLC)1202559555 (CaOOCEL)459208
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Title 3
- Book First - Sowing 7
- 1 - The One Thing Needful 7
- 2 - Murdering the Innocents 9
- 3 - A Loophole 14
- 4 - Mr. Bounderby 18
- 5 - The Keynote 24
- 6 - Sleary’s Horsemanship 29
- 7 - Mrs. Sparsit 40
- 8 - Never Wonder 46
- 9 - Sissy’s Progress 51
- 10 - Stephen Blackpool 58
- 11 - No Way Out 63
- 12 - The Old Woman 69
- 13 - Rachael 73
- 14 - The Great Manufacturer 80
- 15 - Father and Daughter 85
- 16 - Husband and Wife 92
- Book Second - Reaping 97
- 1 - Effects in the Bank 97
- 2 - Mr. James Harthouse 108
- 3 - The Whelp 115
- 4 - Men and Brothers 120
- 5 - Men and Masters 127
- 6 - Fading Away 133
- 7 - Gunpowder 143
- 8 - Explosion 153
- 9 - Hearing the Last of It 164
- 10 - Mrs. Sparsit’s Staircase 171
- 11 - Lower and Lower 175
- 12 - Down 182
- Book Third - Garnering 186
- 1 - Another thing Needful 186
- 2 - Very Ridiculous 192
- 3 - Very Decided 200
- 4 - Lost 207
- 5 - Found 215
- 6 - The Starlight 222
- 7 - Whelp-Hunting 230
- 8 - Philosophical 239
- 9 - Final 245
- Explore Other Engage Classic Titles 250
