1 of 1 members found this review helpful.
“Others might say it's a boring novel but what we must always remember about "Hard Times" is that it's an industrial novel that does not aim to appeal to the romantic side of things. It aims to represent truth and values and the harshness that comes with learning them in the society. With its caricature characters, all of which are symbolic, it's constant allusion to biblical verses conveying the same values, and the mocking of the defects of society "Hard Times", I think, is one of Dickens' most powerful works. It portrayed, in an intense degree, the destructive effects of binary thinking through Mr. Gradgrind's rigid assertion of "the one thing needful" and Mr. Bounderby's prejudice. In the midst of Coketown's smoke though is the hero Stephen Blackpool who recalls the image of Jesus Christ by prevailing goodness through sacrifice. The fate of the characters are not all very pleasing, some are tragic. However despite the unfortunate fates of some of the characters the story ended with justice for all of them, the story ended the right way. A lot of writers sacrifice the right ending to literature to give way for good and pleasing endings and by doing so they deprive stories and characters of "poetic justice" (as Karen Odden refers to it). This is a remarkable novel. I've read it twice and I'll probably read it again someday.”
cloverkite wrote this review Tuesday, September 16 2008.
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