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A synopsis of Charles Dickens's novel Hard Times, which depicts the harsh realities of industrial life in Coketown, England. The story follows the Gradgrind family, Stephen Blackpool, and James Harthouse as they confront the challenges of rationalism, self-interest, and social injustice.
- Sowing
A summary of Book the First: Sowing: Chapters 9–12 in...
- Quick Quiz
Take a quiz about the important details and events in...
- Character List
Bounderby’s housekeeper, who goes to live at the bank...
- Chapters 5-9 Quiz
Take a quiz about the important details and events in Book...
- Context
Hard Times quiz that tests what you know about Charles...
- Themes
The Mechanization of Human Beings. Hard Times suggests that...
- Sowing
A brief overview of the novel's main events, characters, and themes. Learn how Mr. Gradgrind's obsession with facts leads to the misery and tragedy of his family and workers, and how Sissy Jupe brings hope and love to their lives.
Hard Times study guide contains a biography of Charles Dickens, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
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Thomas Gradgrind, proprietor of an experimental private school in Coketown, insists that the children under him learn only facts. He believes that the world has no place for fancy or imagination. His own five children are models of a factual education. Never having been permitted to learn anything of the humanities, they are ignorant of literature ...
Mrs. Sparsit returns to act as Bounderbys housekeeper during Louisas absence and tries to reinstate herself in Bounderbys confidence by tracing down Mrs. Pegler. To her chagrin, Mrs. Pegler turns out to be Bounderbys mother. Bounderby is furious, for his mother disproves his boasts about being a self-made man. Meanwhile, Louisa and Sissy Jupe accid...
Mrs. Sparsit, who had caused Bounderby great embarrassment by producing Mrs. Pegler, is discharged from his patronage, much to her chagrin. Bounderby himself dies unhappily in a fit a few years later. The Gradgrinds, all of them victims of an education of facts, continue to live unhappily, unable to see the human side of life.
A brief overview of Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times, which depicts the harsh life of the working class in industrial England. The story follows the Gradgrind family, Sissy Jupe, Stephen Blackpool, and others as they face poverty, love, and social issues.
Hard Times is an 1854 novel by Charles Dickens. The 10th book of Dickens’s career, Hard Times is notably shorter than his other works and is one of the few that isn’t set in London. Instead, Hard Times provides a satirical examination of the fictitious industrial city of Coketown, England.
Hard Times: For These Times (commonly known as Hard Times) is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book surveys English society and satirises the social and economic conditions of the era.
From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the SparkNotes Hard Times Study Guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays.
