Charles Dicken's Hard Times

5 Pages 1265 Words

Charles Dicken’s Hard Times


Hard Times by Charles Dickens is an unappealing book by both title and author name.
However, upon opening it one is transferred to a world gone by. Hard times is an exuberant
dramatization of life in England during the 1800’s. His characters and the personalities that they
exhibit are found throughout the world and at many different times. Life is filled with vagrant
people. It is also filled with heartfelt people and people who can hardly wait to stab one in the
back before one’s back is turned. There are kind, mean, self-centered, and righteous people. The
list could go on and on. There are typical people and those of whom, under the surface, are
atypical. Beneath the surface are people who may have been run ragged, loved dearly, or fed fun
fact after fact. There are many people who succumbed to the world around them and have been
forced to adjust to the lives that they were given. This is the case with Louisa Gradgrind and
Sissy Jupe, two characters in the aforementioned book. Although Louisa and Sissy were
presented as two different and distinct characters, they had much in common. As one reads
Hard Times one can see the differences between Sissy and Louisa. Sissy who was,
Extremely deficient in your [her] facts. Your [her] acquaintance with figures is very
limited... You [she] are an affectionate, earnest, good young woman-and-we must make
that do. (pp. 85-6)
And then Louisa who was described, “ The lady is quite a philosopher... Her father gives her such
a portentously hard-headed reputation...” (p. 114). These two girls were completely different
characters in the book. It was transparent that, though they were so different, they both starved
for the attention and the love of their fathers. Both girls were seeking the approval of that one
man who was held dearest to each of their hearts. It was through the want of love that both
Louisa’s and...