Hard times

Charles Dickens :- (1812 – 70)

 He was born in Portsmouth in 1812.  When he was 12, his father was imprisoned for debt, so he was sent to work in a factory, an experience which influenced his works.  Later, he began his career first as a parliamentary reporter and then as a journalist. In 1836 he adopted the pen name “Boz” and he published Sketches by Boz, a collection of articles describing London’s people and scenes. Soon after he published The Pickwick papers, which revealed his humoristic and satirical qualities.  He then started his career as a novelist. The protagonists of his autobiographical novels Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Little Dorrit became symbols of an exploited childhood. Other novels, such as Bleak House, Hard Times, Great Expectations deal with social issues and the consitions of the working classes. He died in London in 1870 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. most of his novels are set in London. He knew well the social scene of London, and was critical against the impact of industrialism to society.

He described the urban slums using Gothic colours, and emphasized their cruelty. With his novels Dickens made the wealthier classes aware of the condition of the working classes. children were very often the moral teachers of the adults, and conveyed the moral message of the novel. Children of working class families were usually sent to work and exploited by adults. Others became criminals. Dickens was obsessed with children and he presents them as either innocent or corrupted by adults.

Hard time :-

A social protest novel of the nineteenth century, “Hard Times” portrays the tough times that the Hand class and other classes of the British society had to face.Dickens divide the book into three parts of which the two parts “Sowing” and “Reaping” represent the most significant reality of life that we reap what we sow in life. The third book “Garnering” is paraphrased from the book of Ruth in which Ruth garnered grain in the field of Boaz.The Nineteenth Century was the age of transformation when the medieval society was into the modern society. The 19th Century was the age when science progressed the most, it was an era of modernization, industrialization, change in government and literature and most importantly, 19th Century was the time when classes such as the hand class struggled to obtain its desired status in the society.
It was for the first time in history that the suppressed men raised their voices against the government thus rising into power and prosperity. The literature of the period is romantic but what is remarkable about the period and what is beautifully portrayed by the novel by Dickens is the struggle of the oppressed classes of the society and also the ruthlessness of the oppressors. The oppressors sacrificed their spiritualistitc and materialistic values in oppressing the weak sections of the society. The struggle of the downtrodden is the theme of the novel and dickens has beautifully portrayed the theme. The readers are mesmerized by the writing and can really feel the pain of these oppressed classes when they read about their conditions. There was a time when false religious dogmas prevailed in the society and thus class distinction was considered to be obvious.

What was made clear in this age of transformation was the fact that it is the birth right of every human being to enjoy an equal status in the society and he or she is equal in the eyes of law. People overthrew the capitalist system and equality was now established. The poor people are forced to work for low wages because they have no other means of livelihood. The novel “Hard Times” has a deep hidden meaning. Each and every human being has to face struggle at one point of his or her life. If that individual decides to give up a miserable life awaits and if that individual decides to fight the adverse circumstances, victory is sure to happen. Dickens in a way motivates the readers not to give up at any point of time to succeed in life.

session video:-

•  Education :-

The contemporary education trend does not revolves around classroom and homework. It focuses more on academic boosting of social and moral experiences. As the academic assessment of every child is requisite part of evaluation. It helps the educational professional to learn and understand the needs of every child.
Neither the education about the sciences we study today in a great detail is imparted in the traditional education system. Traditional education system basically included the knowledge about customs, traditions, and religions. That is why it is called traditional education. Modern Education is very different from the traditional education. Traditional education system basically included the knowledge about customs, traditions, and religions. That is why it is called traditional education. Modern Education is very different from the traditional education. The education which is taught in the schools today is the modern education. If we expect the modern education system to change the world, we have to stop seeing the curriculum alone as the core differentiator. As soon as they graduate, the students will be judged by how well they can turn what they have learned into useful practice. That’s where we should focus our attention.

The story is set in the fictitious town of Coketown. Coketown is used to represent a typical industrial town in the Northern area of England; many agree Coketown has certain similarities to Preston and Manchester but as Dickens had never been there he did not wish to offend them in the novel. Although the industrial revolution did many things to boost the economy of Britain, Dickens reveals the darker side the industrial revolution that consisted of slums, poverty and a monotonous and lifeless existence for many people. Mr Gradgrind's model school in Hard Times is not a real school. Dickens's generalized all the things, he thought were wrong with the education system into this school to show is contempt for the education system.

Marriage :-

        Anyone who’s been married for more than a few months can tell you it’s tough. And it seems to have gotten tougher, considering how divorce rates have climbed over the last few decades. In our book, Making Marriage Work, we reviewed the findings of hundreds of research studies to try to understand whether and in what ways marriage has changed.The evidence suggests that marriage has indeed gotten harder, and we posit that there are a number of reasons why. One has to do with the adoption of no-fault laws in the late 1960s, which, in a nutshell, established that breaking up a marriage is acceptable and the reasons for doing so are nobody’s business. In effect, these laws gave individuals greater freedom to choose our own paths; they also helped to remove divorce’s negative stigma, allowing couples to retain their good standing in the community. Then there’s the movement toward gender equality. With more and better employment opportunities, women have more control over their lives and no longer need a husband for financial security. They can wait longer to get married and don’t have to stay married if they’re not satisfied. Some people may not work as hard to fix a marriage because they're better equipped to make it on their own. Gender equality has also affected the balance of power. Prior to the 1960s, men held all the power in almost every marriage, but that’s not the case today. In some marriages, there can actually be an on-going power struggle, as one party tries to stay in control and the other fights for equality. Additionally, because both partners have an equal say in decisions, there may be more occasions to argue. In heterosexual marriages, the roles held by men and women are no longer as clearly delineated. In the past, husbands and wives held specific roles. One was the breadwinner and the other was responsible for maintaining the home, raising children, and fulfilling other social and family duties. Because each partner filled a functionally different role, couples may have felt they had very useful reasons for staying together. Today there’s a lot of overlap as to who brings home the bacon and who manages the household. The blurring of roles means there’s less inter-dependency and that can weaken the need to stay together. We can add to the mix more liberal attitudes toward sex and a rise in secularism. As marriage is no longer a prerequisite for sex for many people, marriage has lost one of its more popular and exclusive benefits. Religious beliefs and doctrines made divorce untenable in the past. Even today, couples who are more connected to their religion are less prone to get divorced. But many more couples today are less likely to stay together simply because their church tells them they have to. Couples from earlier generations may have also thought differently about marriage. Many regarded the institution as sacred and their marriage as permanent, and they stayed married regardless of how each partner felt about the other. Their happiness and personal needs were sublimated to the needs of the marriage. Couples struggled with many of the same problems but they did so in silence because it was more important to keep the family intact. In contrast, many argue that people today spend more time thinking about themselves and their personal needs. While paying attention to our psychological needs is a good thing, it can work against marriage. We might put our personal interests ahead of those of our relationship. If we then feel our interests are threatened or unsatisfied, we may be more inclined to think the relationship isn’t working rather than make adjustments in our thinking so that it works better. When things don’t go as we want or expect, we’re more prone to throw in the towel.

Marriage and Divorce in Dickens’ Hard Times: A Statement on the Religious Morals of 19th Century British Society The Victorian era in England gave birth to the first real industrial society the world had ever seen. With the rise of industry came large cities, an expanded working class population and the rapid rise of imperialism. Although England was progressing towards a more powerful place in the world, its citizens seemed to be drifting in the opposite direction. Oppressive laws and working conditions set clear boundaries between classes in England. The most oppressive social and state laws were those regarding to marriages and divorces. Just as the people of England felt trapped in the unequal social structure of England, the same is true for those trapped in unwanted marita From the beginning of the novel, Mr. Gradgrind is described as, “A man of realities. A man of facts and calculations. A man who proceeds upon the principle that two and two are four, and nothing over, and who is not to be talked into allowing for anything over” l relations. Marriages were regulated by society and the government, therefore, making them more of a materialistic union than a holy or spiritual one. The marriages in Hard Times represent “industrial society” in England during the Victorian era and portray a separation of society from religion.

 

Industrialism :-

During the information age, the phenomenon is that the digital industry creates a knowledge-based society surrounded by a high-tech global economy that spans over its influence on how the manufacturing throughput and the service sector operate in an efficient and convenient way. In a commercialized society, the information industry is able to allow individuals to explore their personalized needs, therefore simplifying the procedure of making decisions for transactions and significantly lowering costs for both the producers and buyers. This is accepted overwhelmingly by participants throughout the entire economic activities for efficacy purposes, and new economic incentives would then be indigenously encouraged, such as the knowledge economy.
The impact of digital age on the social life of the society today is connected with one’s position in the society, his social class and also his social background, nowadays, there are so many changes in the social aspect of our lives.

A very good example of this is festival, changes in tradition and also in the mood of dressing, all this became possible because of the impact of digital age we have today. If we look around us today, it’s hard to find a person that has not added anything new to his traditional attires , what I mean here is, for instance, for the Hausa’s and also the Fulani’s, there were not know for wearing jeans and tops, but now it has become a common thing based on socialization. Before, many do not believe in going to school especially the Fulani’s, they only believe in rearing cattle’s while the women among them are to stay at home, but now, everyone wants to be in school, illiteracy is darkness, people don’t believe in staying at home doing nothing anymore, for at least even when they lack the opportunity or don’t have the means of going school or seeking for job opportunity, they will prepare engaging themselves in a small business just for them to earn something for a living. There are so many changes due to the impact digital age on the social life of our societies today.

Thank you

Dilip Barad sir

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