Hard Times - Class notes

Date-10th January 2009
Novel being discussed-Hard Times
Author-Charles Dickens

1.History of Charles Dickens- He was a 19th century Victorian author. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens
2. Hard Times has been read as a criticism of three ideas
a) Education
b)Industrialization
c)Utilitarianism

3. The situation depicted in the novel show the conditions prevalent in England during the industrialization period. There was poverty, crimes, sickness,pollution etc
E.g.: the town Coketown is probably a pun on the word 'Choke'.

4.The three books in Hard Times are named with agrarian names-Sowing, reaping and garnering

5. The idea of utilitarianism was proposed by Jeremy Bentham and penned by James Mill. Charles Dickens had understood the practice of utilitarianism and had projected it well in his novel but had misunderstood the concept as initially proposed. He hadn't read Mill

6.British finances that were generated from colonization of countries such as India were the financial sources behind Industrialization.

7.Britain was colonized twice, first by the Romans and then by the Normans (French)
8.Utilitarianism- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism
9.Industrialization- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrialisation
10.Hard Times on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Times
11. Hard Times on bookrags-http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-hardt/
12.Hard Times on sparknotes-http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/hardtimes/
13. Hard Times support material in Gradesaver

Referance:-

Pinto,Anil.Class Lecture.Hard Times.Dickens,Charles.Christ University,Bangalore,India. 10 Jan 2009