HARD TIMES

charles dickens

hard times

by sarra amami

The author of this novel is Charles Dickens. He was born in 1812 in Portsmouth, in the south of England. When he was a child his father was arrested for debts and Charles was forced to start working in a factory to pay for their release from prison.

• 1836 "Sketches of Boz"
• 1842 "Oliver Twist"
• 1843 "A Christmas Carol"
• 1850 "David Copperfield"
• 1854 "Hard Times"

the author

Thomas Gradgrind Jr.: he is the son of Mr. Gradgrind.

Cecilia Jupe: she is the daughter of a horse trainer.

Josiah Bounderby: he is a rich banker and factory owner.

Louisa Bounderby: she is the daughter of Mr. Gradgrind.

Thomas Gradgrind: he is a man whose life in centered on philosophy.

the main characters

• The story is set in a fictional industrialized city, Coketown.
• Thomas Gradgrind establishes a school where he teaches his theories and raises his two children in the same way his students.
• Mr. Gradgrind marries his daughter Louisa to Josiah Bounderby, a rich banker.
• Her brother Thomas works in Bounderby's bank. He is selfish and robs the employer.

THE PLOT

"Now, what I want is, facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to facts, sir!"

THE EXTRACT

BY SARRA AMAMI

THANK YOU FOR THE ATTENTION