" أوقات عصيبة " جميلة بلا شك بس حسيت ف لحظة ان مش ده اسلوب ديكنز او ممكن تكون مكتوبة ف اول عهده
انا معتبراها قصة مش رواية وملاحظة ان ناس كتير درسوها ف المدرسة إلا انا معرفش ليه ؟!
اللى استفزنى من القصة اولا اسمها اللى مش شايفة ليه علاقة اوى بمضمونها .. وكمان النهاية العجيبة ان كل واحد وحش ف الاول بقى كويس ف الاخر فجأة كده مع ان اللى اعرفه ان من شب ع شئ شاب عليه وبالتالى صعب ان الانسان يغير طباعه ف يوم وليلة فحسيت انى قدام فيلم مصرى قديم وهابط كمان !
كمان من عيوب القصة تهميش دور " سيسى " ف اغلب المضمون والتركيز ع لويزا وحياتها
القصة كئيبة فعلا بس كنت متوقعة انها تكون احلى من كده فاكتفيت ب3 نجوم فقط

“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.”

So begins Charles Dickens’ Hard Times. He creates a thesis for a character who believes that facts and a rationalism philosophy can conquer all, and for the next 280 pages will break down this philosophy.

It is well known that Dickens is a rather emotional writer. He wants to make people feel, so such a philosophy as the above must have been quite irritating to him. Imagine if you will that Dickens’ point in this novel is a watermelon. I know this sound peculiar, but bear with me. How to make sure that all his readers understand his point?

By doing the following:

  

This is the most blunt and blatant book imaginable. I’m not faulting him for that. Dickens wanted to make sure his readers got his point, and he was the most popular author amongst general readers, including many lesser educated. He wanted to make sure they got it, and by God, he would do his best to make sure they did. That said, the lack of subtlety hurt it from a modern perspective... still, he cannot really be faulted for that.

I’ve now read four Dickens books and of the four this is my least favorite. It doesn’t have the emotional impact of A Tale of Two Cities, the good humor of Oliver Twist or the perfect delivery of his moral that A Christmas Carol has. That’s not to say this is a bad book, it was quite a comfortable read with moments of the genius I’ve come to expect from him, it just didn’t quite match up to what I’ve enjoyed in the past. I’ve noticed that I tend to prefer Dickens when he’s in a more comedic mode, and while there is humor here, it is overall a much more serious book. At one point, prior to starting to read Dickens, I almost chose this to be my first one on account of it being so short compared to his other books. I'm glad I didn't as I'm not sure I would have felt the need to immediately jump to another of his works. Still, I’m glad I read it and will be continuing making my way through his works. 3/5 stars.

Romanzo sociale, ambientato nella cittadina industriale di Coketown dove il proletariato nascente lavora senza speranza di riscatto. Ma l’intento principale di Dickens è quello di criticare l’ideologia dei “fatti” che considera soltanto ciò che può essere dimostrato razionalmente e che si rivela utile praticamente. Al bando le fantasticherie! Ideologia che abolisce il cuore, le sue ragioni indimostrabili e tuttavia vere.
Personaggi completamente negativi, come Bounderby, che rappresenta la classe sociale dei nuovi ricchi, astuta e volgare, si contrappongono a quelli assolutamente postivi, come la giovane Sissy, sottratta bambina alla vita del circo (simbolo dell’immaginazione calpestata) e acquisita come serva dalla famiglia Gradgrind .
Nel mezzo si muovono i personaggi tormentati e ambigui come Louisa, figlia dell’educatore fervente utilitarista Gradgrind, andata in sposa all’arido, ormai maturo Bounderby per amore del fratello Tom, un giovane inetto e imbroglione. Tom e Louisa, infatti, sono il risultato infelice di un progetto educativo fallimentare, quello che fa del principio dell’utile un metodo e una bandiera.

Gli ingredienti sono quelli a cui siamo abituati, leggendo Dickens. Ma i difetti della narrativa dickensiana qui sono accentuati, anzi più che difetti si tratta di eccessi: troppa (patetica) teatralità, troppo sentimentalismo, troppe sdolcinature. Il popolo è sempre buono, onesto, paziente, umile e accetta con spirito di sacrificio l’ingiustizia a cui viene sottoposto; spesso i personaggi positivi sono poco sfaccettati e quelli negativi rappresentano deboli stereotipi. Nel complesso mancano tutti di spessore e di credibilità.

Insomma: Tempi difficili non è il romanzo più riuscito di Dickens. L’analisi sociale si ferma alla superficie e nessuno dei personaggi ti rapisce davvero il cuore. Siamo molto lontani dalle vette raggiunte, in questo campo, da Emile Zola. Ma forse i tempi, pur essendo difficili, non erano ancora maturi per essere davvero raccontati.

I was sitting and thinking what I could write about this book, that also stood in front of me, defiantly, like a mountain that I could neither bypass nor jump over, but only climb it, slowly, little by little.. Suddenly, someone knocks at my door. I open it.. A ragged old man, with hungry eagle eyes stares at me as if I've been waiting for him a lifetime...
" I don't give alms " , I say, but next second I felt myself like a worm..." Wait, take a shilling, old man, " I say, and I try to close the door, but.. the old man puts his foot in the doorway, looking at me contemptuous.. " What to do with a shilling, my friend ? We're in such a hard times.. I can't even buy a bow tie with a shilling.
" What the fuck .. are you doin', papi ? " , I say, and having nothing else at hand, I arm myself with the book.
" Ah, you read my book ", said the old man, in a hoarse voice.

Me : " Oh, my goodness, Charles Dickens ! What are you doin' here ?

Dickens :" Well, you were reading my book, and I thought I'd drop by and see how you're enjoying it. "

Me, a bit confuse : " Uh...yeah.. it's a bit meh.. I mean great !
But I have a curiosity.. Is there a similarity between you and Mr. Gradgrind, your main character ? "

Dickens ( chuckles ) : Ah, you've picked up on that, have you ? Well, I must admit there are some similarities.."

Me : " Really ? But you're such an imaginative and passionate writer, Mr. Gradgrind, on the other hand, is a practical and unfeeling character.."

Dickens, ( smirking ) : " Yes, I know , but you see, I was also quite a practical man in my personal life. "

Me, (curious) : " What do you mean ? "

Dickens : " Well, for one, I was always very careful with my finances. I often wrote to make a living. "

Me ( malicious ) : " Yes, I noticed this, in some books ... But what about your personal life ? Surely, you were more sensitive and emotional than Mr.Gradgrind. "

Dickens ( pausing...) : " Well, you see,there was my wife...I left her for another woman .."

Me ( shocked ) : What ??

Dickens ( nodding ) : " Yes it's true, I was always also passionate in my love affairs. "

Me ( disappointed ) : " Oh.. Mr. Dickens, that's not very admirable. ."

Dickens ( smiling sheepishly ) : " I know, I know.. I guess I am more like Mr.Gradgrind than I'd care to admit. But you know what they say, truth is often stranger than fiction..."

Me : " I suppose that's true. But I still think you're a sh...brilliant writer. "

Dickens : " Thank you, my dear ".

Me : " I would have another curiosity, if you don't mind..."

Dickens : " Shoot, my boy ! "

Me: " Who's more greedy between you and Mr. Balzac ? "

( a deafening silence..)

Me : " Mr. Dickens ? ...Hey, Mr. Dickens !
( door slamming )

Still don't know what to write...

Over the years I have read a few Dickens novels and stories including OLIVER TWIST, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. But I always seem to put off reading his more ponderous works because of the length of them. I have had HARD TIMES sitting on my shelves for several years and finally got around to reading it. It is one of Dickens slighter works but I did enjoy it.

It is filled with some memorable characters as only Dickens can portray them. These include Mr. Gradgrind who runs a school according to strict principles: "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." When his pupils are asked whether you should paper a room with representations of horses, the answer is of course no because you would never see horses walking up walls—you don't have a fact. Gradgrind uses these principles not only on his pupils but also his children, Tom and Louisa. Then there is the industrialist, Mr. Bounderby, who brags of his humble beginnings and that he was able to pull himself out of the gutter. One of Bounderby's employees is Stephen Blackpool, a weaver in a loveless marriage who loses his job and is framed for a robbery committed by Gradgrind's son, Tom. Tom is referred to throughout the novel as the Whelp. Louisa agrees to a loveless marriage to Bounderby at the encouragement of Tom who sees the marriage as a way into favor with Bounderby. At the end, Louisa's misery along with Tom's deceit leads Gradgrind to see the error of his ways and he turns more compassionate.

The story is told against the backdrop of Coketown, a fictional northern industrial town. The novel does somewhat convey the dehumanizing nature of factory work but doesn't dwell too much on these issues or the labor movement of the time. I did enjoy this novel—it was poignant but also filled with humor. I of course have seen and enjoyed many movie and TV versions of Dickens' other novels including DAVID COPPERFIELD, BLEAK HOUSE, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, and GREAT EXPECTATIONS. I have several of these other works on my shelves and I really hope to read them at some point.

Bread and circuses…

In the industrial town of Coketown in the north of England, we meet the Gradgrinds. Mr Gradgrind is a school board Superintendent, a Utilitarian, a lover of facts and an enemy to fancy. Mrs Gradgrind is a woman dull to the point of near-imbecility and, out of laziness and disinterest as much as anything else, supports her husband’s child-rearing methods. Gradgrind’s primary guinea pigs for his Utilitarian experiment are his five children, especially the two eldest, Louisa and Tom. The school that Gradgrind superintends forcefeeds facts into the heads of children, and stifles any individuality or creativity. Into this learning factory comes Sissy Jupe, the child of a circus performer who has begged to be allowed to attend school so that she can be educated. But when Louisa and Tom are caught one day daring to peep into the forbidden circus, Gradgrind blames Sissy’s influence, at the suggestion of his great friend Mr Bounderby, and throws Sissy out of school.

Mr Bounderby is a self-made man who has dragged himself up from beginnings so inauspicious that it’s amazing he survived at all, much less going on to become a rich and powerful business magnate. We know this because Bounderby tells the story to everyone he meets. If he could rise from being abandoned by an uncaring mother, then so could anyone else if only they had his determination – such is his philosophy, justifying his cruel hard-heartedness to his employees and to anyone who has fallen on hard times. Bounderby, well on in middle-age, casts his lecherous eye on young Louisa before she has even left school and, as soon as she can be considered an adult, asks Gradgrind for her hand. Poor Louisa is one of those cold females Dickens excels in – damaged by her upbringing to the point where all passion, all emotion even, is buried so deep inside even she thinks it is dead. So she agrees to marry Bounderby.

These are the main characters whose story we follow through one of Dickens’ shorter and more overtly polemical novels. He has two main themes – the hardships of workers contrasted with the harsh, unfeeling selfishness of the new industrial magnates; and the need for children to be allowed to explore their imagination and have some fun, alongside fact-based learning. Written at roughly the same time as Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, a book he encouraged her to write and which was serialised in his periodical Household Words, both examine the new industrial world of the North and both are arguing for better conditions for workers, but that’s where the comparison ends. Gaskell’s characterisation is more realistic, perhaps, and her story is much bleaker – her characters are chiefly notable for dying (constantly) of poverty or industrial disease, whereas Dickens’ characters go through all his usual things – broken hearts, tragic misunderstandings, amazing coincidences, false accusations and redemption. Gaskell wins the prize for realism, but Dickens wins the more coveted prize for being entertaining!

There is some humour in the schooling of the children, as they repeat back meaningless definitions of nouns they have learned by rote with no depth of understanding. But it’s dark humour – Dickens’ low opinion of education shows up in many of his books, from the deliberate sadism of Wackford Squeers, to here, where Mr Gradgrind has the best of intentions but no understanding at all of childishness and the need for children to grow spiritually and imaginatively even as they absorb facts.

The story of the conditions for workers is darker. Here our humble hero is Stephen Blackpool, an employee in one of Bounderby’s mills. Through his wife, we see the damage that alcohol can do, to all sectors of society, of course, but always more harshly to the poor. Stephen is caught between two forces over which he has no control – the employers and the new unions, beginning their long, unfinished battle for power. While Dickens is very sympathetic to the plight of the workers, whom he shows as decent and honest, he has little time for the union leaders, showing them as self-seeking demagogues, stirring up the men to justify their own existence, and with little true concern for the workers whom they exploit as much as do the employers. While there is little doubt (in most quarters!) that (some) unions have been a force for good overall, helping workers to win better pay and conditions over the century and a half since Dickens was writing, I’m sure we can all think of examples of the kind of demagogic union leader Dickens portrays here. So while I felt the portrayal was unfairly one-sided, it still bore a lot of credibility. And in Stephen we see an early example of how the unions persuade friend to turn against friend, if any man dares to refuse to follow the herd.

So as always with Dickens, plenty to think about and plenty that is still sadly relevant today. And of course his writing is always a joy to read. However, this book feels rather under-developed in comparison to his greatest novels. There are moments of humour, but none of the exuberance and wit that usually provide a welcome contrast to his more polemical elements. There’s a distinct shortage of the memorable characters he normally does so well – Bounderby is a great character, as is his awful housekeeper, Mrs Sparsit. But neither Louisa nor Sissy won my heart much though I sympathised with both, and the evil people (even Bounderby) aren’t as beautifully caricatured as, say, a Uriah Heep or a Fagin. The story is more straightforward, without much of the mystery and suspense that his best books contain. Overall, I enjoyed it – of course I did: it’s Dickens! - but I don’t think it comes close to his best. Well worth reading but perhaps not one I would recommend as a first introduction for newcomers to his work.

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لطيفه
يمكن كانت ممكن تطلع بصوره أفضل

Dickens' classic, satirical and realistic novel Hard Times was there in my syllabus, MA. I enjoyed it. The novel juxtaposes emotions against hardcore rationalism. This juxtaposition, however, cannot stand the test of time today (I say it with a weary heart). Dickens' writing might appear a little short to boring in today's context. For those who want to enjoy good language and some challenging narrative, the novel will still be luring.

Hard Times, 1854, Charles Dickens

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 satirists the social and economic conditions of the era. Hard Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, a short novel that appeared not in monthly publications like the previous ones, but as a weekly serial in his magazine Household Words, from April 1 to August 12, 1854.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «روزگار سخت»؛ «دوران سخت»؛ «دوران مشقت»؛ نویسنده: چارلز دیکنز؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز پانزدهم ماه ژوئن سال2010میلادی

عنوان: روزگار سخت؛ نویسنده: چارلز دیکنز؛ مترجم: حسین اعرابی؛ تهران، نگاه، سال1364، در446ص؛ چاپ دوم سال1367؛ چاپ سوم سال1368؛ موضوع داستان از نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده19م

عنوان: روزگار سخت؛ نویسنده: چارلز دیکنز؛ مترجم: الهام دانش نژاد؛ تلخیص برای نوجوانان، در71ص در تهران، دبیر، سال1389؛

عنوان: دوران سخت؛ نویسنده: چارلز دیکنز؛ مترجم: سید جلیل شاهرودی لنگرودی؛ تهران، نشر سخن، مجید، سال1394، در416ص؛ شابک978600941263؛

عنوان: روزگار سخت؛ نویسنده: چارلز دیکنز؛ مترجم: عارف دهقان؛ تبریز، آیدین ساو؛ سال1394؛ در76ص؛ شابک9786009533466؛

روزگار سخت؛ یکی از عنوانهای فارسی رمانی از «چارلز دیکنز (زاده سال1812میلادی - درگذشت سال1870میلادی)، نویسنده ی بریتانیا، که نخستین بار در سال1854میلادی منتشر شد؛ حاصل مشاهدات نویسنده، درباره ی وضع صنعت در شهر «منچستر»، و «پریستون‌»، و زندگی کارگران، و روابطشان با کارفرمایان است؛ «تامس گرادگریند»، نمونه ی صاحب صنعت سلطه جو، و اهل شهر «کوکناون»، از مراکز صنعتی، «مردی است کاملاً اهل عمل» که به چیزی جز راستیها، و آمار باور ندارد، و فرزندان خود «لویز» و «تام» جوان را، با سرکوب کردن بی‌رحمانه ی جنبه‌ های ذوقی، و آرمانی سرشتشان، تربیت می‌کند؛ «لویز» را به همسری کارخانه‌ داری خسیس، و حقه‌ باز، به نام «جوسایا باندربی» می‌دهد؛ که سی سال از دخترش بزرگتر است، و خلق و خویی بس خشن دارد، و از آن قماش آدمهایی است، که تمدن صنعتی آنها را به وجود می‌آورد؛ «لویز» تا اندازه‌ ای، از آن جهت به این زناشویی تن در می‌دهد، که تربیتی که پدرش به او داده، او را پرخاشجو، و خونسرد، بار آورده است، و تا اندازه‌ ای هم، به این باور که می‌خواهد به برادریکه تنها کسی است که «لویز» دوستش میدارد، و کارمند «باندربی» است، یاری کند؛ ...؛ ادبیات مشاجره است؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 08/04/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 05/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

At the outset of this novel, we know that Dickens is going to pit reason against emotion, fact against feeling, and that reason and fact are going to come up short. In a world without sympathy, compassion or warmth, Louisa and Tom Gradgrind are raised. They have everything they might want in terms of money and position, but nothing else; their contrast is Sissy Jupe, a circus child who has the love of both her father and the circus family, but is steeped in poverty.

In true Dickens style, there are several side stories, one of which is the star-crossed love story of Rachael and Stephen, a sweet and dedicated pair, who bear their misfortunes with grace and acceptance. Theirs is unselfish love, which contrasts sharply with the love of Louisa for her brother, Tom, and his selfish abuse of her love for his own gain, and the loveless and unnatural marriage of Louisa with her father’s friend, Bounderby.

As always, Dickens tackles the evils of the day with some humor, in the person of Mr. Sleary, and a taste of villainy, in the form of Mrs. Sparsit. He addresses the rise of unions, and in a world where such ideas were radical, he paints them in a more favorable light than might be expected. But, most effectively, he tackles the educational system that puts everything above the individual child. While Gradgrind is not a cruel man, like Mr. Squeers who runs the school in Nicholas Nickleby, he is just as misguided and damaging to his charges. Bitzer, a minor character who serves an important part in the plot, emerges as a perfect example of the kind of empty shell that can be made of a child who is given nothing to draw on but self-interest.

I did not enjoy Hard Times as much as I have enjoyed other Dickens novels, but I did find it a worthwhile read and as always, there are characters here that will be long remembered. My next Dickens will be Little Dorrit, and I have heard that it is among his best efforts.

Good malt makes good beer,
Walk in, and i'll draw it here;
Good wine makes good brandy,
Give me a call, and you'll find it handy
-I can better explain it drunk i guess

Geography time: Maybe its hard to communicate picturesque ideas in Hard-time to a modern viewer because its the kind of world we have never seen and rarely fathom, the bleak blues of the mill workers the clingy with which the bell used to shiver the souls of the "hands":rather workers that work in those inhumanly conditions is beyond our daily comfort,the smoke that the chimneys used to cough out and the sooth that used to stuck in their hair,only to be rinsed by beer once in awhile, the pestilence and depravity when people used to dream of to be fed on turtle soup and venison with a gold spoon; so different but so where the times in early 40's and following of industrial revolution but the description in a mill in Manchester though smaller in scale.
Its different in another base that it used to be published in a weekly magazine and was purposed to written to enhance its sale and hence a little different, mostly laid back and at parts intense, though Charles doesnt write or scream like most authors do to tell us how hard the times were but rather the characters in the story itself had the weight and intensity to convey the weight they carry,Its amazing how often i cursed the book and Dick my friend while i could still feel the sooth in hair and the intensity with which i wanted to wash it off, i will revisit my friend in future i guess.

Pick it on if you like Victorian setting and the way people used to live for the pride back in the days and how often this led to their downfall: due to the honor they so called wanna protect as it used to provide them structure and how far will they go to uphold their prestige -though It is really hard to get interested in initially but once you get your head wrapped around the personalities and the environment they were raised in and the kind of ideologies that existed, the people that used to live, the thoughts they used to have, the unions which they were a part of, how deeply they used to love, how it is okay if not every question is answered the hearts that used to beat.

I really good glimpse into the lives of the people those used to live, live not so differently than us

This definitely seems like a change of pace from Dickens other novels. I suppose it being so much shorter than most of them makes a difference, but it has a different feel to being entirely set in a fictional place called Coketown.

As usual, there are some vivid characters in this novel and the theme of the struggles of the impoverished working-class in the face of uncaring mill owners is clear enough. Charles clearly had a great deal of compassion for the poor, and it shines through in this book, though I don’t think he agreed that trade unions were the answer. I’m not sure what he thought was the answer to the inequities of his era, human kindness maybe? This is so clearly a morality tale about the virtuous working-classes versus the unfeeling upper classes as well as imagination and sentiment versus cold logic and the philosophy of Utilitarianism.

Most of the nicer people in the story such as Sissy Jupe, Stephen Blackpool, and Rachael were from the lower classes, while the nastier ones like Mr. Bounderby, Mrs. Sparsit and James Harthouse tend to be from higher up the social ladder.

Mr. Bounderby seems to think that he can get a lot of mileage from how far he supposedly pulled himself up from the gutter considering all the lies and trouble he went to in order to create that myth. He ends up getting exposed as a fraud and deservedly so. Personally, I think he overrates the value of his self-made man story. He is the very image of the wealthy capitalist who can’t understand why poor people have so much trouble getting by. He insists on attributing bad motives to every one of them. There are plenty of his ilk around to this day.

Mr. Gradgrind starts out seeming kind of ridiculous with his overblown utilitarian philosophy, but he ends up having a heart after all. Though he has to deal with the bad crop that he had spent a lifetime sewing. There’s a pretty transparent moral lesson in all that.

Speaking of things that are transparent, I’m not sure why Louisa is spoken of as being such a mystery to others and so out of touch with her own feelings. They were pretty obvious to me and I found her to be a strong, likeable character, unlike her brother.

If Bitzer had succeeded in arresting Tom and dragging them back to face justice, I wouldn’t really have been bothered. Was all that effort to save him from facing the consequences of his actions really justified? He did rob a bank and then framed an innocent man for the crime, an action that indirectly led to that man’s death. I think a real appropriate ending here would have been to have thrown the book at him.

Nineteenth-century England seems like an awfully dangerous place to go walking. Watch out for those hidden mine shafts! It’s definitely a good thing that Rachael and Sissy decided to go for a stroll that day. It’s amazing what you can find when you do that in a novel. They didn’t save Stephen’s life but they did save his reputation. I wish it were that easy in the real world.

Anyway, this wasn’t a bad book though I had a tougher time getting into it. Maybe you need all that extra length that you find in a typical Dickens novel to really lose yourself emotionally into the story. One thing you can say about Dicken’s pleas on behalf of the working class is they didn’t cause is much trouble and bloodshed as Karl Marx’s did. Charles may have been a bit overly sentimental in his outlook, and I’ll leave that to wiser heads than mine to decide whether he was misguided, but it’s pretty clear that he cared about people more than some philosophy.