Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Hard Times 

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 satirises the social and economic conditions of the era.

 Moreover, it is his only novel not to have scenes set in London. Instead the story is set in the fictitious Victorian industrial Coketown, a generic Northern English mill-town, in some ways similar to Manchester, though smaller. Coketown may be partially based on 19th-century Preston.

Setting (Time): The Middle of 19th Century 

Setting (Place): Coketown , a manufacturing town in South of England 

Protagonist: Louisa Gradgrind

The Novel is divided into three acts.

1) sowing

2)Reaping

3)Garnering 

Characters 

Thomas Gradgrind

Louisa

Thomas Gradgrind, Jr

Josiah Bounderby

Cecelia Jupe

Mrs. Sparsit

Stephen Blackpool

Rachael

James Harthouse

Mr. Sleary

Bitzer

Mr. M'Choakumchild

Mrs. Pegler

Mrs. Gradgrind

Slackbridge

Jane Gradgrind

         Thinking Activity 

Review of Hindi based drama on 'Hard Times '.

Original text and dialogue are used in drama played on stage. Money is the center point in novels. All the characters come on stage and sing the chorus of what is going to come in Act 1,2 etc.After each and every act they come on stage and sing on stage.All the characters are imaginative.

In the starting of the novel the incident of School is shown and on stage the same incident was shown by acting. Students were sitting on the floor. 

Flashbacks are also shown on stage with dark light. When Cecelia Jupe was telling the story of her father Flashback was shown with the dark light on stage. 

Light is an important part of drama. Stage background was the same throughout the drama but there were changes in light effects.

Each and every character played a role very well as the original one given in text.

The Coketown scene, the scene of Robbing Bank all the scenes were imaginative on stage there was no change in background of the stage. A staircase was also shown on stage. The characters were sitting like stairs and the stairs were shown. Miss Sparsit is the funniest character.