Dickens's most scathing portrait of the effects of Victorian industrialism, he sets
Hard Times against the manufacturing center of "Coketown," where the upper class' superiority towards the working class is illustrated through those who "knew of their existence by hundreds and by thousands...[and] scarcely thought of separating them into units, than of separating the sea itself into its component drops." This story of a fanatically practical man who raised his children only according to facts, the cracks in his philosophy surface as his children become morally unfounded and slowly drift into ruin.
426 pages, softcover. Simon & Schuster Edition. Discussion question, explanatory notes, and overview of key themes included. Complete & Unabridged.
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