Hard Times for these times?

by Fahad Al-Amoudi
Hard Times for These Times was the original title for the Dickens novel which he presented in weekly instalments in 1854 in his magazine, Household Words. In fact, Dickens toyed with the idea of several titles for his episodic novel including The Grindstone, Something Tangible and Rust and Dust, however, he eventually settled on Hard Times because it consolidated the various themes in the novel. Hard Times really represents not only the literal sense of characters falling on hard times but seems to encompass the sidelining theme of the novel which is the emergence of the working class as a powerful voice in politics.

Dickens was taking a contemporary snapshot and relating the attitudes and competing philosophies of Slackbridge and Stephen Blackpool whilst not necessarily commenting on them.  So why is this important? Well, I think after careful assessment it is fair to say that Dickens’ masterpiece is genuinely contemporary and timeless by nature. Young audiences tend to be put off by classical works of literature for several reasons but mainly because they feel they are irrelevant or too distant. I believe, however, that the issues presented in the novel about education and politicians echo through to today.
The proletariat has always been exploited since time immemorial but the role of active politics and striking seems to have been suppressed in the UK ever since Thatcher’s government.

Under New Labour, the Coalition and the current Conservative administration the power of the unions has been diminished to pre World War 2 levels: so how then does this book relate to the current socio-political landscape? Just take a look at the news. Over a dubious looking fried breakfast the other day in the cafeteria I was reading about the current junior doctor strikes and couldn’t help but form an allegory in my head paralleling the narrative and characters from Hard Times. 

In between mouthfuls of my burnt toast I envisioned a Slackbridge dominating the podium of the BMA union house and the moderate even ‘treacherous’ voice of a Blackpool piping up in the audience. Crunching on the iron filings of my cereal I pictured Jeremy Hunt, ever the ‘self made’ Bounderby’, sitting in his office attended by his army of Sparsit civil servants sipping a slightly less watery tea than me. History repeats itself and Dickens was not only clever for recognizing this through his title but with the current spending slashes by the government surely the voice of Slackbridge echoes down the centuries?

If you need further proof of the parallels between the fictional world of Hard Times and the real one of today look at our education system. Thanks to Michael Gove the lives of current fourth formers have been ruined. Not only will the syllabus change, with a focus on pouring minds full of facts about a long period of history, but so will the grading system which will result in nationwide skewed figures.

The Gradgrind/Gove theory will almost certainly fail in its attempt to improve the education system in the UK as it failed with Louisa and Tom. Even the government’s lack of spending on the arts is comparable to Gradgrind’s suppression of any type of creativity or imagination in the youth.

To those Dickens-sceptics, of which I doubt there are many, I would strongly recommend this book. He transforms from the slow paced, dark and dull tone of Bleak House or Nicholas Nickleby to the humourous and almost satirical voice in Hard Times. The novel itself is a timeless classic that speaks to us two centuries after its conception.