Hard Times Summary
Charles Dickens

Hard Times Summary

At the opening of Hard Times by Charles Dickens, the reader meets Thomas Gradgrind, a London merchant-turned-politician who is obsessed with the school of Fact. Gradgrind believes that there is no place in one’s life for curiosity, imagination, or “Fancy.” So, he insists that his children be educated on Fact alone, filling them up with information as one would fill a vase with water. Gradgrind believes that all children should...

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