Hard Times are Hard

How do the values of the Hands differ from the values of the masters? From the very beginning of the book, the masters are characterized as being primarily concerned with Fact. They have difficulty empathizing with the Hands, for they have never partaken in the difficulties of the lower class. Instead, the masters see the black and white: they are the upper class and it is a fact that their job is to oversee the Hands, and the Hands were born into a class and their job involves more trials because someone has to deal with them.  _Celine T 

(Travis P.) (…continued) We feel sympathy for Stephen as he is the only "Hand" who we realize is an actual person. This causes the reader to believe what is happening in this institution is wrong. The reader is in favor of Stephen’s philosophy. These two institutions conform society. Dickens uses this parallelism in the two intuitions to get one of his many messages across to the reader.

I would say the main value of the hands is survival. Their goal is to work so they can get paid, and they use their money to buy food. It is a constant circle. Even Bounderby knows the Hands main goal is to get fed. All the hands are trying to do is survive with the bare minimum. -Blaire Porter

How does the institution of labor compare to the institution of education in Hard Times?-The institution of labor, the factories, and the institution of education, the school, are very similar. Both complete work in a mechanical, formulaic assembly line way and make products that are monotonous. The factories input resources, like physical labor and the hands, and produce identical products; and the educational system inputs facts into children and outputs identical fact filled vessels. -AlexisF

How does the institution of labor compare to the institution of education in Hard Times?-The institution of labor, the factories, and the institution of education, the school, are very similar. Both complete work in a mechanical, formulaic assembly line way and make products that are monotonous. The factories input resources, like physical labor and the hands, and produce identical products; and the educational system inputs facts into children and outputs identical fact filled vessels. -AlexisF

How does the institution of labor compare to the institution of education in Hard Times?-The institution of labor, the factories, and the institution of education, the school, are very similar. Both complete work in a mechanical, formulaic assembly line way and make products that are monotonous. The factories input resources, like physical labor and the hands, and produce identical products; and the educational system inputs facts into children and outputs identical fact filled vessels. -AlexisF

How does the institution of labor compare to the institution of education in Hard Times?-The institution of labor, the factories, and the institution of education, the school, are very similar. Both complete work in a mechanical, formulaic assembly line way and make products that are monotonous. The factories input resources, like physical labor and the hands, and produce identical products; and the educational system inputs facts into children and outputs identical fact filled vessels.  -Alexis Fidone

How does the institution of labor compare to the institution of education in Hard Times?-I think that both institutions are treated the same. As a worker of labor or student in school, you were expected to come in to work hard, forget all love, emotion and heart and solely acknowledge fact. In both institutions there are the "Masters" and the "Hands". The "Masters" are all controlling and the "Hands" are the unwilling subjects. The equal treatment shows the monotony of the town.--Niki B.

The education system and working environment are very similar, in that they both inhibit the characters. The education system takes away individuality by teaching them monotonous facts that don't enhance their minds in any way, like the definition of a horse that is taught in the beginning of the novel. The working environment groups workers together as a sort of machine, and does not value any of the individuals. Bounderby does not give any workers the time of day. -Maddy Meyer

How do the values of the Hands differ from the values of the masters? The masters are obsessed with facts and do not value relationships. The Hands seem to be more insightful into the inner workings of society. Stephen understands that the way that society is corrupted is not due solely to the wealthy. The hands realize that society is the way it is for reasons that are possibly unexplainable. They have more insight into life because they experience more hardships. --Sophie Gough

How does the institution of labor compare to the institution of education in Hard Times? Both institutions revolve around factories and the mechanical way of life. At schools, children are treated like products made in a factory. They are not treated as human beings. Everything is mechanical and there is no creativity. In labor institutions there is no creativity and the Hands are not humanized in Hard Times. -samantha seaton