Thoughts on Hard Times

qcsjwssy

After finishing Hard Times, my heart is filled with mixed feelings—I feel sorry for the characters, disgusted with utilitarianism, and deeply touched by the warmth of human nature.
Coketown in the book is really depressing and cold. Gradgrind believes in "facts alone" and takes utilitarianism as his creed. He raises his children with this icy philosophy, completely ignoring their feelings. Louisa is treated as a bargaining chip for profit and married to Bounderby, who is 30 years older than her, living a life of oppression and despair forever. Her younger brother Tom is raised to be selfish and rebellious, only caring about pleasure. To pay off gambling debts, he steals money from the bank and frames an innocent man, sinking deeper into depravity step by step. As for Bounderby, he keeps boasting about being self-made with lies, while being mean and cold deep down. He exploits workers and looks down on the poor, and it serves him right to end up disgraced when his lies are exposed. Poor Stephen is honest and hard-working, but he’s oppressed by capitalists and rejected by fellow workers just because he refuses to join the violent strike. He dies in a mine shaft with a false charge, and his misfortune really breaks my heart. That’s exactly what a utilitarian society is like: it only cares about profit, no humanity at all, and the weak are always trampled on.
Luckily, the book is not all darkness. Sissy is like a beam of light cutting through Coketown’s gloom. She doesn’t know those so-called "useful facts", but she has pure kindness and warmth. She stays with the desperate Louisa to help her through the hard time and wakes up the stubborn Gradgrind with her sincerity. Rachael is another bright spot—even when life is tough, she sticks with Stephen till the end. Her loyalty and perseverance are the rarest warmth in that cold world. Though Gradgrind wakes up too late, he finally realizes how wrong utilitarianism is and tries his best to make up for his daughter, which gives people a little hope.
Closing the book, I can’t help reflecting on my own life. In reality, utilitarianism is everywhere: some people cram for exams only for grades, forgetting to enjoy the beauty of life; some people drift apart from friends for profit, losing the most genuine friendship. Just like the book tells us, chasing only "useful" things will make us lose the most precious ones. Those so-called "useless" things—laughter, kindness and empathy—are exactly what keep us living warmly and meaningfully.
Hard Times really teaches me a lot. It lets me know that we shouldn’t live a too utilitarian life, nor lose our original heart and kindness. No matter how busy life is, we should keep the warmth in our hearts, be more understanding and kind to people around us. Don’t let ourselves become cold "parts" like those in Coketown; instead, be a person with flesh, blood and warmth.