Charles Dickens "Hard Times": Abuses of Children During Victorian Time

“Hard Times” by Charles Dickens
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“Hard Times” by Charles Dickens
Introduction
Charles Dickens is one of the most quintessential English novelists during the 19th century. The close of the 18th century saw Britain gradually transforming from an agricultural economy to an industrial society as populations shifted from rural areas to towns seeking for better wages and living standards (Dutta, 2014). Dickens depicted societal decay, affliction, disorder, squalor and human suffering during the Victorian Times. At this point, England was a society largely children-dominated, with a large number of them being under fifteen years (Massaud, 2013). Pressures of urbanization and industrialization saw an explosion of population during this period. Dutta (2014) observes that by the end of the century, a majority of children inhabited towns instead of rural areas. Poor children, who managed to survive infancy, were exposed to hard labor at early years working in coal mines and textile mills (Dickens, 1854). This paper presents how Dickens, himself a victim of the gruesome system of child labor and a champion for children’s rights, criticizes the manner children were treated as property in “Hard Times” and identifies some of the abuses of children such as faulty education system and poor upbringing during the Victorian Times.
Child Labor
Child exploitation is perhaps one of the most serious issues Charles Dickens addresses in his works. During the Victorian times, younger children were not spared, but worked as “free labor” in factories or as “parish apprentice” (Josipovic, 2014). The first category of children was mainly orphans who worked under government officials for long hours and for free. They starved as they could not be given decent meals as a reward for their service. Playing and finding happiness remained a mystery for the “free labor” group of children since they were orphans. The lucky category, the “parish apprentice” were under parental supervision, but could nevertheless be introduced to forced labor (Dickens, 1854). They could leave work any moment without government officials&r...