Hard Times - A Modern Day Reflection of Dickens' World View

Charles Dickens or for the purpose of this blog, "Chuck" was all about enlightening us of what Hard Times meant to 19th Century English commoners. Faced with moral choices that separated man from beast, Chuck looked at what happens to people when they were hard up, out of luck, down and out... you get my drift.

As Americans compare themselves to others in the past who suffered a depression, it is interesting to compare and contrast what modern man views as hard compare to what was hard 100 or so years ago. Let's say you are Oliver Twist, David Copperfield or Pip. On hard times, you have to look to someone who may not be so kind or empathetic to your plight for your livelihood and existence. The dark, shadowy images of Dickens paint exactly what their world was - ashy, dirty, dingy and dismal. Did the sun ever shine in 19th century London or was the pollution and smog just blocking it? What a beautiful writer who gives us images of a world gone by and the people although fictional, true representations of a difficult time.

We may have it bad compared to our peers. There may be no money to go to the movies and instead our option is to be holed up in an artsy coffee shop with laptop and ipod going as our bleating hearts communicate via the World Wide Web of our misery and suffering. Droning musicians speak from the depths of shallow experience - life is so hard when you are a suffering artist, ,misunderstood and dealing with feeble minds. There may be no money for fancy dinners or designer clothes, but there is so much at our disposal that we have become completely out of touch. While connected to a virtual world and communication being an understatement with text messages, instant messenger and blackberries all making us so unified, we have become completely stunted in maturity and artistic growth.

Hard Times is about speaking from the dust and breathing life and hope into a bleak world. Although not at all acquainted with how this life looks except on paper, a shallow, pale comparison of philosophy is born from utube videos and blogs. Don't get me wrong, I am just as much to blame, but don't kid your self... it is hardly all that bad.