Author(s): Yasemin AÅCI
In this study Charles Dickens’s novel Hard Times is analyzed in terms of the Marxist views. In this novel the author focuses on the issues related to Marxist notions that are based especially on labor, working classes and class struggles. By d oing that, Dickens demonstrates the characters who are forced to work like machines at the hands of capi talist employers in such a way that the reader begins to comprehend that for getting rid of the oppression of capitalism the proletariat or working class should revolt. Thus, the Marxist elements become significant issues shown in the novel Hard Times. The present study is composed through literature review and aimed to reveal the effects of Marxist views in Dickens’s novel. In this novel, one can realize that there are class differences and struggles that are related to Marxist thoughts. Like Marxists, the characters of the novel try to start a strike against the ruling class exploitation. To portray this exploitation Dickens states that the rules of bourgeois or capitalist employers do not permit their employees to behave like human beings who have wisdom and reason. Due to the capitalists, the workers’ capacities and abilities are ignored. As a result, this study displays that in Dickens’s novel Hard Times the influences of Marxist views are emphasized
The Journal of International Social Research received 7760 citations as per Google Scholar report
