Discussion Questions
- How do you think this novel affected the market for books during this time? Would the thought of reading only facts, as shown in Hard Times, drive up the desire for people to read more fiction?
- What genre would you consider this novel to be? A cautionary tale? A dysphoria story?
- Watching from the outside, how do you think those in the circus perceived the lives of those involved with the Gradgrinds?
- Was this the most effective way of telling the story? How would the story have changed if it had been told from a different perspective? From Louisa’s or Tom’s point of view?