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Content snapshot
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Violence
Barely any
No violence; the suffering in this book is social and economic
Language
Barely any
Victorian literary prose; no profanity
Sexual Content
Barely any
A loveless marriage; some adult content obliquely handled
Substance Use
Barely any
None
Emotional Intensity
Some
The psychological cost of a childhood without warmth or imagination; the critique of utilitarian ideology
What this book is about
Thomas Gradgrind raises his children according to strict utilitarian principles—facts only, no imagination, no fancy—and watches the consequences unfold. Dickens's shortest novel is his most polemical: a savage attack on industrial capitalism and the philosophy that treats human beings as economic units.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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