For this blog post I would like to concentrate on
the ending of the book Hard Times by Charles Dickens. I thought that the ending
was a decent one and did tie together loose strings, however my only dislike
towards it was that it felt cliché. The reason I say this is because each main
character for the most part ends the novel in a depressant or somber state. The
one character ending that made me the maddest was Bounderby; I thought for his
major role that he needed a more exciting and meaningful ending than just dying
in the streets of Coketown 5 years after firing Mrs. Sparsit. With all of this
being said I would edit the ending to make for a more exciting and fulfilling
one. The ending in which I would create would for Stephen Blackpool to come
back in revenge for being screwed over; and in his comeback finds a flaw that
Bounderby has in his factory and bank. In which he then black mails him and
makes a deal for him to sell over most of his wealth. The reason I think this
would make for a better ending is because the small man on the totem pole would
end up on top. Even though Tom was the one who had set up the whole sitting
outside the bank ordeal, it would create a plot twist because it could be
included that Blackpool had set him up to somehow use the money “stolen” for
illegal purposes. This type of plot twist which has characters being screwed
over, getting back at the wrong people and losing it all makes for a much more
intriguing ending. The next part of the ending that I would alter would to have
Louisa not even the get the satisfaction of being loved and apart of Sissys’
family. The reason I chose this new ending is because no remorse should be felt
towards her. She chose to marry the rich man who was double her age, but as we
can see wasn’t happy. Throughout the whole novel she did nothing but cause more
drama between herself and the male species. She put herself in the situation
she ended up in. This is why I firmly believe that she should have grown old by
herself. This causes for a character ending with extreme circumstances because
of their decisions. In adding these two different endings which are extreme and
can be taken in many different ways will create for a better ending. This will
allow for the reader/audience to have to really think on why the author ended
the novel this way. Creates a more analytical ending.
Ha! I am laughing at your post because I did not like the ending as well! I do think it was very unsatisfying and needed much more of a dramatic ending or at least a twist instead of just kind of dying out. However, I do disagree with you on one account! I did really relate to Louisa and felt her struggle. I didn't see it being as her fault that she is the way she is, I truly believe the suppressing childhood she had really made for a terrible future. That being said I would have loved to see her leave Mr.Bounderby and get her happy ending. I would also have liked to see her have children and get to feel that love she never got to feel from her father. It was very unsatisfying not seeing her break the awful cycle but instead just give in to what she was told to do. I wanted to shake her and tell her to break free! It seemed as if all the characters in the book didn’t really have a change or epiphany- most really stuck to who they were throughout the book, and this was a very boring thing for me. I like plot twists and surprises, so I agree with you there. Overall, dickens needs to work on his endings!
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