Viktor E. Frankl, the Austrian psychologist, once stated that “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” A Victorian society condemned to a period of forced adaptation to a life of despotism, as a result of radical changes and revolutions, dictatorial tyranny of the upper class and a life devoid of pleasure and happiness, serves as an example of the words of the great psychologist. Britain's industrialization and development acted as a major catalyst for how society would respond, reforming the lives of many. The nineteenth-century British Industrial Revolution not only brought about drastic social reforms but also shaped Victorian literature. Great literary authors denounced the injustices and grueling living conditions that the working class especially faced, exploring their meaning and purpose as individuals forced to conform to controversial changes, while the industrial world around them became increasingly uncertain. Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, and Robert Louis Stevenson were among the authors at the forefront of Victorian literature who aimed to uncover the injustices faced by most of Victorian society. In Dickens' industrial novel Hard Times, the writer highlights the struggles and difficulties in an unpredictable and uncertain Victorian world, socially and economically. Dickens sets the novel in mid-nineteenth-century Britain, where the advancement of technology has diminished the value of human beings, giving them little or no sense of worth, particularly in the workplace. In the novel, factory workers were called “hands” by their wealthier superiors, considered simply physical beings devoid of emotion or complexity. Metonymy is used by... in the middle of the card... in what was socially acceptable. In reality, Victorian individuals were desperate to escape the shackles of social rigidity and depression, to seek a happier and more pleasant lifestyle, where they could express their withdrawn emotions. Works Cited1. Dickens, Charles (1854) Hard Times. England: Bradbury and Evans2. Stevenson, Robert Louis (1885) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Bournemouth, England: Longmans, Green & co3. Tennyson, Lord Alfred (1891) The Complete Works. England: New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company4. Victorian Web. URL: < http://www.victorianweb.org/ >. Network. [Accessed November 2013]5. Schmoop. URL: . Network. [Accessed November 2013]6. SparkNotes Editor. "SparkNote on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." SparkNotes LLC. 2003.URL: Web. [Accessed November 2013]