Answer:
Had the narration been done in a first-person narrative voice, then the characters will be judged right from the beginning and they will be deemed as good or bad characters right from the start. But, a third-person narrative voice allows diversity in the narration and leaves the judgment of characters to the readers, keeping an open mind about how they are portrayed and how they will be perceived by the readers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Though both forms of narration are limited, i.e, they have access to the feelings of only one character, they are different in their approach. The first-person narration gives a narration based on the feelings of the narrator whereas the third person allows diversity in the narration.
The difference is that in the first person, the narrator tells things exactly how he feels but a third-person narrator provides an impartial narrative voice.
So, had the narrator of Hard Times been a first-person narrator, then the events of the story would have been provided in a 'one-straight focused' point of view. This will be based on the perspective of the narrator and may can lead to influencing the readers to have partiality against the other characters that he (the narrator) doesn't like. Whereas, the third person narrative allows a differing yet fair and just narration so that the readers will form their own opinions about the characters.