A hardship tale is a story that usually involves struggles and challenges faced by individuals. In literature, this theme has been explored quite extensively and there are a lot of synonyms that can be used to describe such tales. For example, a story of adversity can be used to describe a hardship tale. Similarly, a story of endurance, a story of resilience, a tale of misfortune, and a narrative of struggle are all different ways to describe different types of hardship tales. A character arc that shows a journey from failure to success can be a rags-to-riches story. Another synonym is a heart-wrenching story, which could describe an emotionally moving tale of hardship. Whatever the synonym used, a hardship tale always highlights the human spirit's determination to overcome difficulties.