Hard Times

GROUP MEMBERS: Don't worry about this blog being late! I wasn't added to the group before it was due and emailed Dr. Campbell about that in advance. She said it won't be counted as late! :)

In Charles Dickens’s Hard Times, we are exposed to several themes: education, wealth, women and femininity, morality and ethics, etc. Of these themes, the first one we notice is education. In the first paragraph of the first book, we are presented with Mr. Gradgrind’s opinion of how education should be structured: “Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts” …and he continues… “Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.” Mr. Gradgrind speaks metaphorically using nature. The educational structure Mr. Gradgrind speaks of is exactly what his model is hoping to avoid. In using this educational structure, there is no room for creativity, therefore, this structure can be considered conformist.  

Dickens’s use of the nature metaphor appears as a faint theme throughout the novel. The title of each book – Sowing, Reaping, and Garnering – suggest an interesting sub textual meaning. The first chapter, Sowing, is meant to inform the reader of Dickens’s emphasis on the education structure. Typically, when a farmer (or whomever) is sowing something, they’re doing one of two things: 1) planting seeds by scattering them or 2) creating something. Mr. Gradgrind doesn’t necessarily “plant” as much as he dictates. In an abstract sense, planting (to me) suggests the object grows freely whereas a dictator controls the rate at which the plant grows. In the first book, Mr. Gradgrind assumes the identity of someone wanting to control things (hence the headmaster). Nowadays, his name refers to one that is concerned only with facts and numbers. This suggests Gradgrind is a well-grounded man in terms of morals. He learns that if students aren’t taught morality that they won’t learn it. Though a simple concept, it’s evident in the book that those that have excelled in his educational program end up making bad choices either by betraying him or disappointing him in some way or another. For example, Lousia gets involved in a terrible marriage and Tom steals things and blames others for his actions. 

Though I haven’t entirely finished the second and third book, I shall provide a few comments about their names. The second chapter, titled Reaping, traditionally means to cut or gather. This rather blunt meaning denotes Mr. Gradgrind’s attitude toward education: only harvest ripe crops, don’t take those that aren’t perfectly ready. In Gradgrind’s education ideology, he wants students to only know the facts. Essentially, facts are the core to education. Without knowledge of specifics, students have a hard time forming an opinion on the subject. So, Gradgrind pushes for students to know facts so they they’ll be ready to be taken out of the classroom and into the real world. The final chapter, Garnering, is a word used to gather or collect something, especially information for approval. This third book relates back with Gradgrind’s theory of education in that he rethinks his theory after Louisa’s emotional breakdown. So, in theory, I think Gradgrind is considering changing his theory of education.

I think that in relation to the theme of education, this text serves as valuable source to analyze in order to find out more about the educational system of the time.