Tom escapes as soon as he learns that he has been found out. He has made off with the money, and framed Blackpool, but is found when he flees to the circus by his father and Bitzer. He blames Louisa for not giving him money and cites statistics that show that the others should have predicted he would do it, so it is not his fault. Gradgrind is even more outraged, and feels the weight of his system collapsing on him. He undertakes to learn and accept the circus philosophy and give up Utilitarianism because of all of the harm it has caused him. Tom flees the country and supposedly reforms himself in a foreign land. Louisa never again marries but lives as Sissy's companion when Sissy does marry and have children. Though Mrs. Gradgrind died knowing that something was missing from her life but not knowing what, Thomas Gradgrind Sr. lives the rest of his life.
Obviously; Dickens is harshly opposed to the utilitarian educational system used by Gradgrind. Mc Choackumchild is the schoolteacher who fills the little vessels with poisonous facts. Children are supposed to be able to play, to imagine, to love, to learn, to be creative, and to have an interest in the world. This is not the philosophy of Gradgrind. As a result, the little children have no basis in the imagination, they only know facts- and facts are devoid of morality or emotion. In a way, the Gradgrind’s are childish, but they have no child's heart. They have no morals, are unable to take responsibility for their actions, and are unable to grasp simple concepts such as love and imagination. Their lack of responsibility makes them childish, while their lack of understanding of emotion makes it so that they never had the delicacy of a child's heart.
Louisa has been subjected to an analytical education and is thus devoid of morality and self-consciousness. She is an empty hole. Louisa is alienated not just from others - from the ability to care for and love other human beings - but also from herself. She does not know or understand herself. This is one of the reasons why she marries Bounderby - she is lost, has no direction, and cannot think of a reason not to. Louisa is dejected because she has grown up in a household without love or humanity. Sissy was dejected but had the benefit of love earlier in her life, and an education based on humanity (from her father and those in the circus). She grew up with the consecutiveness of knowing that there was always someone there for her, and even when she was with the Gradgrind's she was never fully dejected or alienated because she still had the memory of her father and the hope that he would return. Sissy is not only capable of love and happiness; she is able to instil it in others. She can tell right from wrong and rescues Louisa from making bigger mistakes by getting rid of Harthouse. She allows Louisa to remain with her as she raises her own loving family, though Louisa is incapable of love.
Dickens is a great user of satire; it’s his toy to play around with whenever he dislikes a subject he is writing about. He particularly uses this writing technique whenever talking about Mr. Gradgrind and his methods of teaching. ‘Square’ is constantly repeated whilst describing Gradgrind; this may be to give the impression of a perfect and tidy man. But Gradgrind is anything but square, for squares have equal sides and equal angles, all paired up in a fair way to give the impression of a perfect, neat and tidy shape. All of these statements do not pair up in any way equally to his actual personality and being. This doesn’t particularly matter because the squared being of his man is used not to be realistic but to create a caricature image of Gradgrind, one that people can ridicule and laugh at but is not necessarily the perfect image of truth.
The schoolroom is made out to be a torture chamber of facts and strict education, where writing lines and cleaning the black board would be punishments used every day. You can imagine the room to be made up of four parallel and equal walls, with windows opposite each other and a door central to the room. The schoolroom would basically be a room built on what facts dictate. In my view the windows would be dark and dingy, not letting much light into the already musty room. The room itself would be soundless, no laughter or small talk would ever occur within these walls, the smiles of happy faces would be a pleasure the room would never come across. The desks and chairs would be at equal angles from each other, all facing the front, equally spaced apart and all identical. There would be no mindless doodles etched into these tables, no signs of love of affection engraved deep into the wooden surface. This would be a school of fact and fact alone, where drama wouldn’t exist. Toys – whether they are educational or not – would also not be a privilege that the children of this upper class mechanical child machine would never see.
This is such a striking contrast to the establishment set up down the road, a place of laughter and enjoyment, where games are celebrated and toys are eagerly handed out at a whim. This would be the circus, the wonderful bright and colourful tent of all things amazing and bright. The circus is one place the children of Gradgrind’s school do not go, for it is not the epitome of facts and facts alone. Here music is played at all hours of the day…and night. The loud, banging, crazy, colourful and entertaining kind that just makes you smile however you are feeling at the time. Noise is a part of life the circus embrace with open arms. The people are brought up to be melodramatic and over the top and are always smiling, messing around and playing tricks on any poor passer by, well that’s how they turn out anyway.
In comparison the schoolroom is quiet, save for the loud strict voice of Mr. Gradgrind. He does not approve of the hustle and bustle of the circus, oh no that place is not worthy of even being in ‘his’ town. What a horrible establishment, not built on facts and not based on the teachings of some literature genius of some time a long time ago. Gradgrind will only permit the more classical forms of music, the light playful tones of a piano concerto or the moody dark tones of an orchestral masterpiece. In reality these two establishments would not be found anywhere near each other, they wouldn’t even exist in the same town never mind on the same set of roads. For these are two such places that do not go to well together, that clashes atrociously like a bad outfit or an awfully dressed room.
During chapter five, Sissy Jupe is forced to make a decision that will change her life forever. She has to pick between the loving circus family and the fact filled Gradgrind household. The two lives are hugely different from each other. The Gradgrind household offers a life of education and work; nowhere does the offer mention the important aspects of life like family and love. The circus offers the loving caring family and a life of fun and free spirits. The only thing the circus can’t offer is a good education and a secure life ahead. Throughout the debate the circus are shown through ‘rose tinted glasses’ in a sweet loving light that shines upon the support of the close-knit family. In comparison Mr. Gradgrind is shown through an icier shadowed lense, which gives the man a cold look and makes his offer seem devious and selfish. In reality the circus and Gradgrind are both offering good deals, they may be from the opposite ends of what you need in life but they are both very important. Gradgrind obviously sees his offer as most favourable as he says ‘that it is highly desirable to have sound practical education…’ From this you can tell that Gradgrind’s life revolves around the basis of fact, education and a good future job. Family is obviously un-important to him as it is not a life based on facts and so it is not appropriate for him to follow it. He sees himself as ‘above’ the circus as he looks down upon them with the up-most disdain. If Sissy is to go with Gradgrind then she must cut all connections with the circus and must never see or speak to the people again. This is quite a pompous and upper class comment as he is already acting as if he owns Sissy. This certainly proves he is a man of steel and the circus people will not get Sissy over him.
In conclusion Dickens novel ‘Hard Times’ is till relevant and can still be associated with the life of today. The circumstances may not be the same but the thinking and characters in the book are very much up to date. Dickens talks a lot about the children’s up-bringing. Commenting on their hardships and how it has affected them later on in life. Children today are still being brought up in much the same way. They may not have to deal with choosing their on paths at such an early age, but they do have to deal with racism, popularity and bullying. Dickens language, settings and times may be quite far off the modern suburban life we live in now but as for the plot and scenario’s he couldn’t be more exact. Even Dickens views on education are still pretty close to today’s curriculum. Many authors like Swift have learnt a great deal from Dickens, you can see how his early texts have been newly interpreted and changed to suit new authors styles. As far as Dickens style is concerned, I think you’ll find a lot of authors have copied it, adding a slight twist here and there to try to copy there idol’s amazing work.
