At this time many towns were developing quickly. Like ‘Coketown’, Manchester underwent these changes and it is believed that this is the place on which Dickens based his fictious town Coketown upon. At this time some people were afraid of these towns calling them unhealthy and unnatural. Others thought of them as a way of getting paid. In 1833 the factory act was passed which reduced the working times for children and made it compulsory that they go to school. The education was basic and strict. Some people believed that if children were taught to be obedient then they would turn into obedient, hard working adults.
Before the industrial revolution began the workers worked more closely with the employers. When this changed all the employers referred to them as was ‘hands’.
The first instalment of the book begins in a schoolroom. There are three adults in the room, Mr Choakumchild, Thomas Gradgrind, and the inspector. The children are all sitting in rows, with boys and girls on either side. Dickens describes them as ‘little vessels’. This means they are vessels waiting to be filled with facts. Dickens writes about two of the children, they are Sissy Jupe and Bitzer. Sissy is the circus girl who carries on blushing and is very shy. Bitzer is ‘light-eyed and light haired boy’ who knows the answers to the questions. Sissy is from the circus and she is happy but doesn’t know the answers to the questions. Bitzer is ill and knows the answers to the questions. The circus is described as a jolly place with ‘fancy gothic architecture’. Whereas the school is ‘bore and monotonous’ The two children reflect their surroundings. Sissy is like the circus happy and Bitzer is like the school ill and dull.
I think that Dickens thought that in the school system at that time children were treated unfairly. One way he shows this is in the novel is by making Mr.Gradgrind call the children by numbers. By doing this he is treating them in an inhumane way and is stripping them of their credibility.
The children are poured with facts and not allowed to enjoy themselves. Dickens shows this when Mr.Gradgrind says ‘teach these children nothing but facts’.
When Dickens calls the schoolteacher Mr.Choakumchild it suggests that he choaked the children with facts. Also the teacher has studied subjects will be of no use to the children. Dickens says in the novel ‘If only he knew less he could teach more’. The girls and boys were separated and sat in orderly rows. It is not like this anymore and boys and girls are treated equally, but back then boys were considered better than girls. Dickens describes the inspector as a ‘professed pugilist’. This means he is a boxer. Dickens suggests that he fights the facts into the children. Dickens writes ‘he would go in and damage any subject’ killing anything interesting.
Dickens uses contrast between the classroom and the circus. The schoolroom is described as ‘Bore and monotonous’ Whereas the circus is described as having ‘fancy gothic architecture’. In the circus music is playing and a flag is flying high which shows everyone is enjoying themselves. This is a contrast between the happiness of the circus and the dullness and unhappiness of the schoolroom.
When reading this instalment of Hard Times I noticed some unfamiliar words. One of these words was pugilist. This means a boxer during the 1800’s. When this novel was written it was modern and events happening in the novel were common at his time. Reading it today I think it is a historical book and I look upon it as a bit of history. Today children are not treated unfairly. It is against the law for the teacher to hit pupils. People do not share the same views as people back then e.g. if you teach children to be obedient then they will grow up to be obedient adults. Also we do not believe in this type of education. We believe that children learn best when they are enjoying themselves. This is the best way because if you just teach them facts they become depressed like Bitzer.
Dickens writes his first instalment of the first novel by giving the reader clues of what’s to come and leaving on an unsolved problem. He also introduces characters who the reader doesn’t know much about. For example he asks “what will Mr Boundarby think”. But he doesn’t say who Mr. Boundarby is. Also when Mr.Gradgrind catches his children peeping into the circus, it makes you think what is he going to do them? This is a very effective way of enticing the reader into buying the next instalment of the novel.
Dickens influences his readers to think that the schooling system is inhumane by making the teachers call the pupils by numbers. For example when Thomas Gradgrind calls Sissy ‘girl number twenty’. The children are not allowed to enjoy themselves or have any fun. They are just poured with facts that will have no use to them in the future. Thomas Gradgrind doesn’t let his own children have any fun. So he enforces this same principal in the classroom. Overall dickens is very successful because the reader can visualise the conditions. They can see that the children are given are Hard time and he gives the reader a message that they need to do something about it. Also in them times most parents didn’t know what went on in schools so this book gave an insight into the children’s lives. Even though the book is biased it still gets the point across successfully. In the end the part of the book that I liked best was when dickens calls the inspector a pugilist. Here he uses an extended metaphor to describe him. This lasts for one paragraph. He uses boxing language such as ‘training, left hook, and knock the wind out of common sense’. This means that he’s come to sort these children and the teacher out and they’re in for a real rough ride.
