How does Dickens present his views on education in 'hard times'?
Prose assignment Jonathan Schofield
How does Dickens present his views on education in 'hard times'?
Hard times is set in the 1840's in the North of England. It's set at a time when Britain is changing dramatically because of the Industrial Revolution, which is mainly affecting this part of Britain. This revolution moved much of the work from the country into towns and cities, and small cramped villages were built around the factories and mills to house the workers. Dickens novel 'hard times' was set during this time.
Dickens uses many techniques throughout the novel to show his views on education to his readers, the first of which is to create different characters, some of which contrast each other in different ways . Two of such Characters are Sissy Jupe and Bitzer. They differ in the ways they have been taught and the ways they see the education system. Bitzer is a model student, he has always strictly followed the system and been taught exactly how the system requires him to be taught. He is shown as lifeless and colourless, 'the boy was so light-eyed and light-haired that the self-same rays appeared to draw out of him what little colour he ever possessed.' This gives the effect that he has been drained of life and everything else but facts. When asked, Bitzer describes a Horse as a 'Quadruped' and 'graminivorous' and gives endless facts about the animal. Although this description is very factual and impressive, the use of long complex words and the amount of facts show that he has simply been taught these facts, and probably has never even seen a Horse. Sissy on the other hand does not understand how to factually define a Horse when asked, this is because she has been brought up with Horses all her life and they are too familiar and important to her just to be described in facts. This is one way that Dickens tries to show to his audience that this type of education is wrong, the teaching of bare facts limits the imagination of the student and a more practical way of teaching, like Sissy has had, would help the children understand the facts that they are being taught, instead of just learning them.
Dickens also shows the characters of some of the staff at the school to make his views known. Mr Gradgrind is the first to be introduced, from the onset Dickens portrays him as 'squared' , both in his appearance and character, he reveals little about him apart from the fact he is rigid, and has little individuality. This is emphasized by the repletion of 'square' and 'speaker', and by this he is shown to be stubborn, and has authority. Mr Gradgrind believes in teaching facts and 'facts alone'. The repetition of 'facts' by Dickens shows clearly Gradgrind's views ...
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Dickens also shows the characters of some of the staff at the school to make his views known. Mr Gradgrind is the first to be introduced, from the onset Dickens portrays him as 'squared' , both in his appearance and character, he reveals little about him apart from the fact he is rigid, and has little individuality. This is emphasized by the repletion of 'square' and 'speaker', and by this he is shown to be stubborn, and has authority. Mr Gradgrind believes in teaching facts and 'facts alone'. The repetition of 'facts' by Dickens shows clearly Gradgrind's views on education, that only bare facts should be taught, anything else would be a waste of time and serve no purpose. Mr Gradgrind is a very stubborn man with no self-doubt whatsoever. He addresses Sissy as 'girl number twenty'. He gives no individuality to the students, and as with the teachers, Mr Gradgrind sees the students to have no personality and are all the same. When he talks to Sissy he is not content first with her name, 'Sissy is not a name, don't call yourself Sissy. Call yourself Cecilia.' This is because Sissy is more of a nickname, the fact is that she is called Cecilia, and only facts are acceptable. Also he is not happy with her fathers job, to work in the circus is unacceptable as it promotes fun and imagination, as he works with Horses he instead thinks of him as a veterinary surgeon, as that requires knowledge of facts. Dickens describes the circus in a comical manner showing that it is to be enjoyed rather than ridiculed. To change the opinions of his audience from that of Gradgrind's he shows both sides of the argument but satirises Gradgrind's views.
Dickens then introduces the teacher, himself manufactured in much the same way as 'piano forte legs', showing that he is also part of an industry, like goods produced in a factory. Dickens creates the name ' M'Choakumchild which alone seems to pose a threat to the children. Dickens also uses a long list of complicated subjects like 'Orthography, etymology, syntax and prosody, to satirise the education system and show that it is ridiculous to teach young children such things. In effect Dickens says that the teachers had been over taught and maybe if M' Choakumchild had 'learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more!' This is saying that if there was slightly less room for facts in his brain there would be more room for thought. Dickens ends by comically referring to Morgiana in the Forty Thieves suggesting that it was impossible to 'kill outright the robber fancy' instead that they only 'maim and distort'. This is saying that it isn't always possible to fill the student totally with facts , but to fill them to a point where they have little room for other things such as imagination.
Another character introduced by Dickens is the Government officer. Dickens creates this character to show how force was used to educate the students. He forced facts onto the children so they had no option but to learn them. He is described by Dickens as a 'professional pugilist' . He is shown to seem hard, almost brutal ,and have authority, 'He was certain to knock the wind out of common sense'. This again shows the staff's views on what should be taught. Dickens though shows his opinion on the education system, again that it is wrong, and something to be ridiculed. He again uses satire, mocking the Government officer by the mixed answer to his ridiculous question 'would you paper a room with representations of Horses , showing that the children have no idea of the answer and are worried to get it wrong. The children don't know the answer because the question is not one of fact.
Out of all the characters Dickens creates to show his views, Gradgrind's children, Thomas and Louisa, demonstrate his views best of all, as they are the ones that are being effected by the education system. Dickens uses the acts and feelings of these children to argue his point that the school system is wrong. As far as education goes Thomas and Louisa are deemed to have the best, as there father is a very knowledgeable man. They have a 'model house' and they are seen as 'model children'. But still they are not complete, Dickens suggests to the reader that the children lack imagination and fun. 'No little Gradgrind had ever associated a cow in a field with that famous cow with the crumpled horn who tossed the dog who worried the cat who swallowed Tom Thumb: it had never heard of those celebrities, and only had been introduce to a cow as a graminivorous ruminating quadruped with several stomachs.'
This is represented when they are found by there father at the circus. Louisa is described having a 'starved imagination keeping life in itself somehow, which brightened it's expression'. Here Dickens is describing how Louisa knows so many facts she hasn't got much to imagine, but what she does imagine makes her happy. Mr Gradgrind is more confused than angry at his children as he doesn't see their need for fun or to use their imagination. He describes them as 'his own Mathematical Thomas' and 'his own metallurgical Louisa', which suggests that they are too smart to be interested by a circus and have no need to be there. The fact that the staff in the school cant see this is the main problem and the main view that Dickens is addressing. Presenting them through the children's thoughts gives the effect that they are the ones making the point not Dickens.
Dickens main view in the novel is that the ways the students are taught are wrong and are based too much on just learning facts. He believes that children should be taught to use their imagination and to think for themselves as well as being taught facts. He also believes that the attitude from the education staff towards learning is wrong, they believe that to be the perfect student is to know a great deal of facts, and to think for themselves is not an issue; but Dickens does not believe this.
He presents these views in different ways, most of which though include using other characters to his advantage, mainly the school staff. Dickens tells us of their views and uses satire to make his point. He comically describes some off the staff both in their appearance and character. Doing this makes us think of them less seriously therefore taking their views less seriously, which promote his own. He uses language very well, he uses many metaphors and is very descriptive, which helps us to understand the character he is portraying. It is apparent that Dickens' purpose in the novel is to make the reader understand and agree with his views on education, which he does both cleverly and effectively.
