Hard Times
is built around a few simple, contrasting thematic ideas. What are some of
them, and how do they function in the book? How does Louisa fit among these
ideas?
I think the main contrasting theme throughout Hard Times is the fact-based education versus an education that allows for fancy and "wondering." Louisa is central to the fact-based theme, owing to her upbringing by Gradgrind. This theme presents itself largely through gardening metaphors. Not only does the fact-based education's motto of "plant nothing else, and root out everything else [besides facts]" (9) establish a firm, uncompromising position on the importance of facts, and subsequent unimportance of everything else by encompassing everything that is not a fact as a weed - and thus bad - but it draws a noticeable parallel with Gradgrind's description of "staggering over the universe with his rusty stiff-legged compasses...annihilating the flowers of existence" (216-217). Here, the "stiff-legged compasses" are an allegory for the fact-based education, being both stiff - or unyielding - and used for computing. And, the idea of rooting out all else but facts is exaggerated to an extreme when the phrase "rooting out" is replaced with the arguably more extreme "annihilated." Plus, Louisa accuses her father of doing no good for "the garden that should have bloomed once [in her]" (208), directly linking her father with the absence of life inside her. So, the fact-based education, by virtue of its unyielding nature, has attempted to foster growth in its pupils by focusing on the mind but has in fact withered their emotional growth. On the other hand, Sissy Jupe admitted to being "very fond of flowers" (13). Although a casual statement, it holds many implications throughout the rest of the book: not only does she base her judgement on fancy, but flowers come to represent emotions, and so it appears that Sissy is the type of education that allows fancy personified. And, Sissy ends up "happy" as well as having "grown learned" (287). Thus, she does not wither as Louisa does, but actually thrives and becomes learned - which contrasts greatly with the idea that the fact-based education focused only on learning, and learning facts above all else, yet the character which learned the most in the end was the one which learned the fewest facts.
I think the main contrasting theme throughout Hard Times is the fact-based education versus an education that allows for fancy and "wondering." Louisa is central to the fact-based theme, owing to her upbringing by Gradgrind. This theme presents itself largely through gardening metaphors. Not only does the fact-based education's motto of "plant nothing else, and root out everything else [besides facts]" (9) establish a firm, uncompromising position on the importance of facts, and subsequent unimportance of everything else by encompassing everything that is not a fact as a weed - and thus bad - but it draws a noticeable parallel with Gradgrind's description of "staggering over the universe with his rusty stiff-legged compasses...annihilating the flowers of existence" (216-217). Here, the "stiff-legged compasses" are an allegory for the fact-based education, being both stiff - or unyielding - and used for computing. And, the idea of rooting out all else but facts is exaggerated to an extreme when the phrase "rooting out" is replaced with the arguably more extreme "annihilated." Plus, Louisa accuses her father of doing no good for "the garden that should have bloomed once [in her]" (208), directly linking her father with the absence of life inside her. So, the fact-based education, by virtue of its unyielding nature, has attempted to foster growth in its pupils by focusing on the mind but has in fact withered their emotional growth. On the other hand, Sissy Jupe admitted to being "very fond of flowers" (13). Although a casual statement, it holds many implications throughout the rest of the book: not only does she base her judgement on fancy, but flowers come to represent emotions, and so it appears that Sissy is the type of education that allows fancy personified. And, Sissy ends up "happy" as well as having "grown learned" (287). Thus, she does not wither as Louisa does, but actually thrives and becomes learned - which contrasts greatly with the idea that the fact-based education focused only on learning, and learning facts above all else, yet the character which learned the most in the end was the one which learned the fewest facts.
ReplyDelete