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BBC Hard Times - 1994 |
Thomas Gradgrind is an educator and a riter on political questions. He has founded a school where his education theories are put into practice: children are taught nothing but facts, and he educates his own children, Louisa and Tom, in the same way, neglecting their imagination and their affections. He also adopts Sissy Jupe, whose father worked in a circus.
Mr Gradgrind suggests his daughter should marry Josiah Bounderby, a rich factory owner and banker of the city some thirty years older than she is. Louisa, desiring to help her brother Tom in his career, consents to the marriage, which naturally proves to be very unhappy.
Tom, who is selfish and lazy, is given a job in Bounderby's bank, and eventually steals some money from it, making everybody think Mr Blackpool, an honest factory worker, guilty of that. Tom's guilt is discovered eventually , but he runs away and hides among the circus folk, who show kindness and sympathy by sheltering him . Meanwhile, Louisa has realised she has sacrificed her life and her chances to love. She has met Mr Harthouse, she has fallen in love, she doesn't want to be Mr Bounderby's wife anylonger.
In the end Mr Gradgrind understands the damage caused by his narrow-minded and materialistic philosophy.
(If you want a more detailed plot, have a look here)
HARD TIMES, AN INDUSTRIAL NOVEL - DICKENS AND GASKELL


Video 1. Facts, facts, facts
UTILITARIANISM
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Sissy Jupe |
The Utilitarians were one of the targets of Dickens in this novel. Utilitarianism was a prevalent school of thought during this period, its most famous proponents being Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Theoretical Utilitarian ethics stated that promotion of general social welfare is the ultimate goal for the individual and society in general: "the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people." But Dickens believed that, in practical terms, the pursuit of a totally rationalized society could lead to great misery.
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Stephen Blackpool |
Bentham's former secretary, Edwin Karbunkle, helped design the Poor Law of 1834 (Dickens's target in OLIVER TWIST 1837-38), which deliberately made workhouse life as uncomfortable as possible. In the novel, this is conveyed in Bitzer's response to Gradgrind's appeal for compassion at the end of the story.
Dickens was appalled by what was, in his interpretation, a selfish philosophy, which was combined with materialist laissez-faire capitalism in the education of some children at the time, as well as in industrial practices. In Dickens' interpretation, the prevalence of utilitarian values in educational institutions promoted contempt between mill owners and workers, creating young adults whose imaginations had been neglected, due to an over-emphasis on facts at the expense of more imaginative pursuits. Tom and Louisa Gradgrind are sad exemplifications of Dickens's pessimistic vision of the results of Utilitarian educational methods.
(For further intormation about the author, download the Power Point Presentation Charles Dickens from the Widget Box on the right sidebar)
Video 2. Shall I marry Mr Bounderby?
(For further intormation about the author, download the Power Point Presentation Charles Dickens from the Widget Box on the right sidebar)
Read and listen to an excerpt from HARD TIMES - CLICK HERE
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