Alone Are Wanted in Life

¶ … Alone are Wanted in Life

In the novel, Hard Times for These Times a picture of the different social classes is portrayed by Charles Dickens. The novel is set in the Victorian era and the reader is introduced to many different characters that are either well-to- do or poor. There are several characteristics that can be associated with the Victorian Era such as industrialism, economic prosperity and utilitarianism (http://teachers.ewrsd.k12.nj.us). Dickens touches on all of these characteristics as he intertwines them in this tale. At times, it seems as though there are maybe too many characters for the reader to keep track of, but as the story progresses we find that each and every character in the book plays an important role whether large or small. This is an engaging and thought provoking novel that gives the reader a glimpse into the social ills of the Victorian times. Although the novel was written over one hundred and fifty years ago, the story still is still relevant for today's times. We are no longer living in the Industrial Revolution era, but there is still a divide between the wealthy and the poor and had Dickens lived during these current times, the settings and characters may have had different backgrounds, but the story would have been the same.

The story begins with Thomas Gradgrind stating that the boys and girls at his school are to be taught nothing but the facts because "facts alone are wanted in life." We learn that he is a highly educated man and so are his children. During the Victorian Era, a person could be considered to have achieved a certain amount of nobility if he had a good education. No longer was it required to be born into nobility, but education as well as someone who pulled himself up by his bootstraps and attained a certain amount of wealth was also seen as noble (http://www.victoriaspast.com/FrontPorch/victorianera.htm). Gradgrind's children, much like himself are filled with nothing but facts. He never allowed them to learn nursery rhymes nor did he read them fairytales. We learn regarding his children, the childhood rhyme of Peter Piper had 'never found his way into their nursery'. Gradgrind did not believe in such things because he considered himself an 'eminently practical father'.

Gradgrind considers himself to be practical, and he no doubt raises his children in the same way. We learn that he has five children, but the eldest two (Louisa and Tom) are the ones that the majority of the story revolves around. Louisa is practical much like her father because of her upbringing. However, Gradgrind thinks to himself that Louisa, or Loo as she is affectionately called by her family does have a mind of her own. We find this out when Gradgrind catches Loo and Tom peeping into a circus tent. When Gradgrind appalling asks why she is doing this, she calmly and truthfully replies that she 'wanted to see what it was like'. We know that Loo is curious, but that her curiosity of the world she wants to know more about does not get in the way of what her family expects of her. We know this because she married Josiah Bounderby at the request and prodding of her brother Tom. Bounderby was nearly thirty-years her senior and very wealthy.

Josiah Bounderby was the owner of a factory referred to as the Bank. He has no pity on his workers, or Hands as they are called. He feels that his workers have the same opportunity that he had and he tells the story time and time again of how he was abandoned by his mother and left in the care of his no-good grandmother whom he describes as 'the wickedest and the worst old woman that ever lived'. He is a member of the Victorian era that was considered a gentleman because he was a self-made wealthy individual. He says that the less fortunate are unreasonable because they all expect to be 'fed on turtle soup and venison with a gold spoon'. He knows that Gradgrind will allow him to marry his young daughter because of his wealth and status in Coketown. We later find out that Josiah is a fraud for he was not abandoned by his mother and his grandmother died years before he was born. He was given a decent education and a leg up in life that he always claimed he never had. Perhaps his endless lies over his upbringing helped to validate his wealth since he was not born into it.

Stephen Blackpool, on the other hand could be considered to be from the other side of the tracks. He was a poor man and worked in Bounderby's factory as a weaver. The language that Dickens' uses to describe the world that Blackpool is from is quite depressing. He tells us that the Gradgrinds live at Stone Lodge. This name itself conjures up and image of a mini castle surrounded by lush, green grass. He describes Stephen Blackpool's environment as a place 'where Nature was as strongly bricked out as killing airs and gases were bricked in' and 'the whole an unnatural family, shouldering and trampling and pressing one another to death'. He even lets us know that Stephen looks much older than his forty years because of the life and environment he is from. Poor Stephen loses his job for standing up for his coworkers and also left Coketown in order to find work elsewhere. When Bounderby's Bank is robbed, Stephen is seen by him as the likely suspect because he is poor, was fired and has no money. We know that these factors do not make Stephen a criminal.

Tom Gradgrind, the son of Thomas Gradgrind is the perfect example of someone who was apparently raised in a proper manner, but has not lived up to his upbringing. Young Tom is careless with other people's money as he does not have any of his own. He persuades Louisa to marry the older Bounderby in order to secure a decent job at the Bank to finance his philandering ways. We know that Louisa does this as she does not want to disappoint neither her father nor Tom. Louisa even gives Tom money in addition to his salary which isn't enough for we learn that it is he who robbed the Bank.

The story ends on an ironic note because according to the eldest Gradgrind, life is about the facts. The fact was that he knew his son robbed the Bank and therefore, he should have been punished for his deviant behavior. Instead, Thomas Gradgrind tries to hide his son among the local circus performers until he can find a way to get him out of the country. He is not at this point led by the facts. He is led by his heart and for the love of his child, so he contradicts himself. Bitzer is a child that was taught by Gradgrind. He comes to the circus to capture the younger Gradgrind and bring him in to Bounderby. He does this because he believes he will be given young Tom's job and that would be in his best interest. He ignores the bribe for money that Mr. Gradgrind promises and reminds his former teacher that 'the whole social system is a question of self-interest'. This is something Gradgrind taught his pupils and it has come back to haunt him.