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Surpassing the Hard Times
Charles Dickens’s novel, Hard Times, reflects on the contemporary English culture during the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Addressing both educational and occupational experiences in Coketown, a fictitious milltown based upon the city of Preston, Lancashire, Dickens proposes two contrasting philosophies and emphasizes the drastically different ideals between them. While the Gradgrind philosophy values only objective facts and analytical thinking, the Sleary/Jupe philosophy, makes room for personality and the subjective, including synthesis, imagination, and delight. Such differences create tension between the two, from beginning to end of Dickens’s novel. Reflecting on my own experiences with the American educational system and workplace, the Sleary/Jupe philosophy is more commonly implemented to motivate open-minded students in the classroom and increase worker productivity for customer satisfaction.
Beginning Hard Times, crucial elements of both philosophies are quickly introduced in an educational context. Mr. Gradgrind, the school’s owner, harps on both his students and their instructors about the overwhelming importance of facts and reason. Believing that “facts alone are wanted in life” and that one must “plant nothing else, and root out everything else,” (Dickens 10) Sissy Jupe, a newcomer to his institution, challenges Gradgrind’s philosophy. As the daughter of a clown from the traveling circus that has entered Coketown, Sissy’s physical experience with horses in the circus ring is downtrodden by Gradgrind who warns her with “you mustn't tell us about that here” (Dickens 11). Despite Sissy’s expansive knowledge on horses, due to the fact that she does not know the factual definition, “Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in the spring; in marshy countries, sheds hoofs, too. Hoofs hard, but requiring to be shod with iron. Age known by marks in mouth,” (Dickens 12) she is ridiculed. Furthermore, Gradgrind’s philosophy is threatened by the coming of this circus, fostering the imagination and an emotional appeal to the students that he has strived to eliminate this from, making room for facts, and only facts.
As another element of the Sleary/Jupe philosophy, Sissy maintains hope that her father will return after he abandons her, sending her out to get his medicinal oils, and making his escape with his dog Merrylegs. In response to Sissy’s destress, as a result of her father’s sudden leave, Gradgrind attempts to knock some sense into her, as he exclaims, “this is wanton waste of time. Let the girl understand the fact. Let her take it from me, if you like, who have run away from, myself. Here, what’s your name! Your father has absconded - deserted you - and you mustn’t expect to see him again as long as you live.” Nonetheless, Sissy maintains faith and loyalty to her father, keeping the bottle of nine oils until the novel’s end.
This faith and loyalty, as primary components of the Sleary/Jupe philosophy, is further explained by Mr. Sleary, the manager of the traveling circus. When Tom Gradgrind, Mr. Gradgrind’s son, commits theft by robbing the town bank, Sleary uses the circus community and his jumbled imagination to demonstrate his loyalty to Gradgrind, returning the favor for taking Sissy Jupe into his care after her father abandoned her. Contrarily, Bitzer, one of Gradgrind’s students and the perfect example of his philosophy, deems his loyalty to Gradgrind as none other than a business transaction. He threatens to turn Tom into Mr. Bounderby, a prosperous factory owner following the Gradgrind philosophy for monetary gain, so that he might be promoted to a higher-ranking position in Bounderby’s bank. As Gradgrind begs Bitzer to show mercy on his poor headmaster, Bitzer’s only response is “My schooling was paid for; it was a bargain; and when I came away, the bargain ended” (Dickens 278). The Sleary/Jupe philosophy defeats the Gradgrind philosophy though, as Sleary concocts an outrageous plan with trained dogs and dancing horses to harass Bitzer, while Mr. Childers, a performer in the circus, drives Tom to freedom. With community and a bit of imagination, the Gradgrind philosophy was duped.
In conclusion of these events, Sleary wraps up the chapter with reiteration of his philosophy, “make the betht of uth; not the wurtht” (Dickens 45), as stated once in chapter six. He expands on this statement though with two key features that truly capture the essence of the Sleary/Jupe philosophy. Sleary explains “that there ith a love in the world, not all Thelf-interestht after all, but thomething very different; t’other, that it hath a way of ith own of calculating, whith thomehow or another ith at leatht ath hard to give a name to, ath the wayth of the dogth ith!” (Dickens 282), meaning that there is love in the world aside from self-interest that is beyond the realm of calculation. Mr. Sleary’s lisp, although difficult to understand, adds greater depth to his philosophy. Like the vague understanding of love, readers have a vague understanding of what Sleary says whenever he speaks. These two points are demonstrated by his parable of the dogs, in which he claims his dogs are the true heros. Capturing the difference between rationality and creativity, Sleary tells Gradgrind an impossible story about Merrylegs, Jupe’s loyal companion, with whom he abandoned his daughter, Sissy Jupe. He describes Merrylegs walking along and stopping by other dogs for directions, pointing him back to the traveling circus. While Gradgrind tries to rationalize this with a dog’s biological instinct and scent, the story becomes too outlandish, and he is unable to make sense of Merryleg’s desire to return home. Love, as Sleary claims the dog to contain, surpasses both understanding and reasoning.
In my personal experiences with the American educational system and workplace, I have noticed a greater preference for the Sleary/Jupe philosophy for the purpose of motivating open-minded students in the classroom and increasing worker productivity for customer satisfaction. One such experience includes involvement in the International Baccalaureate Programme my sophomore and senior year at Green Bay West High School. Created around the IB Learner Profile Traits, a set of guidelines for program participants to follow such as being open-minded, inquirers, thinkers, and risk-takers, this global program strives to “develop active, compassionate and lifelong learners” (“Mission.”) by looking at the facts or beliefs from multiple perspectives, proposing new ideas, and questioning the status quo. Specifically, Theory of Knowledge, a course dedicated to how we know what we know, exercised our abilities to investigate knowledge questions. These questions were open ended, appealing to Ways of Knowing (WOKs) and Areas of Knowing (AOKs), and allowing for students to answer based upon their personal values and knowledge. This program teaches students how to think for themselves and encourages the expression of emotions, individual thoughts and opinions, as is revered in the Sleary/Jupe philosophy.
Transitioning into St. Norbert College, I suspected that my Introduction to Theology course would be taught with the Gradgrind philosophy, preaching the glory of God and attempting to convert us to the Christian faith, as Gradgrind had converted his students to a more utilitarian perspective. I quickly came to realize though, that Dr. Bolin taught quite the opposite. Instead, he instructs us to analyze the Bible, among other religious texts, questioning the morality and applicability in a more modern era. The Bible is not to be taken literally as many followers believe.
As an employee at Bay Beach, a local amusement park in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I experience similar principles from the Sleary/Jupe philosophy. Like the circus community in Hard Times, with a “remarkable gentleness and childishness about these people, a special inaptitude for any kind of sharp practice, and an untiring readiness to help and pity one another, deserving often as much respect, and always as much generous construction, as the everyday virtues of the world” (Dickens 40), the workers at Bay Beach must themselves maintain a childish disposition to preserve the positive and upbeat energy that runs this park. This small community is strengthened by games and activities outside of work hours, whether getting a night of free rides or a cook out with a quick volleyball match, as well as individual recognition of employee achievement. By respecting one another and nurturing good relations between employees and employers, promoting the freedom for synthesis, imagination and delight, we are willing to give more in response and create a better family experience at Bay Beach Amusement Park.
While the Gradgrind philosophy is solely restricted to objective facts and analytical thinking, the Sleary/Jupe philosophy dominates reason with the personality and the subjective. With reference to my personal experiences with the American educational system and workplace, I have found that both operate according to the Sleary/Jupe philosophy, creating individuals who are more open-minded and motivated for the good of others. This is demonstrated in the events of Charles Dickens’s Hard Times.
Work Cited
“Mission.” Mission - International Baccalaureate®, www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/mission/.