Hard Times2

twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive.

Sheds coat in spring......" A perfect example of a product of

utilitarian education, Bitzer defines a horse off the top of his

head in a split second. Utilitarianism is the assumption that

human beings act in a way that highlights their own self

interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for

imagination. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this

utilitarian logic in Hard Times. The first; Mr. Thomas

Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the

principal of a school in Coketown. He was a firm believer in

utilitarianism and instilled this philosophy into the students at

the school from a very young age, as well as his own

children. Mr. Josiah Bounderby was also a practitioner of

utilitarianism, but was more interested in the profit that

stemmed from it. At the other end of the perspective, a

group of circus members, who are the total opposite of

utilitarians, are added by Dickens to provide a sharp

contrast from the ideas of Mr. Bounderby and Mr.

Thomas Gradgrind Sr., a father of five children, has lived his

. . .
The

book details the philosophy, then shows how miserably it

failed. I think Dickens

put this irony in as a comical device but also to show how

ineffective the utilitarian method of teaching is. Even after numerous attempts to force utilitarianism

into her by Mr. Dickens portrays them as a

step up from the "Hands" but still close to the bottom in the

social structure. His

utilitarian philosophy is similar to Gradgrinds in the sense that

factuality is the single most important virtue that one could

posses. Gradgrind strays from the utilitarian philosophy

and shows compassion for his daughter and her feelings. I think this is

extremely funny how, at a time of need, Gradgrind’s

educational theory has backfired in his face. They did not consider,

however, the children’s need for fiction, poetry, and other

fine arts that are used to expand children’s minds, all of

which are essential today in order to produce well-rounded

human beings through the educational process.

Dickens cleverly added in circus people as a contrast to the

utilitarian approach to life. True, they are smart people in the factual sense

but do not have the street smarts to survive. Dickens does not tell us much about

the success of the other students of the school besides

Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have

the capacity as a person to deal with life’s everyday

struggles. He refers to the factory

workers as "Hands," because that is all they are to him. The circus people could be called

the total opposite of utilitarianism. Jane is not spoken of much until

the end of the book but I like the way Dickens showed the

effects of the utilitarian lifestyle as opposed to the

non-utilitarian lifestyle.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 1513
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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