Mr. Bounderby

This same Mr. Bounderby—a wealthy, boastful industrialist who owns factories and a bank—is at that very moment in the drawing room at Stone Lodge, pontificating to the pallid and lethargic Mrs. Gradgrind about his poverty-stricken childhood. Bounderby never fails to talk at length about this subject. He reminds Mrs. Gradgrind that he was born in a ditch, abandoned by his mother, and raised by a cruel, alcoholic grandmother. At this point, Gradgrind enters and tells Bounderby about his children’s misbehavior. Mrs. Gradgrind scolds the children halfheartedly, admonishing them to “go and be somethingological.” Bounderby theorizes that Sissy Jupe, the circus entertainer’s daughter who attends Gradgrind’s school, may have led the young Gradgrinds astray. Gradgrind agrees, and they set out to inform Sissy’s father that Sissy is no longer welcome at the school. Bounderby demands a kiss from Louisa before they leave.

A Loophole

While walking back to his home, appropriately named Stone Lodge, Gradgrind catches his two eldest children spying on the circus through a peephole in the fence. Having raised his children according to his philosophy of Fact and having permitted them no imaginative entertainment, Gradgrind becomes furious. He drags the young Tom and sixteen-year-old Louisa home. Louisa admits that curiosity drew her to the circus and tries to defend her brother by saying she dragged him there, but all Gradgrind can do is ask angrily what Mr. Bounderby would say.

Murdering the Innocents

Thomas Gradgrind; a man of realities. I almost want to say 'Grinwald' in my head every time that I read the name Gradgrind, but perhaps that's just because the name reminds me of the bank out of Harry Potter and for some reason that makes me think the name 'Grinwald', does that mean anything? I haven't a clue ... He speaks of everything being proper, that you do not find horses on the wall, so why should they be decorated that way. He's a simple man, filling the "little pitchers", or children, with facts and tells a little girl named Sissy to never fancy. He's almost horrified when he finds out that she wants flowers on the carpet of her home. He seems quite firmly against imagination of any form and doesn't like the idea of children especially discovering it. Maybe he's afraid that if they do start to fancy that they'll stand up to him? Is this some sort of power thing? I guess I'll find out. There's funnily enough a character named Mr M'Choakumchild which is either a startling coincidence or a metaphor, or pun if you like, of the fact that they're choking the imagination out of children and stuffing them with facts.

The title 'Murdering the Innocents' leads me to believe that they're trying to get rid of any fancy or imagination in children while they're young so they can turn them into machines or "realists" like this Gradgrind guy. I'm still not sure what's going on, and unfortunately after doing about 7 hours straight of homework at this point my thoughts aren't exactly very articulate, but the essence of this chapter is to reiterate and force the interpretation that this Thomas Gradgrind guy is important, and that he believes Facts are important so everyone else has to as well.

The One Thing Needful

The book starts off with the following quote; "Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them, This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to facts, Sir!" Then man is described as "square" in which his voice is "inflexible, dry and dictorial." Forgive me if I say the guy sounds like a stuck up idiot, but that was merely my first impression. He seems like the type of guy who if he were to see it, he'd believe it but otherwise it's not real. He's the type of man whose very aura beams of straight laced, definitive power. My first impressions is that this must be the Mr. Gradgrind that I have heard so much about and upon reading the notes scribbled in the margins from the previous owner of this book my assumptions were proven correct. Or at least I hope so, otherwise if I should pay attention to the words in the margin and they turn out to be wrong I'm in big trouble.

The children aren't referred to as children at all really; more mere "vessels" in which to fill with these Facts that Mr Gradgrind is so fond of. The word 'Fact' is always used in capital letters and repeated frequently through the chapter in both Mr Gradgrind's speech and in the author’s commentary which expresses its importance. The chapter title itself speaks of the importance of Facts, and the fact that it's the only important and necessary thing needed in life. Mr Gradgrind doesn't seem like the kind of man who looks for anything else in life, a man who'd call himself a 'realist'. To me it just seems quite ridiculous, who could ever live like that? Yes, we breathe in oxygen but we can't see it, does that make it imaginary, unfactual? Is this Mr. Gradgrind a foolish idiot? I sure think so and it's only been a page. I'm almost intrigued to read more ...almost. I shall reserve my judgement of the storyline and the point of the book when I figure out what they are.

So basically to sum up chapter one Mr. Gradgrind, a man of Facts, gives a speech to a group of "vessels" (school students) about how Facts are the most important thing of life; nay - the only thing important in life.

Hard Times with Lauren

No this is not some teenage blog about how hard my life is and how much I hate it, sadly I kind of wish it was. This is a blog about the book Hard Times by Charles Dickens. I guess the only reason I'm reading this book is because I have to to pass my final year of high school, but I imagine and hope by the end of it I will have learnt valuable life lessons that I'll want to hold sacred forever. I'm hoping by making this blog and blogging and talking about the book as I read it will help me understand it better and help me to get through it. I don't imagine that it's a terrible book, nor entirely complex but I do imagine that there are going to be days where I just want to put it down and give up. This blog is going to make sure that I don't do that. On a daily basis I will be writing about my own interpretations of Charles Dicken's book, and hopefully learning more about it in the process.

Hard Times is the tenth novel published by Charles Dickens in 1854. The book aims to highlight the need for fancy and imagination in a time of major social and economic pressures. I am to learn all about this is the best way that I know how; expressing my thoughts and opinions into words. If this blog helps me to pass year 12 english to the standard I want, then I'm going to do it. I don't mind if nobody ever reads this, just so long as it's beneficial to me. Wish me luck; I start tomorrow.