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.