The Definition of a Horse

This extract is taken from the novel "Hard Times" written by Charles Dickens; the scene is set in a classroom where Mr. Gradgrind holds his ordinary lessons. The chapter begins with the introduction of Thomas Gradgrind, "a man of realities facts and calculations." The intelligent reader understands that anaphoric and alliterative sounds create an atmosphere of order. Indeed the sentences are short, there are many full stops to give the idea of Gradgrind’s personality and to convey the idea of a monotone and oppressive atmosphere. Therefore the anaphoric structure of the language underlines that Mr Gradgrind is a man mainly focused on concrete reality. The surname "Gradgrind" is a narrative device, it is an alitterative use of sound “R” and it conveys the idea of concrete aspects, it is reinforced by the adverb “peremptorily”. The exaggeration of tones makes the reader laugh but laughter hides a sense of sadness because Mr. Gradgrind is a teacher who doesn't care about feelings and emotions. In addition the novelist uses the word “sir” because he wants to underline the difference between the two social classes and the apparent superiority of the teacher.

Mr. Gradgrind identifies a student, called Girl number twenty, who replies that her name is Sissy Jupe. Gradgrind corrects her that her name is Cecilia regardless of what her father calls her. Jupe's father is involved in a horse-riding circus and this is not respectable in Gradgrind's opinion. Sissy is a poor name while Cecilia is more serious. The characters' names are often an immediate indication of where the character fits on Dickens' moral spectrum. It follows that the surname "Gradgrind" underlines rigidity instead the name "Sissy Jupe" underlines sweetness. Sissy is the emotional part which Mr. Gradgrind has repressed. The intelligent reader understands there is a hidden part in Mr. Gradgrind whenever students don't answer according to a rational answer.

Mr. Gradgrind orders to Sissy: "Give me your definition of a horse." While Girl number twenty knows what a horse is, she is unable to define one. Another child in the class, a boy called Bitzer, easily defines the animal by means of biological classifications (quadruped, graminivorous, etc.). Bitzer is an excellent student for his teacher because his job is to remove "fancy" and "imagination" from the minds of the children.

It seems to assist to a military questioning because questions and answers are both short and direct, there are no feelings.

Cecilia is submitted and blushes in front of Mr.Gradrind's apparent superiority. Indeed the alliterative sound in the expression “blushing, standing up, curtseying” brings to surface the sense of submission of the student in respect to the figure of the teacher.

The intelligent reader understands that the main theme of the chapter is educational process at England’s Hard Times which is recognizable by Dickens' description of Cecilia in the classroom. The "horses" and carpeted "flowers" are all double symbols of her femininity and youth, but most important, Cecilia represents Art in opposition to mechanization. Dickens is not against education, science or progress. He is against a mode of factory-style and a rationality typical of his period. Gradgrind’s philosophy of fact is related to the Industrial Revolution, a cause of the mechanization of human nature. Dickens suggests that when humans are forced to perform the same monotonous tasks repeatedly they become like the machines with which they work, in other words depersonalized.