Question

In Hard Times, Charles Dickens’s purpose in including Sissy in the selection is to show that _____.

a) the other children in the class view Sissy as inferior to them


b) factual knowledge and logical reasoning are superior to fantasy


c) students with feeling and imagination have no place in this educational system


d) Sissy is a rare exception among students in Mr. Gradgrind’s school

Answer 1

c) students with feeling and imagination have no place in this educational system

Answer 2

The school system emphasized facts, mathematics and analysis, considering this model as the ideal, not really open for sensitivity and flexibility. For Dickens, imagination was very important and he didn't think material facts should limit people's lives. At the end, when the rigid philosophy style of facts fails, Sissy teaches them how to live by her values and beliefs.

Answer: C