Question

In Hard Times, Charles Dickens uses the M in Mr. M’Choakumchild’s name; this is an old way of writing Mc. Think about what the rest of his name suggests. Dickens’s purpose in naming the schoolmaster Mr. M’Choakumchild is to _____.

imply that he was forced to grow up quickly

suggest that he was a criminal earlier in his life

reveal that he has a passionate hatred for children

show that he crushes students’ imagination and individuality

Answer 1

Show that he crushes students’ imagination and individuality

Just took the test and got 100%

Answer 2

- The correct answer is “show that he crushes students’ imagination and individuality”.

Indeed, the etymology of the unrealistic last name is clear: Choakum is clearly a deformation of the verb “to choke” and the second part is child. Thus, the name means “choking children”. Figuratively, this teacher is someone who chokes a child’s creativity and imagination by applying strict and tyrannical Utilitarianism as an educational philosophy. Under this system, the child loses his individual personality and becomes just another formatted robotic worker, just another cog in the machine of Utilitarian, Industrialist England of the Victoria Era. Coketown is a fictional town in the north of England and many Scottish Utilitarians came to teach there.