He tried to raise money to expand educational services and the state reported that the schools he visited were substandard. In comparison to the book, Mr. Grandgrind had set high standards for his school and expected those who attended to do well. Although this led to disappointment, by Sissy Dupe.'The middle and upper classes began to realize how little they knew about the lives of their less fortunate compatriots... As England's appetite for knowledge and the plight of England was whetted , novelists found an audience interested in learning more about the plight of the working classes, and the novel became a method of teaching the middle and upper classes about the "real" condition of England. (Simmons, 2002, p.336). This brings together the idea of Grandgrind's bewilderment as to why people needed to read fiction rather than informational books such as mathematics, and Dickens's approach to bringing Household to the attention of the middle and upper classes. Already in the 19th century the novel was considered contemporary, not far from the truth as Dickens was a contemporary writer. Not only did he write novels, he wrote articles for newspapers and business magazines, before he started writing his own, he was also a short story writer and wrote
tags