F. R Leavis 'Chapter 5, Found': Chapter Summary

This discussion will explore F.R. Leavis's description of Hard Times as a ‘moral fable' by closely looking at Book the Third, Chapter 5, ‘Found’. It will show an analysis of the characters used in the chapter and the part they play in the scene. It will look at the plot and structure, along with the style and language that had been used. There will an exploratory into other work of Dickens and a comparison to other authors in the era.

In Chapter 5, Found, of Book third Mr. Bounderby is shocked and furious at the believed suspect Mrs. Sparsit had brought in. The suspect being identified as Mrs. Pegler was actually Mr. Bounderby’s mother. Mr. Grandgrind accuses and interrogates the woman. But to his amazement everything that Bounderby

He tried to raise money in order to broaden educational services and the state he reported the schools that he had visited were low standard. In comparison to the book Mr. Grandgrind had set high standards for his school and he expected those who attended to do well. Though this led to disappointment, of Sissy Dupe.

‘The middle and upper classes began to realize how little they knew about the lives of their less fortunate compatriots…As the appetite for knowledge and the condition 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 Mr. Grandgrind’s bafflement of why people needed to read fiction rather than knowledgeable books like mathematics, and Dickens’ approach into bringing Household Words to the attention to the middle and upper classes.

Back in the nineteenth century the novel was considered as a contemporary, not far from the truth as Dickens was a contemporary writer. Not only did he write novels, he wrote articles for company newspapers and magazines, before beginning his own, he was also a short story writer and he wrote