(Hypo)Critical Thinking // Justin Johnson

Sorry this blog post was so late. The day it was due I couldn't finish it because I had a migraine all afternoon, and then I just kept forgetting to sit down with my computer and post it.



             Within the covers of Bleak House, Charles Dickens has offered quite a bit of commentary (both implicit and explicit) on the society he grew up in. The most obvious of these is the court of chancery, which in his day had become such a farce that it was generally regarded by the public as a laughingstock. This commentary led to relatively swift and dramatic societal change in response to the popular influence of this novel, but there’s another common theme in this work that feels a little more personal for Dickens is that of religious charitable hypocrisy. Time and time again we see characters pour their time, energy, and money into helping solve far off, disconnected problems while ignoring the issues that need attention right beneath their very noses. Throughout the novel many examples of this are seen, such as Mrs. Jellyby’s neglect of her children in the name of “helping” Africa, the mistreatment of Esther by her “pious” godmother, and Mrs. Pardiggle’s “ministry” in the brickmaker’s house. One particular example, though, stood out to me as feeling particularly influenced by Dickens’ life. In Chapter 19, Mr. Chadband spends much time and energy creating an image for himself as a godly influence on those around him. His words, however, are seen to be quite empty, and he seems to be unable to muster an ounce of critical thinking skills. In his encounter with Jo, he goes on and on about the joys of being a boy and how Jo should appreciate his life and how well he has it as a young boy, completely not even considering the fact that Jo’s life may not be all that great. His insensitivity to Jo and his eagerness to jump into a long-winded speech about virtue while displaying none is a common trend in this novel. Charles Dickens had a really hard life as a child, and in the text we have seen time and time again the affect this had on him and his outlook on life and morality.

I commented on Emma Dalgety and Emma Landry's posts

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A House Divided//Emily Otts

The words Jesus spoke in Matthew 12 remind me so much of this play: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." (Matthew 12:25) King Lear, at the end of the day, is about a family being divided multiple ways. These divisions arise over greed and hatred for one another and cause the whole family to be ruined because of it. King Lear first divides the kingdom after his daughter Cordelia does not proclaim her love to him, so he banishes her. Later, his daughters go against him for not doing as they asked, believing he is unfit and unworthy to be king, secretly plotting against him. But all of this comes to a head in Act 5. After capturing King Lear and Cordelia, Edmund plans to have them killed. You would believe the sisters would be able to work together because their plan is working, but an even greater division has risen between them. Both of them wish to have Edmund for themselves, and they plot against each o...
Read more

The Plague in Everyone// Emily Otts

     In part 4 of the Plague , Tarrou tells Rieux about how he has had the plague forever. Except, this is not the same plague as the one ravaging the town. Tarrou speaks of how his father was a lawyer who believed in the death penalty, how he saw so many people support it and be comfortable about it, and how he had to witness the executions of prisoners. He explains how this sort of mindset is a plague itself, one Tarrou had been fighting for a long time. " That's why everybody in the world looks so tired; everyone is more or less sick of plague. But that is also why some of us, those who want to get the plague out of their systems, feel such desperate weariness, a weariness from which nothing remains to set us free except death" (Camus, part 4, chapter 6). Tarrou wants to desperately not submit to such awful ways of thinking.      Tarrou does not realize it, but the plague he is talking about is sin. Everyone has it, some people give in to it and let...
Read more

The Thirst for Knowledge

     With Book Seven of Milton's Paradise Lost, Raphael is continuing his exposition on Satan's apostasy. The plan is to expose Adam and Eve to the wretched fate of those who cross God's will. The more he shed's light on the subject, however, the more Adam is inclined to ask for more information. He wants to know everything about the subject, as well as God and His creation.      However, while the taste of such knowledge leaves Adam yearning for more, there are boundaries. It is like a toddler eating a cookie... and eventually begging her mother for the rest of the jar. Is it a coincidence that the one thing Adam and Eve are not to touch is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Most readers know how the story ends: these toddlers are never going to be content with a few cookies. They're going in for the jar.   There is a statement in the Bible that is constantly being repeated throughout the Old Testament: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ...
Read more