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The overarching theme throughout the entire novel is the principle of reaping what you sow. It is so important to the story that Dickens represents it in the naming of the sections of the book. Essentially, Dickens uses this town of Coketown to demonstrate what happens when powerful people think only for themselves and work solely for their own benefit and then teach the next generation the same ideals. When that next generation comes to power, it is even more corrupt than the last and every person is out against every other person, including their fathers. Evil men that teach their children to use and abuse people and power will eventually be overthrown and taken advantage of by their own children. Dickens explicitly writes this message into the story of Tom Gradgrind who eventually takes the lessons he has learned from his father and Bounderby and stolen from the very same men. Dickens overall goal is to teach the world that if we continue to live with the same capitalistic self interest displayed by our parents and their parents, then we will continue down a long spiral that will cause everyone's eventual demise. |
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