I actually enjoyed writing this position paper!

Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996.

When I hear Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine,” I think of Charles Dickens’ Hard Times. The first character who speaks in this novel is Mr. Gradgrind, who has just established a school. The book opens by him saying, “Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life.” (Pg. 7) Gradgrind speaks in a mechanized manner, and his thoughts and actions are only of rational things. Gradgrind raises his own children in the same manner in which he wants to run his school. “Welcome to the Machine” begins with the line, “Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.” When I hear this, I picture Gradgrind standing in front of his school with open arms, ready to teach children the right way to live. The next line of “Welcome to the Machine” asks, “Where have you been?” This question is answered by the following line, which says, “It’s alright we know where you’ve been.” The question is both asked by someone who already knew the answer. Gradgrind uses this approach to show students an example of the right way to think. In the second chapter of Hard Times, Gradgrind asks two students for a definition of a horse. One student, Sissy Jupe, is unable to give a definition of a horse. Gradgrind ridicules her by saying, “Girl number twenty possessed of no facts in reference to one of the commonest of animals!” (9) Blitzer, the other student Gradgrind asked to give a definition, replied by listing facts about horses. This pleased Gradgrind, who then said, “Now, girl number twenty, you know what a horse is.” Clearly, Gradgrind knew that Sissy would not be able to answer his question. He only asked her in order to prove a point.

Since Gradgrind thinks of nothing other than facts, he does not have time for things that are fun or silly. In his mind, every single thing should make sense. There is no need for entertainment, according to Gradgrind. He says, “You must discard the word Fancy altogether. You have nothing to do with it.” He becomes very angry with his children in the third chapter of the novel when he catches them observing a circus through a hole in a fence. Circuses are not logical, nor do they serve a valid purpose. Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” also addresses the idea of discarding fancy. The third and fourth lines read, “You’ve been in the pipeline, filling in time, provided with toys and Scouting for Boys.” Scouting for Boys is a book that was written by Robert Baden-Powell. It addresses many topics on how to act like a good citizen, including the idea that masturbation led to idiocy. Baden-Powell also suggested that men only had a certain amount of sperm, just as women only had a certain number of eggs. Just as Gradgrind uses facts to make sense of everything that he does not approve of, Baden-Powell creates a theory that makes his disapproval of masturbation seem logical.

The second half of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” addresses the act of dreaming. Lines eleven and twelve state, “What did you dream? It’s alright we told you what to dream.” Again, a question is asked and answered by the same source. Dreams are sacred. They are one of the few things that are truly personal. They are the product of one’s imagination, feelings, and lingering thoughts. Gradgrind wanted to remove these things from his students. He wanted them to believe that facts are facts, and anything that is not fact is not important. If a child is taught to only go by what is factual, and told to discard his or her imagination, the child’s dreams may just be a set of facts replaying over and over again.

The remaining lines of “Welcome to the machine” use the word “he” in place of “you.” These lines speak of the mysterious “he” driving a jaguar, eating steak at a restaurant, and playing guitar. However, the song ends with, “Welcome to the machine.” The person that drove the fancy car, ate at the expensive restaurant, and played a musical instrument for pleasure is part of the past. Even though fun did exist at some point, it was no longer of importance. The repetition of the line, “Welcome to the Machine” seem to say that there is no other option. Dickens wrote this novel in response the industrialization in England. He was disgusted by the way the government treated human beings as machines. Since the government was the source of power, it could be called the machine. Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” and Dickens’ Hard Times both present an opposing view to this idea.