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Page 15
The third element that is put into view are the educational methods that were widely spread at schools. Thus, David is to wear a sign on his back that reads “Take care of him. He bites.”[11] It is done under pretence of educating him, but in reality is only a punishment and a psychological torture for the incident with Mr Murdstone, mentioned above in the text. And by wearing this placard, the child feels exposed to others and suffers from a great mental strain, which pushes him so far that he starts to believe that he really “bites” and is haunted by it even in his dreams.
This obviously draws attention to the fact, that so-called educational methods, like exposing or embarrassing children by making them ridiculous or a target to the people in their environment, are very bad. And these methods, instead of achieving the aim of teaching them things, usually result in psychological vulnerability and mental disorder, which often has the contrary effect: instead of teaching the children, it destroys them. And that is probably what Dickens wanted to show.
And finally, the book gives an impression of the classroom methods that many teachers used to employ during lessons. The centre, where all those bad habits are accumulated is Mr Creakle. As mentioned before, he is the owner and principal of Salem House and to the distress of the pupils also a teacher. From the first time he enters the classroom, he announces that “I come fresh up to the punishment”[12], which demonstrates his willingness to give his pupils a hard time.
[11] Dickens, Charles, David Copperfield, p.81 [12] Dickens, Charles, David Copperfield, p.90
