Jude the Obscure Education Quotes

Hey, there are worse things to be crazy about. Jude's desire to learn even at a very young age gives us a good idea of what he's all about from the start of the novel. However, it's presented as being something odd. The boy is not like many of those from his rural background.

Okay, this is a continuation of the first quote, but it deserves its own spot. Look at how early Hardy connects Jude and Sue. They have no idea who the other is, and the readers have no idea who Sue is at all, really, but Hardy lays the groundwork for what is to come chapters and chapters before Sue even appears in the novel. The connection between the two is the desire to learn. This is classic foreshadowing, and a lovely little literary touch from Mr. Hardy.

Is that a challenge? Because it sounds kind of like a challenge. At least, that's how Jude takes it. He's in awe of Christminster, but he's committed to making it there.

This just feeds Jude's need to get to Christminster. Education is everywhere there. Even the lower classes pick it up as though Latin is floating around in the air. To a kid who taught himself Latin and Greek from textbooks, the idea of a place where everyone, even the washing women, will sympathize with his interest in the classics must sound like paradise.

Wouldn't that be awesome? You could just learn a code and speak French or Italian. Sadly, it doesn't work that way, and when Jude finds out, he gets extremely frustrated.

Jude approaches learning with a religious zeal. At times, he'll approach religion with a religious zeal, but it still always comes back to education with him. And he sticks to his love of Christminster long after he seems to have lost his interest in religion entirely.

This is Tinker Taylor just dropping some science. He doesn't think much of Jude's book-learning; for him, it's all about street smarts. And indeed, most of the painful lessons Jude learns in this novel come from real-world miseries. Arguably, Arabella Donn teaches Jude more about life than all of his scholarly reading combined.

This line is Sue's clever way of saying that organized education has simply taken the position of power that organized religion used to hold in the city, and that she really sees no difference in the two.

Have you guys ever heard of parents living out their own dreams through their kids? Well, this is what Jude is planning on doing with Little Father Time. Sure, Jude never made his way to University, but things can be different for his son.

We know how committed to learning Jude has been throughout the novel. He has taught himself more than most people learn in the structured environment of school. However, it's not simply knowledge or education he desires. He knows he is as smart as some of the new doctors, but they have the public recognition for it, and that is something he can never attain. Education isn't out of his reach, but the social respect he would get from having a formal education is, and for totally unfair reasons.