"In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice"
About this Quote
Children live in a small, bounded universe shaped by the adults who feed, punish, praise, and explain. Within that tight circle, unfairness stands out with a piercing clarity. The repetition of finely perceived and finely felt underlines a double truth: children are not only quick to detect partiality, hypocrisy, or arbitrary punishment; they register it viscerally, as a wound to dignity and belonging. Because their world is small, each tilt of the scales is magnified. A withheld explanation, a favorite chosen without reason, a punishment that does not fit the act, leaves a deep impression that memory will not easily sand down.
Dickens frames this insight within Great Expectations, when young Pip, brought up roughly by Mrs. Joe and tutored in condescension by Pumblechook, is made to feel shame at Satis House and then chastised at home. He lacks the vocabulary and power to argue his case, yet he knows with startling accuracy when the ground under him is not level. The adult world in the novel plays by shifting rules: a lie is condemned until it flatters; poverty is despised until it is useful; feelings are dismissed until they can be exploited. Pip senses these discrepancies before he can name them, and that early sting of injustice sets the arc of his ambitions and his misjudgments.
The line also resonates with Dickenss larger project. Having known child labor and neglect, he understood how institutions and families stamp themselves on a young conscience. He does not present children as moral judges in the abstract; he shows how fairness, consistency, and honesty offer them a framework in which to grow, while injustice distorts their self-understanding and their trust. The observation is not sentimental. It is a sober warning that those who hold sway over the small world of childhood are, whether they intend it or not, shaping a persons lifelong sense of right and wrong.
Dickens frames this insight within Great Expectations, when young Pip, brought up roughly by Mrs. Joe and tutored in condescension by Pumblechook, is made to feel shame at Satis House and then chastised at home. He lacks the vocabulary and power to argue his case, yet he knows with startling accuracy when the ground under him is not level. The adult world in the novel plays by shifting rules: a lie is condemned until it flatters; poverty is despised until it is useful; feelings are dismissed until they can be exploited. Pip senses these discrepancies before he can name them, and that early sting of injustice sets the arc of his ambitions and his misjudgments.
The line also resonates with Dickenss larger project. Having known child labor and neglect, he understood how institutions and families stamp themselves on a young conscience. He does not present children as moral judges in the abstract; he shows how fairness, consistency, and honesty offer them a framework in which to grow, while injustice distorts their self-understanding and their trust. The observation is not sentimental. It is a sober warning that those who hold sway over the small world of childhood are, whether they intend it or not, shaping a persons lifelong sense of right and wrong.
Quote Details
| Topic | Parenting |
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