Adam Bede Theme of Education

In Adam Bede, education isn't simply a matter of what our great grand-uncle Shmooptimius used to call "book learnin'."

Time and time again, Eliot contrasts the world of classroom education with the worlds of work, family, and leisure. There are a whole bunch of problems that knowledge can't solve in Adam Bede. On the other hand, for Adam and the other characters education opens new opportunities and offers consolation in difficult times.

1. Aside from classroom learning, what other forms does education take in Adam Bede? Do the characters learn anything valuable about the world in informal settings or unexpected situations?
2. Is Bartle Massey depicted as a great teacher, a bad teacher, or something in between? What, in your opinion, might Eliot's ideal teacher look like?
3. In Adam Bede, is it always easy to see which characters are teachers/mentors and which are more like pupils/followers? Does any character switch roles—from student to teacher, or vice versa—in the course of the novel?

Many of the teachers or mentors in Adam Bede are men who have not made the best uses of their gifts. Both Bartle Massey and Mr. Irwine have huge personal limitations, and Eliot uses these characters to question the enriching value of learning and education.

Good education, for Eliot, always involves contact with gritty reality. Educators such as Bartle Massey and Mr. Irwine are successful because they are pragmatists, while characters who hand down abstract laws inspire short-term fear and long-term disregard.