Arnold accuses post industrialist England of being too concerned with self serving behavior, and not having any concern for the public good. Arnold seems to yearn for a simpler time when one’s success was determined by the success of society as a whole, and not the success of one’s specific economic class. He delves deep into the history of popular education in England and Arnold's part in it, and in so doing gives a warm, human portrayal of Matthey Arnold and his hopes and frustrations as a superintendent.I think that Arnold’s views do seem to be primarily conservative, because he seems to condemn the liberal concept of thought. Professor Walcott gives a clear a succinct account of Arnold's plans for the improvement of English education, and provides an informative context for many of his letters. Viewed together, they present a fair prospect of inductive resoning - of useful knowledge applied to the selection of present problems. Nevertheless, it is important to know that these different aspects of Arnold's life merge - that the universe of his mind preseved its rational connections with all of the experiences he suffered or enjoyed. The essays contain countless literary allusions which reflect upon his current thoughts his deep sense of an endless social continuum. He ornamented these practical observations with the treasures gathered from a fine classical education. His reflections are basically pragmatic, and their origins he is the problems he confronted in his work. A thoughtful examination of both the reports and the essays shows that the ideas presented is both have a close consanguinity the ideas Arnold developed in his study of the schools are expanded and re-enunciated in the literary essays. The author contends that the origins of Culture and Anarchy, and of some of the other literary essays, are to be found in these reports.

This work required him to write many official reports, some of which he ublished on his own initiative, others of which were published by societies which recognized their popular value. For thirty-five years Arnold was an inspector of elementary schools, and during the time he served on several Royal Commissions, which entailed his study of the schools and universities on the COntinent. Matthew Arnold stands before the world as a towering literary figure whose essays, particularly Culture and Anarchy, have a deep social and political significance.

Culture and anarchy by matthew arnold