A GALVANIZING APPARATUS
 
      Mr. Gradgrind is variously called a cannon and a galvanizing 
apparatus. Luigi Galvani, an eighteenth century physiologist, noticed 
that a dissected frog's leg twitched violently when it was touched by a 
scalpel that had lain near an electrical machine. So, galvanizing may 
mean to charge up with current.
      To galvanize is to toughen up an iron vessel by plating 
it with another alloy, so it won't corrode from the weather. 
So, Mr. Gradgrind may also be "toughening up" the students for the 
rigors of work in factories. The galvanized metal is duller than 
before, though durable. If people are being electrified by a powerful 
speaker, they are said to be galvanized. 

What is Mr. Gradgrind trying to "galvanize" these children into doing?
                                                               
Answers to: Gloria   

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