Old generation varus new generation

I think the narrative points out the dangers of parents smothering kids as well as parents detaching from kids is evident. Mrs. Hardcastle smothers her son Tony to the extent that he is functionally illiterate. This is juxtaposed with Marlow’s upbringing which points to the drawbacks of hands-off parenting. Poor Marlow lacks the social skills he should have been taughr by the older generation or at least his parents.