Hard Times

"Hard Times" by Charles Dickens is a story that highlights the clash between logic and imagination in 19th-century England through Thomas Gradgrind, a guy who thinks facts are the only thing that matters. The beginning of the book introduces us to Gradgrind's strict school, the circus girl Sissy Jupe who doesn’t fit in, and Gradgrind's own kids, Louisa and Tom, who suffer from his cold parenting style. As Gradgrind shows off his industrial town, readers can see how his fact-only way of life has hurt him and everyone around him. The book is a critical view of Victorian society, especially its focus on industrialism and the importance of facts over more human things like emotion and creativity.