Hard Times

The novel is set in the fictional industrial town of Coketown where the utilitarian philosophy of the time has taken hold. The story explores the impact of this philosophy on society particularly on the working-class. The novel follows the lives of several characters including the utilitarian schoolteacher Mr. Gradgrind his daughter Louisa his son Tom and the working-class couple Stephen Blackpool and Rachel. Mr. Gradgrind values facts and rationality above all else and seeks to instill these values in his children and his students. However his approach leaves little room for creativity imagination or emotional expression and his children suffer as a result.