Hard Times

Through the story of Thomas Gradgrind, a strict, no-nonsense man who values "facts" above all else, Dickens explores the consequences of an education system that prioritizes logic and reason over imagination, emotion, and humanity. Gradgrind's rigid philosophy deeply affects his children and the lives of many others, including the innocent and idealistic Sissy Jupe, whose life is shaped by her connection to the circus and its emotional, colorful world. As characters struggle under the weight of an increasingly mechanized and soulless society, Hard Times reveals the profound human cost of reducing life to mere calculations and statistics.