Hard Times
by Charles Dickens
Cochtown is dominated by the figure of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, the manager and model of utilitarian success. Feeding both his pets and his family with facts, he forbids to invent and marvel at any young mind. As a result, his obedient daughter Louise marries Mr. Benderby, an illiterate businessman and "bully of humanity," and his son Tom rebels to get involved in gambling and robbery. And as their fortunes intersect with the fortunes of free-thinking circus girl Sissy Jupe and the victim of weaver Stephen Blackpool, Gradgrind is finally forced to recognize the value of the human heart in an age of materialism and technology.
