"Hard Times" by Charles Dickens vividly portrays the stark realities of life in the industrial town of Coketown. Through the lives of Thomas Gradgrind, a staunch advocate of facts and utilitarianism, and his children Louisa and Tom, Dickens examines the dehumanizing effects of industrialization and rigid education. Interwoven with the struggles of mill workers and the contrasting world of compassionate circus folk, this novel critiques a society driven by profit and devoid of imagination and empathy.