Hard Times takes place in the industrial town of Coketown having a memorable cast of characters such as Professor Gradgrind, the factory owner Bounderby, the beautiful Sissy Jupe and the noble Stephen Blackpool. In the beginning Mr. Gradgrind, a wealthy and retired merchant addresses a group of young students at his school in Coketown, England. He is rigid, self-centred. He teaches his pupils based on the practical experience and raises his children with this belief. This novel carries an influential message and remains one of the most widely read of Dickens' novels. It exposes capitalist exploitation during the Industrial Revolution and a criticism of the philosophy of materialism.