Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes are the fundamental and often
universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Mechanization
of Human Beings Hard Times suggests that nineteenth-century
England’s overzealous adoption of industrialization threatens to
turn human beings into machines by thwarting the development of
their emotions and imaginations. This suggestion comes forth
largely through the actions of Gradgrind and his follower,
Bounderby: as the former educates the young children of his
family and his school in the ways of fact, the latter treats the
workers in his factory as emotionless objects that are easily
exploited for his own self-interest. In Chapter 5 of the first
book, the narrator draws a parallel between the factory Hands
and the Gradgrind children—both lead monotonous, uniform
existences, untouched by pleasure. Consequently, their fantasies
and feelings are dulled, and they become almost mechanical
themselves. The mechanizing effects of industrialization are
compounded by Mr. Gradgrind’s philos