Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, was a representation of his time.Times were hard for children and adults alike. People who questioned what they were taught, often went through struggles and “hard times.”After observing her and her values, The entire Grad grind family saw that she was a genuinely caring and sympathetic girl and that’s when they started to notice that something about then was flawed; something in their life was missing. … A child who was scorned for being herself was teaching a supposed “perfect” family values they did not possess and they were grateful.