The inhumanity of an employer like Bounderby and the misery of a laborer like Blackpool are portrayed clearly enough in Hard Times & Discuss?

Mr. Bounderby is one of the central characters of the novel. He is a business acquaintance of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind. He employs many of the characters in the novel and he is very wealthy. He marries Louisa Gradgrind (several decades his junior) and the marriage eventually ends unhappily. In the tumult of a bank robbery investigation, Bounderby's true identity is revealed much to his shame. Throughout the novel, Bounderby is an emblem of hypocrisy. It is people like Bounderby that take advantage of the vulnerable. The exploitation of workers is a motif throughout the book.