In the opening chapters, both Bounderby and Gradgrind hold the circus in such low esteem that they persecute Sissy Jupe simply because she is the daughter of a circus performer. When Sissy speaks up in school, she demonstrates her imagination. Even though imagination is a universal hallmark of childhood, men like Gradgrind and Bounderby do all they can to squelch imaginativeness even in children. The circus therefore becomes a scapegoat for the industrialists, who fear the circus' negative impact on modernization. Sissy's playful and imaginative nature, which she attempts to express in school, is quickly scorned by the materialists who kick her out of school. For the industrialists, the circus represents a backwards lifestyle, a collection of the poorest and least empowered members of the society.

             Although the circus threatens the modernist mentality, it cannot but seduce the minds and hearts of young people like Tom and Louisa. Eventually, even Gradgrind softens up to the circus mentality. In Hard Times, The circus often represents hope: hope of salvation from the everyday grind of thankless factory work; hope that there is more to life than uninspired drudgery. Gradgrind, thoroughly convinced that industrialization, individualism, and reason trump imagination, demand that his children neglect their innate playfulness and creativity. As a result, Tom and Louisa suffer from emotional and psychological despair. For them, the circus and people like Sissy who are associated with it, represent hope in humanity. Sissy's loving and innocent nature is an ideal counterbalance for the cold, harsh, emotionless nature of men like Gradgrind. When the circus performers eventually come to his son's aid, however, Gradgrind realizes that there is more to life than petty drudgery and industrial progress. Therefore, by helping Tom escape, the circus ironically comes to symbolize actual pragmatic hope as well as philosophical hope.