Connection to Brave New World - Identical - Cam

The scene in which Sissy incorrectly defines a horse (11) reminds me of the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The book is similar to 1984 by George Orwell, though instead of an apocalyptic society where people are dumbed down by the government, Brave New World explores how people choose to be dumbed down and exchange intelligence for LSD trips and carefree lives.
Huxley introduces a character from New Mexico whom the English-characters refer to as John Savage, as Bernard and Lenina find him while on vacation among Native Americans. When he and his mother are brought back to London, John has such difficulty assimilating to this new culture that he runs away into isolation. His perspectives are so different from the Londoners that they find great amusement in his monogamous beliefs, and he experiences great pressure to conform.
Sissy experiences the same pressure to conform when Gradgrind berates her in front of the class, and forces her to choose between her family and education.conformity (43) Yet Sissy, it seems, much like John, does not completely conform to the society she lives in (she still retains the name 'Sissy' opposed to 'Cecelia'; and in her heart never abandons the circus performers that raised her)

Connection of Hard Times to The Importance of Being Earnest-Bret O'Brien

The question of of marriage is one that appears frequently in both Hard times and another great victorian critique: The importance of Being Earnest. Both Oscar Wilde and Dickens question the  way that marriage is used as a social institution, contrasting it with the love it is intended to represent. In looking back at The Importance of being Earnest, it appears that Wilde depicts marriage to be solely a matter of “business”. Furthermore, he seems to exagerate the business-like nature of marriage in this age to critique what it had truly become: a shallow means to manipulate social position, income, and power. The parralels that I felt were apparent in Hard Times went beyond the  time period, to the message, and the satirical means of supporting his message. Similar to how Wilde exaggerated the bussiness-like nature of marriage, Dickens uses Louisa's marriage to Mr. Bounderby to represent the very same idea (in that is was determined by her father and based on wealth) but ultimately, the marriage's failing reflects the shallow nature of Victorian age marriage.

The Whelp-Bret O'Brien

“It was very remarkable that a young gentlemen who had been brought up under one continuous system of unnatural restraint, should be a hypocritical; but it was certainly the case with Tom. It was very strange that a young gentlemen who had never been left to his own guidance for five consecutive minutes, should be incapable at last of governing himself; but so it was with Tom. It was altogether unaccountable that a young gentleman whose imagination had been strangled in his cradle should be still inconvenienced by its ghost in the form of groveling sensualities; but such a monster, beyond all doubt, was Tom (pg 131-132).”
In the above passage, Dickens makes use of situational irony by contrasting Tom’s current state with what one might have been expected of him, given his rigorous upbringing. This is seen when the narrator points how remarkable, strange, and unaccountable it is that Tom was brought up in a “continuous system of unnatural restraint” but yet is unable to responsibly restrain himself. Furthermore the narrator uses a repetitious structure to emphasize his point as all the sentences begin with how “strange”  or ironic the situation is, and finish with some variation of “but so it was with Tom”. The purpose for this situational irony is that it allows Dickens to directly critique the effectiveness of Mr. Gradgrinds “unnatural” methods, and the mindset of Coketown as a whole. While one would not expect Thomas to be so irresponsible due to his upbringing, the fact that he turned out to be so reflects on the methods of Fact, and it is within this reflection that Dickens satirizes the industrial mindset: illuminating the negative effects it can have on an individual.

Connection -The Disadvantages to Being Mechanize Humans

In Hard Times, an important and repeated theme is the idea that humans are becoming mechanized because of Mr. Gradgrind's fact-based education and life style. Everyone is the same and is not allowed to show an ounce of creativity or individuality. An alternative source in which the disadvantage to becoming mechanized human beings is seen in Wall-E. Wall-E takes place in the future on a space craft after Earth has been abandoned for hundreds of years. All people on the space craft wear the same red suits, are all morbidly obese, and allow do not do anything for themselves. The humans in this futuristic movie have no individuality whatsoever, and almost start turning into robots who do everything with the push of a button. Therefore, there is more than one disadvantage to living life mechanically, whether it is being restricted from illustrating your creativity, or allowing yourself to become so large that you fall out of your chair even with the slightest tilt. 

Begging for Neglection

After allowing all of her feelings to boil up inside of her, Louisa finally breaks down and tells her father the unhappiness she has experienced as a result of the way her parents had raised her. Opposed to how a child would normally plead to his or her parent, Louisa begs her father, "if you had only neglected me, what a much better and much happier creature I should have been this day!" (209) Dicken's uses this reversal of childhood feelings in order to show the unsuccessfulness of a fact-based and creativity-inhibiting life style because he shows the blatant feelings of Louisa to have nothing to do with her father and the pain he had caused her, instead of wanting to be loved and nurtured by her father.

Upper class vs. lower class: Love --Cam

The amorous relationships throughout Hard Times takes a satirical jab at the classes during the 19th century and the unfair advantage the rich have over the poor when it comes to marriages.
Stephen Blackpool, a factory Hand, is trapped in wed-lock with his infamous drunken slag of a wife. After finding long-lasting love with Rachel, he approaches Mr. Bounderby for hopes of somehow annulling his burdensome marriage. In book 1, Mr. Bounderby insists that it is Stephen's own fault for his misfortune, that he " 'took her for better or worse.' " (75). Mrs. Sparsit shows she is "dejected by the immorality of the people", obviously opposing this desired separation. Dickins' use of parallel structure on the following page to demonstrate the unfairness of Blackpool's situation and to further stress his incapability of marrying Rachel (76). Bounderby insists the only way he might achieve this divorce would be "with a suit".

Interestingly enough, Bounderby exhibits his own desire for divorce in book three when Louisa begins to spend more time in her father's house (237). It is obvious that Dickens means to juxtapose Bounderby and Blackpool when Grangrind repeats the exact phrase Bounderby had used on Blackpool, applying it to Louisa: " 'You have accepted a great charge of her; for better or worse -' " (236).
Bounderby exerts refusal to accept these similarities in class and circumstances, with the narrator noting that  "Mr. Bounderby may have been annoyed by the repetition of his own words to Stephen Blackpool, but he cut the quotation short with an angry start". Bounderby demonstrates his infamous arrogance for believing he can get away with hypocracy, ignoring that his situation is exceedingly similar to Stephen's.  Grangrind's reminders are in vain, as Bounderby insists that he is "going to finish this business according to my own opinions."

The Bully of Humility Revealed

Throughout Dickens' novel, Mr. Bounderby trumpets himself as "a self-made man," often reminiscing on his horrid childhood and rise from the lowest of society.  Then, the characters are introduced to Mr. Bounderby's mother, and his sham comes into the light.  His mother interjects the shame in accusing her "of being a bad mother to [her] son, with [her] son standing here to tell you so different"(254).  The claim that Bounderby would say anything about his mother that did not accuse her of being a bad mother is ironic because, in fact, whenever Bounderby mentions his mother it is to accuse her of being horrid.  This reversal undercuts the idea that a person can truly be "self-made" since the model of a "self-made man" turned out to be a liar. 

The Irony in Mrs. Gradgrind's Catchphrase

Throughout the novel, Mrs. Gradgrind repeatedly uses the phrase "I'll never hear the last of it from your father" when her children voice creativity - especially when Louisa speaks of wondering.  Interestingly, the chapter beginning on page 187 - the chapter in which Mrs. Gradgrind dies - is titled "Hearing the Last of It."  Ironically, Mrs. Gradgrind's death is titled with the same phrase she repeatedly used to quiet her children's musings.  So, Dickens is bringing attention to the harm that squashing creativity brings by linking it with death.