Revision English
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
Utopia
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imaginary society in another place or future
better than current society
does not exist yet
Greek: eutopia  good place
outopia  no-place (homophone)
“Utopia”  firstly coined by Thomas More
book “Utopia” in 1516
first fictional representation of an ideal society
positive utopia visions of future were common until 19th century
technological process seen optimistically
turn of century: speed and transformation of industrialization and scientific progress
created anxiety
two world wars, totalitarian state, terrifying weapons (nuclear bomb)
intensification of this feeling
dystopias were written as warnings (BNW, 1984)
dystopia: antithesis of the utopian society
undesirable and unpleasant (imaginary) societies
worse than current one
“dys”  Greek for bad status
aim of utopian and dystopian fiction:
portrayal of alternative societies
tendencies in contemporary societies are criticized (cf. extrapolation)
better one if offered or tendencies are increased and dangerous development is
portrayed
often technological process plays an important role
new technologies = significant impact on role of society
Names in BNW
Lenina Crowne:
Vladimir Lenin (leader of the Soviet Union/communist politician/Marxist revolutionary)
 not fitting, does not want to revolutionize, only a tool for government
John Crowne (17th century dramatist/plays about heroic, romantic love)
 not fitting, ironic, dating habits, different men all the time, does not know
what love is
Bernard Marx:
Karl Marx (German revolutionary socialist, wrote Communist Manifesto/19th century critique
of capitalist society) Bernard wants to fit into system, wants to change society a bit and be
with Lenina
Henry Foster:
Henry Ford (founder of Ford Motor Company, their new God) behaves normally
John Foster (British essayist, supporter of disciplined education)
fitting, conditions embryos -> “new education”
Fanny Crowne:
Fanny Caplan (tried to kill Lenin) not fitting, happy with system, would not revolt
John Crowne (dramatist)  also no: dating
Linda:
Spanish=pretty  ironic, has become old and ugly
Helmholtz Watson :
Hermann von Hermholtz, German physician/ physicist  invention of scope for seeing inside
human eye; John B. Watson, American behaviorist  child-rearing books
Mustafa Mond:
Mustafa Kamal Atatürk  founder of Turkey after WWI; Alfred Mond, German industrialist
 founder of imperial chemical industries
John the savage:
"Noble savage"
Ford:
American industrialist, founder of Car Company; Fordism
Thomas Robert Malthus:
British economist --> theory of over-population
Characters:
John the Savage
- has to quote Shakespeare all the time to express his feelings
- tells the truth about his opinion on the BNW
- does not understand the society’s system
- idealist  believes in liberty and equality
- commits suicide in the end
as a thorn in BNW's side
- does not want Linda to take soma (cf.p.133)
- tries to stop distribution to Deltas (cf.p.182)
- does not believe in Ford, but in Pookong and Jesus (cf.p.100)
- objects to promiscuity
- loves his mother
- needs privacy (cf. chapter 12)
- refers to / expresses himself with forbidden literature (-> Shakespeare)
- cries / is upset when Linda dies (cf. chapter 14)
does not admire the technological progress in the BNW
- begins to vomit after having seen Delta/Epsilon workers in a factory (cf.p.138)
- does not appreciate the Feely (cf.p.146)
- BNW = dystopia (cf.p.181), does not like civilisation (cf.p.188)
- discussion with Controller: John rejects comfortable/pleasant life but insists on freedom,
poetry, God, danger, sin (cf.p.206 l.16f.) & the right to suffer, to get old and to be unhappy
(ll.20f.)
- John upholds our moral values and exposes civilization as a nightmare whereby he
endangers the community, stability and identity in the BNW
Bernard Marx
- Alpha male
- fails to fit in
- inferior physically
- other beliefs about sexuality, relationships, sports, community events
 likes to spend time alone
 too weak to fit the social position that he has been assigned
- no acceptable size for alpha
- not able to fit into society
- lovesick, jealous, angry at sexual rivals
- after he brings home John  rise in popularity
- uses it to participate in all aspects of BNW which he previously criticized
 critic who desires to be what he criticizes
Helmholtz Watson
- Alpha lecturer at college of emotional engineering
- prime example of his caste
- feels that his work is empty and meaningless
- friends with Bernard
 common ground in discontent with state
 Helmholtz’ complains are more philosophical
- Helmholtz is everything Bernard wishes to be: strong, intelligent and attractive
- liked and well-respected  can feel the shallow culture, is not happy
- can understand Shakespeare, still has to laugh at it
Mustapha Mond
- Resident World Controller of Western Europe
- one of 10 world controllers
- once young and ambitious, illicit research
 when discovered: choice of exile or world controller
 now censors scientific discoveries and exiles people like him when he was young
- collection of forbidden literature, Shakespeare and religious books
- most intelligent proponent of World State
- paradoxical figure
- controls totalitarian state
Linda
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created in the new world and living in the reservation
John is her illegitimate son
unable to overcome the hypnopaedia and conditioning
ridiculed and used in the reservation because of her promiscuity and lack of emotion
AND rejected in the brave new world  victim of both worlds, embodies the clash of
the two philosophies and living standards
Fanny
- normal woman in the brave new world (embodying and explaining lots of habits and
rules of the BNW)
- the person Lenina talks to  she always reminds Lenina of the BNW’s rules by
quoting the proverbs
Lenina
- moments of non-conformity in her, but prefers to be a silent member of the social
stability
- seeing Foster frequently, then is warned by Fanny and turns her attention to Bernard
- travels with Bernard to the Savage Reservation, where she meets John and is
immediately attracted to him
- her promiscuity towards John becomes one of the experiences he finds shocking and
confusing and which leads to his suicide
Is Brave New World an approriate read today?
Yes, because of the possibility of analysing our present by examining the stylistic device of
extrapolation:
bottled babies, artificial conception, social
test-tube babies (designer babies)
predestination and manipulation (alcohol put
into blood surrogate, deprivation of oxygen)
neo-Pavlovian conditioning: changing
classical conditioning, use in the military,
children’s reaction to a stimulus, e.g. books
advertisement, violent media, hypnopaedia
and flowers, hypnopaedia  class
consciousness, proverbs
ending is better than mending  to create
consumer society, capitalism
demand for manufacturing
soma: no side-effects, complete oblivion of
alcohol, drugs to escape from reality, plus
the negative aspects of one’s life
entertainment, lsd soma holidays
Cyprus experiment mirrors exaggeratingly
labour strikes, wars
our society (no artificial classes,
dissatisfaction with unattractive jobs,
ineffective government)
no love relationships at all, families
more and more marriage dissolutions, less
abolished in order to create stability,
importance given to the conventional family,
everybody only part of the social body
independence
solidarity service (consuming drugs, thrill of religion becomes less important, people
ecstasy, having sex) as a substitute for
search for each other similar ways to
religious service
celebrate community, getting excited, sects
get popular, drugs, partes, alcohol
Means of state control
Religion:
- Christianity was eradicated by the state
- belief in Ford/ Freud  controllers take God’s role, decide over people’s lives
- symbol of T (instead of cross)
- Sunday Church services are replaced by solidarity service, orgies
- religion of drugs and sex
- religion usually helped people to overcome fears  is replaced by soma and
conditioning
- creating a religion and believing in it requires creativity and emotion
 both not wanted in BNW
- personal religion removed  stability and no individualism
- people shall not consider afterlife or anything supernatural
- religion  connected to history, which is also not wanted
- Christian values like family and partnership shall be removed
- still people want to believe in something
- by praising Ford they praise the system
- technology = new God
Sexual Promiscuity
- Sex and love controlled by world state
- children play erotic games in hatchery and conditioning centre
- sex = form of entertainment
- adolescents who are going out with the same person several times  considered weird
- one ought to be promiscuous, promiscuity is celebrated
- Feelies (4D-Porn)  normal spending of leisure time
- no deep emotion is possible
- any kind of relationship is removed
- using contraception is taught in sleep
- sex has been dehumanized
- rather public than personal matter
- no space between desire and consummation of desire
 no one is frustrated
Conditioning:
- after egg has become embryo  Bokanovsky’s process of separating embryo into 96
embryos which are exactly the same
 this applies only for gammas, deltas and epsilons
 those also get less oxygen  consequence = low mental capability
- those who will work in specific climate  artificially exposed to it  immunity
- when growing up: idea to produce a society where people are content with what they
have and dislike what others have
 nobody is jealous
- Pavlovian conditioning: natural reflex  artificial reflex can be added
 when around flowers: electric shock is given  hate of nature
Hypnopaedia
- same message is repeated over and over  becomes thought
- people are made content with the status quo
- “ A gramme is better than a damn”  easy to remember and catchy
Soma
- “Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinate”
- calms and distracts from problems
- translation of “soma” = sleep
- Christianity without tears
 opiate which allows users to be controlled
 controls through pacification
 offers comfort
- the perfect drug  no hangovers
- people love the drug (also cf. the “Cup of Love” => ironic form of “Last Supper”)
The World States motto: Community, Identity, Stability
- allusion to French Revolution
- no individualism
Community:
- one is never alone
- solidarity is achieved through sexual orgy
Identity:
 genetic engineering
- society is divided into 5 classes  hereditary
- nearly everyone has identical twins
Stability:
- most important aim of state
 system must be secured
 nothing can be out of order
 no conflict, risk, change
Designer Baby controversy
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-
in favour of cloning embryonic stem cells
o only blastecist taken
o genetic insurance
o cure of deseases
o damage to future science
o no ignorance
o limit: 14 days
o adult stem cells do not have same potential
o no risk of tumor
against cloning embryonic stem cells
o embryo dies
o against dignity of men
o science without ethics  danger
o requires destruction of life
o success of treatments not guaranteed
o tumors formed
o adult stem cells could be taken
about cloning:
what are clones? Identical genetic material DNA, identical twins
prior to 1960s, scientists believed that it was only possible to take embryonic stem cells
embryonic stem cells can change into any type of cell  differentiation
scientists hope to clone pigs to be able to transplant their organs
about genetic engineering
definition: direct human manipulation of an organism’s genome using modern DNA
technology
uses: stem cells from embryos, repopulation of endangered species, elimination of diseases
dangers: the perfect human  loss of individuality, abuse, discrimination
ethical problems: who’s worth living? Killing embryos, when does human life start, man is
playing God
methods: SCNT somatic cell nuclear transfer, therapeutic cloning, PED, reproductive cloning
transgenics: crossing genes of different species (also cf. chimeras)
The role of … in the Brave New World
…history
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no role in everyday life
→ 'History is bunk' (p. 32 l.3)
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historical knowledge restricted to World Controllers
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mentioned to show achievements of modern civilization
→ stability
→ consumption
→ universal happiness
→ elimination of Christianity, arts, independent science

only present is important
→ 'Was and will make me ill. I take a gramme and only am' (p. 89 ll. 31-32)
...progress
‘Well, because progress is lovely, isn’t it?’
‘Five hundred repetitions once a week from thirteen to seventeen’ said Bernard wearily, as
though to himself.
(p.86 ll. 17ff)
→ hypnopaedic proverb creates illusion of living in a constantly progressing society
‘Besides, we have our stability to think of. We don’t want change. Every change is a menace
to stability. That’s another reason why we are so chary of applying new inventions. Every
discovery in pure science is a potentially subversive; even science must sometimes be treated
as a possible enemy. Yes, even science.’
(p.193 ll.19ff)
→ World controllers try to avoid and contain every form of progress to achieve a stable
society; society may not develop
‘But truth’s a menace, science is a public danger. As dangerous as it’s been beneficent. It has
given us the stablest equilibrium in history.[…] But we can’t allow science to undo its own
good work. That’s why we so carefully limit the scope of its researches. We don’t allow it to
deal with any but the most immediate problems of the moment. All other enquiries are most
sedulously discouraged.’
(p.195 ll.28ff., p.196 ll.1f)
→ progress afforded to create a society like the brave new world, which is based on a
scientific revolution (see genetic engineering, Bokanovksy’s process); even though the current
level of progress has to be preserved, any further development would destroy the system, any
further research is prohibited
Conclusion:
Only progress allowed the Brave New World to develop into such a complex and stable
system. After achieving the level of progress which is required to breed the people to what
they are supposed to become in the caste system, further progress is suppressed. The society is
kept at this constant level, so stability is granted and a scientific revolution that could
endanger the system is avoided.
Even though people get the illusion to live under a certain wave of progress, which serves to
satisfy them and prevent them from doing research on their own and posing a threat to the
society.
...religion
Today (Christianity)
belief in god/a supernatural being
symbol of cross
Sunday church service
religion helps people overcome fear of death/
anxieties in general
BNW
belief in Ford/Freud → controllers take
God’s role: decide over people’s lives and
BNW
symbol of T (because of T-Model)
Solidarity Service, orgies  religion of drugs
and sex
replaced by soma, conditioning
Why was Christianity eradicated by the state?
- creating a religion and believing in it requires a high amount of creativity and emotion
- personal religion had to be removed in order to keep up stability
- people shall not consider an afterlife or anything supernatural
- religion is strongly connected to history
- Christian values needed to be removed
Why was the new religion introduced?
- people want to believe in something to feel safe
- by praising Ford the people praise the system
- technologies seem to be something god-like
- teaches people how to behave in BNW
… pursuit of happiness
• stability only when eyerybody is happy
• eliminate any painful emotions
• genetic engineering and conditioning to ensure that everyone is happy
happiness = stability
suppressing all changes,
avoiding truth, emotions, freedom
•
according to Mustapha Mond
…. happiness is : - people get everything they want
- people never want something they cannot get
- safety, health and tranquility
- no fear of death
- no family life
- no responsibility , attachments or sorrows
…. happiness is not : - liberty, freedom
- truth
- equality