Brave New World Aldous Huxley

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1 Huxley s s Life Brave New World Aldous Huxley The history of the novel Born in 1884 in England Father was an editor and essayist His mother ran her own boarding school His grandfather and brother were top biologists Huxley attended Eton and then Oxford He did not fight in WWI because of failing vision He wrote poetry, short stories and novels to support his family He died on Nov. 22, the same day as JFK What was happening when BNW was written? Written in 1931 and published in 1932 This is between World War One and World War Two The worldwide Great Depression began in 1929 The depression had closed banks and wiped out the savings of many people There was wide spread poverty People longed for economic stability (some would argue Huxley provides this in his fictional world) Realities of Industrialization In addition to economic changes in society, there were social and scientific changes in the world Henry Ford invented the modern factory assembly line This meant they could mass produce cars 1

2 Assembly Lines Desperation for work led people to take whatever job was available People were forced to: Work long hours Work under unsafe conditions Work without benefits such as health insurance or pensions They had no job guarantees or security They had little time for leisure and little money to spend on entertainment or luxuries How is this lifestyle contrasted in BNW? Consumer Demand To increase consumer demand, manufacturers relied on advertising to convince people to spend their money Henry Ford made the Model T priced low enough for his workers for afford it Using credit became acceptable for larger items This fuelled the economy by encouraging people to overspend Values in the1920s Youth rejected Victorian values They questioned rigid attitudes about social class Some embraced the idea of Free Love People were beginning to talk publically about sex and using contraceptives Women began to cut their hair into short, boyish bobs and wear shorter, looser skirts These sexual attitudes are taken to an extreme in BNW What is happening in Science? Scientists are exploring possibilities of human engineering Ivan Pavlov ( ) 1936) showed one could create a conditioned response in animals The eugenics movement was introduced in the 1920s This was an attempt to limit the child bearing of different groups of people 2

3 Hypnopaedia Sleep Teaching Popular in 1920s and 1930s People tried to teach themselves passively buy listening to instructional tapes while sleeping In 1929 they discovered through measuring brain waves that people have limited ability to learn while asleep BUT- hypnopaedia can influence emotions and beliefs Dictators BNW was written just before dictators such as Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy, and Stalin (Russia) created totalitarian states These leaders used extreme tactics to control their citizens including propaganda, censorship and mass murder The dark and grim totalitarianism revealed in WWII is not reflected in this novel Utopia and Dystopia Written in 1931 before Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany before Joseph Stalin killed millions of people in the Soviet Union No real-life life examples to make tyranny and terror major elements of his story The dark and grim totalitarianism revealed in WWII is not reflected in this novel The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia,, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world as the setting for a novel. Utopia literally means no place Dystopia is a vision, of an often futuristic society, which has developed into a negative version of Utopia.. A dystopia is often characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government. 3

4 Sir Thomas More February 7, 1478 July 6, 1535 More coined the word Utopia" - a name he gave to the ideal, imaginary island nation whose political system he described in Utopia,, published in He was imprisoned and beheaded because of a falling out with the King of England The Story Set in London 600 years in the future Society is free from war, hatred, poverty, disease and pain People enjoy leisure time, material wealth and physical pleasures Ten people control the world (The Controllers) The Story (Cont.) Human beings are created in factories using technology that can make 96 people from one fertilized egg Children are conditioned for their future lives through conditioning and sleep teaching People are divided into five social classes BNW as an Apologue Brave New World is also considered an apologue (a novel of ideas) the characterization and plot are secondary to the concepts. In order to portray the absurdity of the future society's values as well as our contemporary society's values, he uses satire (holding up human behaviors to ridicule), and irony (words meaning something very different from what they literally mean, or what the characters think they mean). 4

5 The Noble Savage Primitive people are more innocent and pure of hear than civilized people Huxley is careful not to portray John as heroic of his primitive culture as ideal The Reader sympathizes with him because he is the person who represents the most current values Shakespeare The Tempest Huxley s s Influences Prospero and daughter Miranda are stranded on an island Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers whose deaths unite their feuding families Othello An African Prince who was a general in the Venetian Army. He lived in a European, colour-prejudiced society. He had little experience with women. Midsummer Nights Dream The play features three interlocking plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazonian queen, Hippolyta. Allusions Huxley makes reference to influential people, buildings, and religion. Henry Ford ( ) 1947) is as a god; his name is used in interjections (Oh my Ford!), in calculating the year (A.F., or After Ford, instead of A.D.). The Christian cross has been altered to resemble the T from the old Model T car built by Ford. Malthusian Belt Thomas R. Malthus was a political economist who believed that unless famine was diminished, the population would decrease to an inadequate level How is this idea related to BNW? 5

6 Sigmund Freud Freud believed that childhood experiences shape adult perceptions, feelings, and behaviors. The characters in the novel are all clearly compelled to feel and act according to the lessons they learned as children, even when faced with evidence that their behavior results in personal suffering. Other important allusions Bernard Marx Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto Lenina Vladmir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917 (along with Leon Trotsky) Mustapha Mond - Mustapha Kemal Atatürk rk,, founder of Turkey after World War I; ; and Sir Alfred Mond,, an industrialist. Henry Foster Henry Ford Fanny Crowe - Fanny Kaplan,, famous for an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Lenin. Benito Hoover Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy; Herbert Hoover,, then President of USA Helmholtz Watson - from the German physician and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz and the American behaviorist John B. Watson. 6

7 Themes of BNW Brave New World is Huxley s s warning; it is his attempt to make man realize that since knowledge is power, he who controls and uses knowledge wields the power Science and technology should be the servants of man- man should not be adapted and enslaved to them BNW and Soma Our society and reliance on drugs In 2005, drug companies spent more than $4 billion on what is termed direct-to to-consumer advertising, according to the Government Accountability Office. That is about 1/7 of the amount the companies spent on research and development Whatever is wrong, there s s a drug for you, or so TV ads say Anticipation Questions A society can only exist in family units. 7

8 It better to be free than to be happy. Stability more important than freedom. History is essential and helpful knowledge for all people. Individuality should be expressed and prized by all. Real emotion only causes problems. 8

9 Technology is not necessary for society to exist. Self discipline is very important. It is best to teach children thoroughly, and at a young age. Children be taught effectively to think in only one certain way. 9