UNIVERSITY OF GJAKOVA FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY Department of English Language and Literature BA DIPLOMA THESIS Themes and Symbols in Brave New World Supervisor: Prof. Asoc. Dr. Lirak Karjagdiu Candidate: Ideal Ramoja Gjakova, 2018
Declaration I, Ideal Ramoja, herewith pledge that I intend to work on my diploma paper/ba/ thesis fully respecting academic standards of the University of Gjakova Fehmi Agani. Therefore, any reference from published or unpublished work will be duly acknowledged through quotation, summarizing and paraphrasing. 2
Table of Contents CHAPTER I 1. Introduction... 4 CHAPTER II 2. Author s Biography... 7 2.1 Life... 7 2.2 Work... 8 3. Relevant Information About the Novel... 10 CHAPTER III 4. Themes... 15 4.1 Dystopia... 15 4.1.1 Pleasure Seeking Life, Sin and Crime in Dystopia... 16 4.1.2 Reproduction and Eugenics... 18 4.1.3 Behaviorism and Conditioning... 20 4.2 The Misuse of Science and Technology... 21 4.3 Individuality and Identity... 23 CHAPTER IV 5. Symbols... 25 5.1 Soma... 25 5.2 Ford... 26 5.3 Shakespeare... 27 6. Conclusion... 29 References... 32 3
Chapter I 1. Introduction Aldous Huxley was one of the prominent English authors of the 20 th century. Huxley s works belongs somewhere between modernism and contemporary (or post-modernism) period. He is most famous for writing one of the most daring and challenging novel in dystopia and science fiction genre Brave New World. The novel became so popular that readers still argue about how much Huxley's bleakly envisioned future has overtaken the human present, and the rise of testtube babies, TV, and online culture show evident parallels to Brave New World (Heitman, 2015). In 1932, with the publication of Brave New World, Huxley established himself as one of the greatest authors of the period and one of the earliest that have written dystopian (including utopia) novels. His work joins the literary tradition of utopia, dating back to Plato's Republic and Thomas More's Utopia. The daily life that Aldous Huxley experienced between the two world wars in Europe was characterized by unrest, the change of political systems and the social and economic consequences of the world wars. The traditional world view has been shaken by scientific knowledge, technological development, mass-production, capitalism, monopoly, et cetera. These events lead to upheavals in his work. Huxley grew up in a world where new inventions revolutionized life almost daily. At that time, 38 years after his birth, the year in which the author wrote his novel, the neutron and the positron were discovered, Einstein's theory of relativity was already an old story, as was the discovery of the polonium, which would later be used to make nuclear weapons. The advancements of science and technology in this period are simply breathtaking, as the scheme of discoveries and inventions from 1894 to 1932 proves. This fascinating period serves as the starting point for Huxley's imagination and for writing his dystopian work (Greenwell & Waddell, 2016). The motives in the publications of this time are also the experimentation with new literary techniques and the confrontation with new ideas in relation to the science and technology, societies and the own individuality. Exactly these themes can also be found in Brave New World. Huxley describes a different social structure based on scientific knowledge. In this world, 4
citizens can enjoy the luxury of progress in the form of a highly developed consumer society. The people have to accept the constant controls of the state and sacrifice their own freedom. The novel was translated in more than 50 languages from different authors such as in French (Julies Castier), Spanish (Luys Santa Marina), German (Herberth E. Herlitschka), it was also translated in Albanian by Rudi Erebara. Besides being translated in many language, the novel was also adapted into film, theatre and radio. There were two television films adaptations of the novel both of the same name released respectively in 1980 and 1998. In theatre, the novel was brought into stage from the director James Dacre (who is also cited in this diploma paper). There were a few radio broadcasts related to the novel but not that significant to be mentioned. When it comes to analyzing this novel, there are many elements that can be discussed such as language and style aspect, plot analysis, conflicts, characters, motifs, but I decided to analyze themes and symbols for the reason that they give the shape to the whole novel and dig into its depths and reveal what lies beneath. Whereas, the reason I chose to analyze this novel is partly due to the fact that I was fascinated when I first read it and partly because the novel is so intelligent, timeless, thrilling, immersive, and complex (language-wise) that analyzing it was a real challenge for me. Simply put, the world that Huxley has portrayed mesmerized me in many ways that I could not have imagined. This diploma paper is mainly focused on themes and symbols of Brave New World. It is divided into 4 chapters, each 4 of them consisting different aspects of the work. In the first chapter, which is introduction, I will briefly discuss the popularity of the novel as well as of the author; the background information of the period before and after the novel was published; motives and influence of writing it; and methodology and literature used for this paper. The second chapter consists of two parts. In the first part I will provide details and facts from both life and work of the author. And in the second part I will point out relevant information about the novel. The third and fourth chapters carry the main content of the paper. In these chapters I will discuss and analyze the themes and symbols of the novel, where I focus on the central themes such as dystopia and its key elements, the misuse of science and technology, and individuality and identity; also the discussion of the most important symbols which are Soma, Ford, and Shakespeare. After those chapters, comes the last section, conclusion, where I will give a general overview of the complete work. 5
When it comes to methodology, this paperwork was mostly based on officially published books and on reliable online sources. The method of this paperwork is the deductive method where I present all the statements and arguments around some aspects and elements found in the novel and deduce their results as well as support them with reliable sources. I have not had any difficulties while working on this paper whatsoever. The material I used can be found very easily in online libraries (Google books) and in online web sites. On analyzing Brave New World. the main books that I have consulted are: Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley; Brave New World Revisited (1958) by Aldous Huxley; Aldous Huxley: Brave New World (2010) by Raychel Haugrud Reiff; Brave New World: Contexts and Legacies (2016) by Jonathan Greenberg and Nathan Waddell; Bloom s Guides: Aldous Huxley s Brave New World (2004) by Harold Bloom. Undertaking this diploma thesis has been a genuinely groundbreaking experience for me and it would not have been possible to manage without the help and guidance that I got from numerous people. I would like to thank, of course, my family and friends who were always there for me and supported me undividedly. Foremost, I would want to first say a huge thank you to my mentor and professor Dr. Lirak Kajragdiu for all the help, support, and encouragement he gave me throughout the two academic years that he worked constantly on giving us knowledge, guidance and support. Without his guidance and constant feedback, this diploma thesis would not have been achievable. I would also like to thank sincerely other professors such as Nazli Tyfecki, Shqipe Husaj, Aferdita Kasolli and assistant Elsa Vula who may not have helped me directly on this paperwork but they have helped me academically on other certain things. Their hard work and dedication brought me here. The final appreciation goes to the staff who were very collaborative and always willing to help. 6
Chapter II 2. Author s Biography 2.1 Life Aldous Huxley, an author and screenwriter, was born on July 26, 1894, in the city of Godalming, England. Aldous was described as an eclectic thinker because of his nature and wit. He was maybe the tallest figure in English literature. His stature was so gigantic that his peers now and then saw him as an anomaly of nature (Heitman, 2015). Aldous Huxley was the fourth child in a very notable family with intellectual background. His grandfather, T.H Huxley was a renowned scientist and naturalist whose expertise and interests were mostly in biology, especially in Charles Darwin s theory of evolution. Leonard Huxley, the father of the author was a scholar, writer and a biographer whereas Julia his mother was related to the author and the poet Matthew Arnold. Aldous s siblings were highly educated too. His brother Trevenen was a biologist; Julian was the director of UNESCO; His sister was physiologist and finally Andrew a Nobel Prize winner. Considering his family intellectual background, it was not expected any less from Aldous Huxley as well. He went to Eton in 1908 and later studied in Balliol College, Oxford during the years from 1913 to 1916. However, his early life was not rainbow and unicorns. According to Bode (1990), there were three overwhelming misfortunes, which stamped him for the rest of his life: In 1908, his mother Julia passed away from cancer; three years after Aldous lost his vision through keratitis punctata and was virtually blind for nearly a year and a half; his sight remained seriously disabled for quite sa long time. At long last, in 1914 his most loved sibling Trevenen committed suicide. Regardless of the deterrents of his childhood, Huxley earned a scholarship to Balliol College at Oxford University, where he majored in English literature. Additionally, he started to compose poems, and in 1916 he published his first book The Burning Wheel a collection of his poems, at the same year when he graduated with distinction. 1 Ensuing his time at Balliol, Huxley, 1 See Biography.com. Editors (2014). Aldous Huxley Biography 7
after owing some money to his father, he chose to seek out employment. He worked at Air Ministry, ordering supplies from April to July, 1917. Huxley also worked as a teacher in his former school Seton. There, he taught French for a year, in which one of his students was the famous writer George Orwell. After doing different jobs, Huxley starts his profession in literary journalism in 1919. For around the same year, Huxley weds a young lady from Belgium, Maria Nys with who he has his first and only child, Matthew, a year after (Bode, 1990). They settled down in a little apartment in Hampstead, which Aldous ornamented himself, and carried on with their life of courteous penury, talking French with each other, and English among companions (Heitman, 2015). The Huxley family loved to travel and from 1923 and on they lived shortly in Italy, then in Paris, before purchasing a house in Sanary-sur-Mer in Provence in 1930, a year before Huxley would begin to work on his novel Brave New World. From there on he occupied himself to a great extent to his own writing and spent a part of his time in Italy until the late 1930s, when he moved to California. 2 After many years working in various literary magazines and on his novels, essays and other works of fiction, Huxley finally saw some success when he signed a contract with Chatto & Windus Publishers (which lasted for a long time). Through that, he was able to provide financially to his family and increase his productivity. The publication of Brave New World (1932) and its critical acclaim elevated the genre of dystopia in literature making Huxley an acknowledged writer. Bode (1990) claimed that half of Huxley s fame was due to the fact that he knew the right people as he was affiliated with Virginia Woolf, T.S Eliot, D.H Lawrence, Bertrand Russell, et cetera. Years after, in 1955, his wife died of cancer. Aldous married another woman named Laura Archer (musician and author) only a year after. Huxley died of laryngeal cancer on November 22, 1963. It was made public that he was on LSD (psychedelic drug) during his death. 2.2 Work When it comes to work, Huxley was very prolific throughout his career, especially through 1920s to 1930s. During that period he published: four novels Crome Yellow (1921), Antic Hay 2 See Britannica.com. Editors (2018). Aldous Huxley 8
(1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925), Point Counter Point (1928); four short stories Mortal Coils (1922) Little Mexican (1924), Two or Three Graces (1926), Brief Candles (1930); seven volumes of essays On the Margin (1923), Essays New and Old (1926), Proper Studies (1927), Do What You Will (1929), Music at Night (1931), Along the Road (1925), Jesting Pilate (1926). In his books of the 1920s, which, entertaining and interesting as they might be, are for the most part pretty much similar, he generally takes a few exceedingly eloquent people such as intellectuals, authors, artists, scientists and so, and their female partners and basically lets them converse (Bode, 1990). In 1932, Huxley published his greatest work Brave New World. During that time, the novel was critically acclaimed for its innovation, use of science, technology, genetic engineering and some aspects of pharmacology. His love for science allowed him to come up with such a brilliant piece of science fiction. Because of this one triumphant book, numerous readers are unknown of the fact that Huxley was a productive author, creating right around fifty books, writing in different styles, including books, articles, short stories, travelogs, screenplays and such (Reiff, 2010). Bode (1990) argues that there are two major phases in Huxley s work. The first phase includes the peak of Huxley s career Brave New World (1932) along with his volume of essays Music At Night (1931) both criticizing society which is unsystematic and destructive. The second phase involves his intellectual odyssey as Bode explains which culminates in Huxley s last novel The Island (1962) a utopian novel where he displays his criticism towards society, which now turns positive and constructive. Apart from Brave New World, Huxley has written other famous novels but its success has overshadowed his talent in other works. The Perennial Philosophy (1946) Is viewed as a work of mysticism and inspirational fiction. Reiff (2010) describes it as a guide to help readers find meaning in life (p. 27). The Doors of Perception (2010) in which, the title was inspired from a line in William Blake s poem. The book is about Huxley s experiences under a psychedelic drug named Mescaline. The Doors of Perception achieved considerable admiration in the drug culture of the 1960s (Heitman, 2015). When it comes to other Huxley s novels Bode (1990) distinguishes three major concerns in Huxley s novel ideas in the following: 9
The first is an acute crisis of identity for the modern intellectual; the second is a generally felt loss of meaning in life and a consequent quest for new values; and the third is what Huxley called "the problem of leisure". (p. 346) Huxley also worked as a movie screenwriter. He wrote six screenplays: Pride and Prejudice (1940), Madame Curie (1943), Jane Eyre (1944), A Woman s Vengeance (1947), Prelude to Fame (1950) and a screenplay for Alice in Wonderland (1951) which was rejected. 3. Relevant Information About the Novel Brave New World is a novel that belongs to the genre of dystopia. The novel was written in 1931 and was published a year after in 1932. The novel is a dystopian vision set in the future after 600 years in which technology has declined the space for human emotions and human life. The novel is written in third person and it visualizes a world in which the solidness of the state takes priority over all human concerns. It is so outrageous that affection, love, passion and art are viewed as indecencies. The title of the poem is influenced from a line Shakespeare s The Tempest O brave new world, that has such people in't! who also represents a significant symbol in the novel. Huxley's initial purpose of the book was to satirize the utopian visions of authors in early 1900s like H.G. Wells with an utmost dystopian vision of the future, which Aldous allegedly fled with the idea once he began writing it (Mosher, 2017). In the novel, Huxley devises to abuse the anxieties of his middle-class readers about both ideologies Fordian capitalism and communism. It references the costly games that the upper classes have designed with a specific end goal to remove more money from consumers. Dystopia is an imaginary nightmarish world where people live in a miserable, corrupt and unpleasant society. The term derives from Greek, which translates as bad place. Dystopian features include totalitarianism, oppression, injustice, control, manipulation, and abuse of technology. Dystopia is the opposite of utopia, which is described as a peaceful place where there is no problems like violence, crime, poverty, corruption, and other indecencies. In short, utopia is an imaginary place where everything works fine. At first, Brave New World was intended to be a satire of utopia (coined by Sir Thomas More), a satire of H.G Wells s works (especially Men Like 10
Gods). Huxley used his friend s socialistic, secular Utopia with its scientific methods of genetic engineering and birth control to create his Brave New World (Reiff, 2010, pp. 61) However, the novel ended up being the opposite of utopia. Thus, it popularized and developed dystopia as a new genre that time, because only a small number of books were about dystopia and those had only a few dystopian features (H.G Wells When Sleeper Wakes and The Time Machine ; Jack London s The Iron Heel, et cetera). Because of the fact that Brave New World was purposely written as a satire of utopia, most of the time, it is considered a utopian novel as well. BNW can be either an ideal-world utopia or its nightmarish opposite, a dystopia, depending on your perspective: its people are attractive, free and safe from any illness and anxiety, but in a way we would not find that much acceptable (Atwood, 2007). However, Huxley (personal communication, 21 October, 1949) in a letter to George Orwell, signifies that the book is very much dystopian: I feel that the nightmare of Nineteen Eighty-Four is destined to modulate into the nightmare of a world having more resemblance to that which I imagined in Brave New World. as he compares his dystopian envisions to that of Orwell s. After the novel s publication, Huxley was blamed for plagiarism under the accusation that he stole Yevgeni Zamyatin s work, which was written in 1920. However, Aldous denied it after he read the book and it shared some similarities as the instant growth of technology caused people fear. 3 With publication of Brave New World came other dystopian novels who shared almost similar visions. The closest to Brave New World was George Orwell s Nineteen Eighty-four (1949) which the misuse of technology in the novel terrified the readers just like in Huxley s novel. However, Aldous envisioned the future differently, in his vision people were put under control through imposed happiness. On the other hand, in Orwell s novel people lived in fear under the oppression of a totalitarian government. Other dystopian novels include: Ray Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451 (1955), Anthony Burgess s A Clockwork Orange (1962), Philip K. Dick s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968), Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale (1985), et cetera. In the opinion of many authors, the novel is still relevant in modern days. They have some concerns about the future because they are afraid that BNW might have foreseen the future for the 3 See britannica.com. Lohner, K. & editors (2018). Brave New World 11
reason that its world s envision is very accurate. Just like in the novel, people nowadays have causal sex; they have started modifying their bodies with more advanced tech; they are using drugs to keep their emotions in control; prosthetic arms and legs are now being put in use; people are changing their hormones to change their gender, et cetera. The historian and author Michael Bess (as cited in Mosher, 2017) states that even though eight decades have passed, the novel is still the only systematic endeavor that could envision the world being populated by engineered human beings. The historian also added that as terrifying as other scientific driven films, tv shows and books may be, they do not freak us out like BNW does. Other authors have also commented on how the novel still holds up and is still relevant even after more than 80 years. On the novel s relevance in modern days, Dacre (2015) claimed the following: He predicted, for instance, the ways in which technology, in the control of powerful elites, can control our decision-making with social media, pornography, the commercialisation of sex, advertising and reality TV. He foresaw the ubiquitous prevalence of drugs, both legal and illegal, and how pharmaceuticals such as Ritalin would sedate growing numbers of children. Genetic engineering, euthanasia, a national lottery and even corruption at the top of world sport are all a part of his nightmare future. (para. 5) There is no denying that Huxley has given us signs of a nightmare future, may or may not that be intentionally. The world he envisioned clearly comes to life or incarnates in our own world, at least to say. When it comes to the popularity of the Brave New World, the novel is widely spoken even amid other authors. Amongst those authors is Margaret Atwood, a well-known writer of the late 20 th century who also wrote a popular dystopian novel called The Handmaid s Tale. The author gives an in-depth take on BNW in an article published by The Guardian. The author first makes a short comparison between BNW and Nineteen Eight-four and argues about the novels relevance in 21 st century. Then, in her first experience of the book, Atwood (2007) expresses how she was deeply impressed even though she did not understand the novel completely because she was only 14. Furthermore, she states that the novel still holds up pretty good, she describes it as fresh, full 12
of vim and vigor and somewhat appalling, in other words, ambiguous as well because It was Huxley's genius to present us to ourselves in all our ambiguity. (Atwood, 2007, para. 30) When you read Huxley s Brave New World, it is noticeable his distinguished writing style. His writing style can be described as witty, satiric, concise and precise. Although, his style is described being simple the author occasionally offers a very detailed description and narration. An authorial narrator leads through the plot. He changes his narrator's point of view, which gives the reader insights into the thoughts and feelings of all figures involved. The narrative style is very varied, as the linear reporting of flashbacks or scenic narration is interrupted. Through numerous other rhetorical means Huxley writes a stylistically demanding novel. His lofty and sophisticated language challenges his readers and makes them question their own lexicon. Huxley was a very knowledgeable man. His language was rich with words from science, pharmacy, engineering, biology and psychology. He mixes scientific languages with poetic excerpts from Shakespeare's tragedies and romances. This mixture of different styles makes the text a novel that has been successful for decades. The story of the novel is set in year 632 After Ford (Ford is considered a god) in a dystopian place where everything is under control of an authoritative state that bans almost every natural human needs and everything from the past such as natural born children, parenting, reading, staying alone, et cetera. In a society divided in classes where people are mass-produced, Brave New World tells the story of an alpha cast Bernard Marx who does not seem to fit in the society and who is not happy with himself. He brings with him Lenina in a vacation to Savage Reservation (a place outside the new world where everyone is born naturally). There, they meet John the Savage with whom Lenina falls in love. John s mother (who lived in new world) was left behind in the reservation where she had to say because she was impregnated. Later, John visits the new world but he cannot adapt to its society and he commits suicide. Bernard Marx at the end of the novel is exiled for bringing savages in new world. The critic and author Bloom (2004) lists the main characters in the following: Bernard Marx - Bernard belongs to the alpha caste. He works as a psychologist. An accident in his conditioning resulted in his short height. Because of this, he lives his life in dissatisfaction and complains about it instead of using the drug soma. In the end he is exiled for the reason that he brought John and Linda to London 13
John The Savage John is born in Savage Reservation. He s the son of Linda and Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning for Central London. John is brought to London by Bernard. He faces a problem in fitting in the new world. Linda was a former beta before becoming a savage. She had sexual intercourses with the Director and as the result she bore a child (John). Later she is brought to London to witness against the Director. Lenina Crowne Lenina works as a technician at Central Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. She s described by other characters as Pneumatic. She s often attracted by Bernard Marx. Later in the novel she falls in love with John. Mustapha Mond He is the antagonist of the novel. Mustapha is a man of power. He is the one of the world controllers who is in charge for Western Europe. Mustapha was a scientist before becoming a leader. Later it is revealed that he secretly collected banned books Helmoholtz Watson He is a friend of Bernard who works at College of Emotional of Engineering. Helmoholtz is often dissatisfied with his job. At the end he is exiled just like Bernard. The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning for Central He is the head of Central Hatcheries who s later revealed as the father of John the Savage. Fanny Crowne She is a friend of Lenina Crowne whom she helps with love advice. Fanny works in Conditioning Center. Henry Foster He is a typical alpha and behaves like one. He is one of Lenina s boyfriends. 14
Chapter III 4. Themes 4.1 Dystopia Aldous was convinced that one of the most concerning issues currently in the world was that individuals were easily relinquishing their crucial humanity and their freedom in the hands of government (Reiff, 2010) In Brave New World, everything appears to perfect. The society seems to be living in an ideal world where everyone is happy. Everyone enjoys their job and their life. However, in reality, this is far away from the truth, the hidden truth that the government does not want them to see "that is the secret of happiness and virtue -- liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their unescapable social destiny." (Huxley, 1932, pp. 12) There are many elements that portray dystopia in BNW such as The completely organized society, the scientific caste system, the abolition of free will by methodical conditioning, the servitude made acceptable by regular doses of chemically induced happiness, the orthodoxies drummed in by nightly courses of sleep-teaching (Huxley, 1958, pp. 6) In the novel, Henry Ford is the lord or the god of World State. Babies are created in laboratories, precisely in bottles which government controls them and decides about their life. There are five classifications or castes (as they are called in the novel) of people: Alphas, Betas, Deltas, Gammas and Epsilons. Alphas are the high class and Epsilons the low or working class. People are regulated by the government who controls them since the moment they are born through conditioning which makes them love their lives and jobs. People are not allowed to have emotions. They are prescribed with a drug named soma to make them happy and stop unwanted thoughts. The government pretty much bans everything that gets on their way. Art and religion have been abolished; History is not allowed to be taught for the fear that the past would influence the civilians; love is considered as a crime and only casual sex is allowed; The words family and parents are banned. All in all, if one of them does not comply with the rules, they are convicted to an island isolated from the society. In short, Huxley s dystopia envisions futuristic implementations of genetics and eugenics (the process of cloning through Bokanovski s process 15
and IFV), pharmacology (drugs such as soma), conditioning (sleep-learning also known as hypnopaedia) and endocrinology (Malthusian belt) (Woiak, 2010). 4.1.1 Pleasure Seeking Life, Sin and Crime in Dystopia Although pleasure is not quite associated with dystopian novels, in Brave New World, the psychological control is ironically systemized through pleasure. Huxley's Brave New World revolves around a dystopian society that is not controlled by fear, but is made obedient by happiness and pleasure. The motto of this society is that everyone is happy at all times. But The question arises, would pleasure deny people from their freedom? The people of World State are regulated by government since the beginning. They are created in laboratories and conditioned. The government plans their life and makes the love their life and jobs through pleasures and happiness. Moreover, they will always look young and never age. Although, the whole happiness idea seems idealistic yet people are still deprived of their freedom for the reason that they do not get to choose how they live their lives. The characters follow the same routine: Seven and a half hours of mild, unexhausting labour, and then the soma ration and games and unrestricted copulation and the feelies (Huxley, 1932, pp, 197). According to Frost (2016), there are two main components that contribute to pleasure, soma and sex. Soma Soma is Huxley s most well-known contribution to the fiction of vernacular pleasure. (Frost, 2016, pp. 70). It is considered the perfect drug because it is distributed legally by the government for free and does not have side effects. Soma is either used for pleasure or to stop anxiety or unwanted thoughts and emotions. Soma as Frost (2016) notes decimates consciousness, which makes it the ideal sedative for the people and that in any case, readers do not experience the drug's captivating qualities from inside but more from an outside perspective. Soma is one of the main symbols of the novel and will be elaborated more, in the next chapter as a symbol. Sex In the novel, Frost (2016) claims, Aldous dedicates a large amount of consideration regarding the sexual lives of his characters, from children' erotic play and scenes with orgy-porgy 16
to men casually talking about what how does it feel to 'have' a certain woman, and ladies reminding each other to have more casual sex. Sex is no longer treated as intimate intercourse but rather a meaningless pleasure and desire. It is so devoid of passion that the characters of the novel after taking soma chant all together publicly before indulging in group sex: "Orgy-porgy, Ford and fun, Kiss the girls and make them One. Boys at 0ne with girls at peace; Orgy-porgy gives release." (Huxley, 1932, pp. 53) Sex has also been a theme in other dystopian and utopian novels such as in Orwell s Nineteen Eighty-four. However, in 1984, sex is considered a taboo. Atwood (2007) shares her opinion on sex in utopia and dystopia by saying Sex is often centre stage in utopias and dystopias - who can do what, with which set of genital organs, and with whom, being one of humanity's main preoccupations. (para. 19). Atwood (2007) notes that sex in BNW has become a recreation instead of procreation since women do not give birth anymore; as a result, sex and procreation are no longer related. They have been sterilized by using scientific improvements to make casual sex possible (Reiff, 2010) Reiff states that the biggest form of pleasure in the novel is by having freedom in participating in meaningless sexual intercourses. Now the word mother that was admired by Victorians is considered an obscene speech; and meaningless sex that was considered an obscene act in Victorian era is now adequate (Atwood, 2007). When it comes to sex, Lenina Crowne is the main sex figure in the novel. She is seen as a sex tool rather than a woman. Characters describe her as pneumatic which in the novel means well rounded. The actual meaning of the word is filled with air or full of air, however Huxley uses it in a sexual sense. Oh, she s a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic (Huxley, 1932, pp. 37). When they compare her to other girls for example Fanny Crown, Lenina still stands out as the most pneumatic Not nearly so pneumatic as Lenina. Oh, not nearly. (Huxley, 1932, pp. 42). While to the main character Bernard, Lenina is just a meat. 17
As stated by Frost (2016) many readers of BNW have found its mechanistic and broadminded sex as one of the most the most repugnant characteristic of the novel. Isaac Rosenfeld (as cited in Frost) wrote that the real terror of the novel is sex from babies in bottles to Malthusian belts. Frost notes that the sexual culture of BNW is unemotional, mechanical and dehumanizing. 4.1.2 Reproduction and Eugenics Having considered sex, it is also reasonable to look at reproduction and eugenics. Before 1932, no other noteworthy authors had portrayed so conspicuously the human manipulation of reproduction (Matz, 2016). Dissatisfied from the 19 th century value system and the technological advances that emerged during the Henry Ford's system of mass production, Huxley in his dystopia used the means of mass-production as the only way of populating to depict the capitalism and consumerism of that time. Life no longer arises in the New World through the encounter of the sexes. People are no longer born instead they become artificial generated. The term "human material" is understood in this world in the literal sense. Mass-production and reproduction are closely related in the novel and they are executed through the use of advanced technology of genetic engineering. The main tool of the genetic engineering in Brave New World is Bokanovsky s process combined with Podsnap s Technique. Bokanovsky s process is a human cloning process and a tool of reproduction. This process is used only to clone and genetically modify lower classes such as Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. While other castes are subjected to "Bokanovsky's Process", higher castes such as Alpa and Beta remain untouched and unmodified, each originating from a fertilized egg. In the bottling room, the fertilized eggs become empty and the test tubes are bottled, then they go through the Social Predestination Room. There, they spend the next 267 days on the shelves until the embryos grow on a peritoneum pad. Nourished by blood surrogate, they are either sufficient or reduced depending on their intended destination. Next, the oxygen is supplied, they are already in the prenatal state, so far normalized and ready to be conditioned. Finally, in the Decanting Room they see the light of the day. The limited number of cloning is only 96 and the average, which is considered good, is around 72. Quoting the Director s (DHC) words, Bokanovsky s process goes like this: 18
One egg, one embryo, one adult - normality. But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before. (Huxley, 1932, pp. 3-4) When Bokanovsky s process is combined with Podsnap s technique, which is another tool of reproduction, the whole process is sped up and more efficient. Basically, Podsnap s technique had immensely accelerated the process of ripening. (Huxley, 1932, pp. 5) Through reproduction, Huxley also shares his eugenics views. The eugenic industry produces the perfect human for the "consumer society". Eugenics keeps the population stable, which in turn stabilizes the economy by consuming. Huxley's eugenics was in consistence with the foremost or "mainline" trend in both England and USA to center around the issue of "Feeblemindedness" (Woiak, 2010). In the novel, the reproductive technology can be seen as the most terrifying way of populating (eugenics). However, Huxley himself advocated the policies of eugenics. He urged birth rates to be higher amongst the intellectual people and supported fertilization of lower classes whom he saw unfit, that way he believed that would ameliorate future generations hereditary mental capacities which would result in decent citizenship (Woiak, 2010). Wojak also added that in spite of the fact that Huxley never became part of the Eugenics Society (ES), the propagandizing arm of the British eugenics movement, he turned out to be exceptionally accustomed with its rhetoric and policy proposal and started to include these into his articles. Moreover, Huxley dedicated substantially more energy to advocating for birth control, immensely for persisting in its centrality to any chances of what we currently may call maintainable environment and politics, it would appear that Huxley saw reproduction as an ethical dilemma in its own particular right, whatever the method may be (Matz, 2016). Aldous Huxley in one of his letters discussed the issue of population by declaring the following: About 99.5 per cent of the entire population of the planet are as stupid and philistine as the great masses of the English... The important thing, it seems to me, is not to attack the 99.5 per cent - except for exercise - but to try to see that the 0.5 per cent survives, keeps its 19
quality up to the highest possible level and, if possible, dominates the rest (Huxley, personal communication, n.d.) All this led to believe that Huxley s technological reproductive advances portrayed in Brave New World were a result of his eugenics views. 4.1.3 Behaviorism and Conditioning Because of his vast knowledge, Huxley was known for exploiting the findings of physics, chemistry and biology in the description of the artificial production (reproduction) of humans and satirizing them at the same time. Furthermore, he draws on the results of psychology and physiology in the education of artificially produced living beings. A particular utopian pedagogical discourse examined by Aldous in BNW is psychological, associating with cognitive learning processes also behavioral learning apprised by technology (Rosenhan, 2016). He uses in particular the teachings of Ivan Pavlov who as a physiologist found the doctrine of conditioned reflexes and saw in the conditioning of these reflexes the basis of all mental processes. Pavlov created the theoretical assumptions that support the learning theory of American behaviorism. Huxley appeals to emotional conditioning that is most in tune with today's dystopian neuroscience. He mentions the clear benefits of avoiding a mental disagreement, instead appealing to emotional suggestibility to manipulate intentions and overpower nonconformity. Due to Huxley's intense preoccupation with behaviorism and physiology, the names of the characters Bernard Marx (the surname came from the philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx), Helmholtz Watson and Mr. Foster in the novel come from the physiologists Claude Bernard and Hermann von Helmholtz and the psychologist John B. Watson. Although, Huxley indirectly criticized the theory of behaviorism, which was successful in the United States of America in the first decades of the twentieth century. Behaviorism refers to the objectively measurable recording of behavior without consideration for any other mental processes included whatsoever. Rosenhan (2016) observes that since science, technology, and education are typically ascertain to go together as progressive influences upon development of humans, it is frequently trusted by educationalists that instructional technology can undertake from conventional sociocultural approaches to education, particularly as far as the democratization of education is 20
concerned. She also adds that hypnopedia is an early approach in this field. Rosenhan (2016) continues stating, Hypnopaedia is a niche aspect of educational neuroscience or neuroeducation, which is currently hailed as an interdisciplinary breakthrough in the investigation of brain development and learning. (pp. 56). In the novel, Hypnopedia is explained to a group of student conditioners and hatchers by the director of Hatcheries and Conditioning for Western Europe. Hypnopedia is sleep teaching process which government uses it to condition its population, brainwashing them to think they enjoy and like their life and work. In short, as the Director puts it, hypnopedia is [ ] the secret of happiness and virtue liking what you ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their unescapable social destiny (Huxley, 1932, pp. 12). There is no freedom, no human dignity. Unwanted thoughts do not need to be removed, biological and psychological manipulation has every individual thinking and feeling already switched off. 4.2 The Misuse of Science and Technology Science and Technology is one of the major themes in the novel. Science is the exploration and expansion of existing knowledge. Huxley s knowledge allowed him to use a much more sophisticated language in different fields of science and technology. When it comes to terms Huxley is very specific in coming up with those terms. The society in Brave New World is based on science and research. After the Nine Years War, World State took command. The new government began to destroy everything that was reminiscent of the ancient world including here monuments, museums, books et cetera, and fought against the past. Then it banned religion. The political leaders in Brave New World have managed to gain control of scientific research and use it for their political ends. In the laboratory, people adapted through manipulation of the genome are created, who fit uncritically into the state order to achieve its goal Stability. The author Reiff (2010) discusses how the government gains power when they are given the advanced technological resources. Reiff points out three forms that the world state exploits technology, which is the motto itself Stability, Community, Identity : 21
Stability: The central goal of the controller is stability. There are both economic and social stability of the entire system and individual stability of each individual. This is achieved by the means of consistent and systematic eugenics, conditioning and su. These include artificial reproduction, the Bokanovsky's process. Stability is also guaranteed through sleep teaching. To have financial stability, the government mentally programs subjects to spend their money constantly on new things as opposed to repairing old ones. Community: Sleep teaching also contributes to Community as the children are conditioned with sentences and phrases that instruct them that they are inevitable chunks of one huge community. Not exclusively do the citizens belong to one another sexually, yet they also belong to each other as working individuals of the world state. Identity: Identity is developed by drilling sleep lessons to children in class consciousness. For example those that are instructed to Beta children such as making them think that they re very content and satisfied of being a beta and acknowledging the fact that Alphas are better than they are. All the changes mentioned above would help the state give more power and ensure the unity of humanity. In addition to abolishing old activities, norms and values, science has been pushed forward. On the other hand, the ultimate psychic abolition of the individual happened through the possibility of the sciences to indoctrinate humans already as embryos, in the course of an advanced genetic engineering. The World State decided that it would be more economical if children were no longer discharged by their mothers and born alive. For this reason, women in the New World are drilled to always take their contraception. Thus, people can be produced more effectively through artificial birth and with less waste of time. With the creation of the new world came the ideological confrontation between different worldviews arises mainly through the conversations of the two main characters John the "savage", and Mustafa Mond According to Bloom (2004) the mechanisms indicating science and technology that the 'world state' uses to maintain utopia; unify the human product and inducing love to the servitude. They are reduced to the following four: 1. Conditioning of infants: where advanced techniques of condition are used from the birth of the individual as the technique of hypnopedia or education through sleep. 22
2. Scientific system of castes: a science of human differences is developed, highly advanced, which allows government leaders to allocate to each individual the right place in a social and economic hierarchy divided into 5 classes: the Alphas that would be the elite the Betas that would be the executives the Gammas would be the subordinate employees the Deltas that would be the subaltern employees of the subalterns the Epsilons that would be the employees for arduous works 3. Substitute of alcohol and narcotics: the soma is the substitute drug less harmful and more pleasant than alcohol and narcotics. It is tranquilizing, hallucinogenic and mandatory for the citizens of the 'World State'. 4. Eugenics system: The creation of humans from test tubes to avoid errors, eliminating unwanted genes to improve the human species, that is, the standardization of the human product. In this sense, the political and economic machinery of the society in Brave New World revolves thanks to the conditioning, eugenics technology and a hierarchy of work and power based on supply and demand. In another order of ideas, the combination of science, psychology, technology and mass production are the gears which government uses to exercise power over its residents. 4.3 Individuality and Identity Individuality refers to the differences that exist between people, to the traits and the qualities that make them special and unique. Brave New World tells the story of a society in which real individuality does not exist. Identity is related to the characterization of persons. It refers to man as an individual, which is different from the totality of all other people. In the world state, all members of the lower castes look the same. By their behavior, they do not differ from each other. In Sion s (2010) opinion two examples can corroborate this statement. Savage s attempt to free the deltas from the soma fails, he is attacked by them (Chapter 15). And the viewers who come to 23
Savage's lighthouse also react quite unified. They look at him like a wild animal. Moreover, they throw him food and want to see him scourging himself again. At first sight, it might seem as if at least the members of the higher alpha and beta caste possessed their own individuality. For example: The Director has a characteristic appearance, behavior and story. Lenina also has that. She looks very "pneumatic" and is very popular with the men of the headquarters where she works. She has spent one night at a time with many men. Lenina and the Director are satisfied with their position in society. Lenina feels happy. If it goes wrong, there is Soma to forget and to make a vacation of the reality. The director defends and argues in front of the students for the excellence of the new world in which he lives well adapted. However, these expressions of satisfaction are a must in the brave world, in which all things specific to man must necessarily do. Both characters are not any different from the others. They do not have identity; the government shapes their individuality. They are conditioned not only to be absolutely happy forever, but also to use the free drug, which is always available, as a solution to their problems (Rosenhan, 2016). If all people are equal, there are no more conflicts in the opinion of the World Controller; there is peace in society. The price people have to pay is high. There is no room for love, family, science, religion, literature, art or history in the New World. Using John as an example, according to Reiff (2010), Huxley shows how complete control of the state stifles self-initiative and leaves no room for personal development. Everything in life is pre-programmed; the people themselves are pre-programmed only they do not suspect it. The state uses all technical and psychological means to achieve order and superficial satisfaction to develop their identity. Just another goal Identity, which is formulated in the motto Stability, Community, Identity. 24
Chapter IV 5. Symbols 5.1 Soma Soma is one of the main symbols in BNW. It is the name of the drug that all residents of the New World legally consume and is manufactured industrially, so that it is always sufficiently available. After genetic engineering and conditioning, soma was the most strongest tool of the authority in the hands of the Controllers of the World-State (Bowering, 2010). Soma is a symbol of the use of happiness and pleasure to control and manipulate the residents of the New World. For this reason, the drug has no side effects and is not only legal, but also the same authority enhances the consumption of this substance. In the novel, soma can be taken in tablets of grams (half a gram, gram, three grams) and is usually mixed with some foods. Its effects are an infinite happiness and placidity and the absolute oblivion of any melancholic feeling or frustration; by some indications of the novel we can intuit that the drug also enhances the acuity of the senses. According to Huxley (1958), the original soma, from which he borrowed the name of this fictional medication from, was an obscure plant (potentially named Asclepias acida) utilized by the old Aryan conquerors of India in one of the most ceremonial of their religious rituals. Huxley continued saying that soma of BNW had none of the side effects of its Indian origin. In smaller doses it brought a feeling of joy, in larger doses it made you see dreams and, on the off chance that you took three tablets, you would soak in some minutes into invigorating sleep. And all that with no physiological or mental expense whatsoever. The citizens could take a break from their bad mood, or from the disturbances and irritations of regular daily life, without yielding on their wellbeing or forever diminishing their efficiency. As the author puts it, the soma habit was not a personal vice it was rather a political institution, it was the simple embodiment of the Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness ensured by the Bill of Rights. Although, ironically, Huxley later would become one of the pioneers of the use of psychoactive substances in the West and author of the book "The doors of perception", reference work for the psychedelic movement and inspiration for the name of the group "The Doors". 25