Amanda Driscoll May 26,

AP English IV- Culver 2011

Syntax/Diction Analysis

Brave New world written by Aldous Huxley is a science fiction novel

predicting what the world’s future society may entail. Huxley includes vivid images

of the “Utopia’s” caste system, allowing the reader to understand character

relationships. Huxley also creates original vocabulary that the characters use in

every day dialogue. One of Brave New World’s characters in particular, Lenina

Crowne, is quite fond of a mood-altering capsule. Huxley creates the word soma to

name the enhancement pill. Lenina is heavily dependent on the pill, and also

encourages other characters in the novel to consume soma as well. Although Lenina

does not directly state that she is dependent on the soma, in many passages she is

consuming a gramme of the tablet… sometimes even more. To reflect her addiction

to soma, Huxley has purposely included the word “gramme” multiple times in

Lenina’s spoken dialogue.

I chose to analyze Lenina Crowne’s frequent use of the word “gramme”. She

uses this word in two main contexts: to describe how she is about to take soma, or to

convince those around her to take soma. I understated the power of the word

gramme when I initially read it in Brave New World. I simply thought it was one of

their units of measure, the odd spelling because they live in England. I did not

realize that throughout the story the word gramme would escalate in meaning,

particularly with the character I chose to study. The word gramme is a perfect

match to the word soma, a word that is also frequently mentioned in Huxley’s novel.

Definition:
Gramme: chiefly British variant of gram.

(from Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Lenina’s dependency on soma is birthed from her adherence to their

“godlike” figure, Ford. If Ford encouraged an action, Lenina would obediently obey.

She is stubborn, and unrelenting; a dangerous combination, especially when it

comes to her dependency on soma. She believes in the guidelines of the society

wholeheartedly, which is why she is often proudly spouting, “I take a gramme and

only am” (page 104). This particular use of the word gramme refers to her

consumption of soma, and her conformity to the society around her.

In addition to frequent consumption of soma, she also encourages other

citizens to have a gramme…or two. She often encourages one of her acquaintances,

Bernard to take soma, stating “…take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of

yours” (Page 92). Lenina is the only character in Brave New World that directly

mentions her consumption of soma. It is just assumed by the reader that all other

citizens of the World State also consume grammes of soma.

Through Lenina’s repeated use of the word “gramme”, Huxley creates a drug

dependency that also parallels with Lenina’s dependency on men. Such a miniscule

detail such as repetition opens up many areas for discussion of the novel.

Works Cited
 Amanda Driscoll May 26,
AP English IV- Culver 2011

"Gramme - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster

Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster

Online. Merriam-Webster. Web. 30 May 2011.

<http://www.merriam

webster.com/dictionary/gramme>.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial

Modern Classics, 2006. Print.