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Emily Gong

AP English Notes: Brave New World

The Brave New World


Main Conflict: “Community, Idenity, Stability” vs. “Family, Monogamy,
Romance”
• A utilitarianism, highly modernized World State society--- it is completely
regulated by minute # of Controllers=> dystopia
• Has a solid hierarchy system with Alphas on the topmost level, and Betas,
Gammas, Deltas, & Epsilons in descending order
• Degraded women to the level of Betas---either fertile & take Malthusian
drills or is a freemartin (sterile)
• Whole population is “conditioned” to the status level they occupied---there
is not flexibility of one rising above the class one was predestined to
o All are “decanted” from incubators--- no mothers or fathers
o Human beings are “designed” and “assembled” together in an
biological assembly line—Chp.1using Bokanovsky’s Process to
mass-multiply identical twins from one embryo (to create a plethora
of twins Deltas & Epsilons & Gammas), preserving embryos in red
light, soaking them in artificial rich blood surrogate
o Fertility also pre-assignedone fertile ovary in twelve hundred; allow
30% of female population to develop normal ovaries; rest---
freemartins who are given dose of male sex hormone ever 24 meters
o the “manufacturing of the lower caste: supply less oxygen to
demolish their brains--- hence their capability to analyze & think;
simultaneously, depriving them of oxygen inhibits their growth---
midgets=equivalent to a “horse” or “cow”the laborers
o conditioning to different climates and working conditions---another
form of binding the people without choice to their pre-assigned
occupation--- “making people like their inescapable social destiny”—
ex. Embryos to be future tropical workers inoculated before “birth”
o after decanting--- acquired conditioning--- using cruel methods to
contain the population in their place--- ex. Delta infants electrocuted
and taught through that method to loathe knowledge & nature (given
books & flowers)
 a compromise of nature for effectiveness--- everything scaled
out to its methodical and financial worth--- lower caste taught to
despise nature, preventing them from being gratuitous---“to
hate the country but love country sports…consume
manufactured articles as well as transport”
o the scientific “breakthroughs”---all to reinforce the society structure
 the experiments trying to reduce the necessary years in
maturing for lower caste
 the Bokanovasky’s Process--- to give the assembly lines
efficiency & flawlessness
 hypnopadia--- the science of acquired audio learning to children
from a extended period of time---teach “moral education”--- the
answers to social issues---ex. Taught to demean lower caste by
color of their apparels & intelligence; the upper caste to be
always superior
• Consumption of ample importance: everything, from embryo conditioning to
hynopadia lessons—all taught to increase consumerism
o Lower caste taught to hate nature but embrace country sports---goal:
to maintain mass transport & use of athletic utilities
o Children games: the same goal---erotic play
o “The more stitches, the less riches”--- a popularized “truth” of the
way of life in World State--- no one is to mend their clothes or repair
broken objects---promoting more sales
• The Abolition of “Family”--- “decanted” from machines, no person except for
John the Savage has a mother or father in World State
o The annihilation of the family unit---serves to preserve social order &
happiness
o Automatically abolished any moral obligations an individual may have
to someone that conflicts with his/her desires---abolishing family
feuds, sibling rivalries, & duties
o Liberated the path of absolute freedom---a literal sense of complete
liberty from responsibility & compassion
o Every love is equally balanced and distributed---“everyone works for
everyone else”
o Associates the family unit as a admonishing example of animal
behavior---degrading & uncivilized---compared to “cat over its kittens”
o “the appalling dangers of family life…the world was full of fathers---
was therefore full of misery; full of mothers---therefore of every kind
of perversion from sadism to chastity; full of brothers, sisters, uncles,
aunts--- full of madness & suicide”---pg. 39
• Diminishment of Social Morality---promiscuity & soma
o Soma- symbol of instant gratification for the human
populace=>hallucinogen consistenly used by all the characters to
avoid sticky and melancholy situations and problems
 Bernard takes it after being dishonored by his upper-authority
guests after John refuses to shows himself off
 Lenina constantly induces it to wary off her depression & later
her undying allure for John
 The functionality of World State wholly depends on soma---
promotes the use of the drug
o Being “virtuous & happy”---thus sacrificing fidelity, romantic love for
instantaneous & spontaneous love (free sex)
o Controllers suppress innovation and differences--- Bernard Marx and
Helmholtz Watson both banished in later parts of the story b/c they
were different
 Bernard—sequestrated from the rest of the Alpha Plus because
of his abnormal stout height, which the other Alpha members
can only explain in terms of their small, narrow world--- insisting
his difference is due to a mistaken alcohol input
 Helmholtz is loathed and set apart from others by his
overbearing sexual and mental abilities--- he is too perfect and
thus must be also obliterated from a community that nurtures
and acclaims its homogeneity
o Zero boundaries of making love---Lenina is actually scolded by her
friend for not being sexually active enough--- been with Henry Foster
for four months (considered long)
o Reason of anything: “everyone belongs to everyone else”---no
individual freedom of choice
o Everyone lives only for pleasure---no ambition, no dedication or
commitment to a worthwhile life goal
o The banishment of democracy, love, friendship, and trust--- replaced
with the caste system that has condemned a vast majority as
unknowing sufferers for the luxury of a few
o Apathy towards death & sadness--- John is mortified by the
ambivalent reactions of twin Deltas at Linda’s deathbed; also, people
avert their slight unhappiness & frustration with dosages of soma
o Crippled by its lack of faith & compassion---laughs and sinisterly
enjoys John’s flogging
• The Absence of Alternatives: religion or philosophy—taken away any source
that could stimulate dissatisfaction; instead replaced Christian “A.D” with
“A.F”---“My Ford” referring to Henry Ford, who invented the assembly line
o “My Ford”---industrialism as a form of religion--- the community shows
utmost devotion to the accepted and mechanized ways

Characters
John
 the protagonist---a young man who is an outcast of both the World State and
the Savage Reservations; born with Linda as his mother in the Savage lands;
bought up to value monogamy, fidelity, and condolence
 is instantly known to be “different” from the rest of the savage people by his
desire to participate in a ritual that the Savages prohibit him to enter and that
Lenina & Bernard both find revolting
 he is the son of the DHC & Linda; his origins isolate him from the World State,
since he is the offspring of a “mother” and “father”, obsolete social
relationships
 knows fervently the pains of loneliness & discrimination--- the savages
denounced him as nothing but the son of a whore; people in the World State
see him only as a speculation
 is obsessively attached to Shakespeare and his moral principles--- tortured by
his unyielding desire for Lenina yet cannot accept her voluptuous ways
describing her from a “Juliet” to a “strumpet”
 embraces the empathic and humanitarian values that those in the World State
have waived in exchange for their shallow & one-dimensional lives---argument
b/w Mond and John
o John disillusioned seeing the twins and their monotonous lifestyles---
demands to know why they don’t seek better things
o *Mond says that abandonment of art, religion, and science is the piece
paid for stability and happiness “every change is the menace to
stability.”--- Mustapha Mond
 Art: inspires unorthodox ideas & drawings, thoughts that may bring
revolution and dramatic change (in forms of violence, debates, and
war) to people
 Science: World State encourage technological consumption, but
restricts scientific experimentation that is the source of the brilliant
discoveries molding the community (soma, B. Process, artificial
embryo fertilization and development machines)
 Religion: Mond comprehends Maine de Bain’s book (philosophy)
and how it explains the concept of religion and the reason behind
people’s pieties: “the religious sentiments tend to develop as we
grow older, to develop because, as the passions grow calm, as the
fancy and sensibilities are less excited and less excitable, our
reason becomes less trouble in its working, less obscured by the
image, desires, and distractions…” “why should we go on
hunting for a substitute for youthful desires, when youthful desires
never fail?” (world state population never age) science has
curbed the way to religion
 Goes into sequestration at an old, deserted lighthouse b/w Puttenham &
Elstead, leading an ascetic & religious life, where he angrily vows to never be
enticed by the allures of the World State, to Lenina and to commemorate the
pitiful death of Linda
o Seeks for some salvation & purification from the unregulated and dense
societydrinks mustard and warm water in order to satisfy himself that
he is free from social bondage; flogs himself as a form of self-discipline;
hoist himself up in the crucifying position analogous to Jesus’s & endures
the pain & agony to earn the right to inhabit the lighthouse
o “it was to escape further contamination by the filth of civilized life: I was
to be purified and made good; it was actively to make amends”
 seen always as a ‘savage’---diverse and unique---something intolerable in the
World State; even at his end, he was nothing less than a specimen of violent
entertainment helicopters barricaded the lighthouse w/ people to come
watch his show of astounding self-punishment
 for his contradicting views and lifestyles, John is even less highly regarded by
the dehumanized people and is the sight of ridicule  men throw out nuts and
sweets to bribe John into doing his “comedic” stunt
 he commits suicide by hanging in the end he was reluctantly succumbed to
the “sins” and “wickedness” of the civilized world and has no choice but to
sacrifice himself for his redemption
Bernard Marx
 is a loner among the Alpha-Plus due to his short stature; is greatly prejudiced
against because of his abnormal height and build and, as a result of his
irregularity, his condensing attitude on the materialistic lifestyles of his peers
 regards Henry Foster & many high official in contempt for their abasing
perception on women and their livesis hostile towards both Foster and the
Predestinator when they talk of having Lenina “as if she was meat”
 seeks to be liberated from the opposing standards of societywishes to be
judged on his right, instead of graded by the rules of the norm--- is imprisoned
by his conditioning
 he envies his friend, Helmholtz Watson, for his overtly ability to seduce women
& finish workhe has an imposing yearning to triumph over those he scorns
and earn their respect; he is not completely an outsider since he still eagerly
seeks a chance to conform into the World State society
o his complaints of the World diminishes after he becomes famous as
the Savage’s agent; he quickly recruits women for the night &
rendezvous with important officials without hesitation
o his potential value, however, is minimal; after the Savage refuses to
receive any of the higher authorities on behalf of Marx, the people
quickly abate Marx and humiliates Marx by abruptly leaving---w/o the
Savage, he is nothing
 is the indispensable scar on the flawless World State gaietyis the finest
example of how the transformation of the World State into the paradise that
Mond claims it to be is incomplete; there are still people who crave for
emotional inequality & biasness
o he blushes in front of Lenina on personal topics
o he wishes for times of solitude, away from the purposeless routine life
he needs companionship, which he finds in Helmholtz Watson (as
friendship) & tries in Lenina (as romance)
o he has menacing thoughts & desires due to his inferior treatmenthe
curses those who are better than him
 an extreme hypocritegarners no support or respect from John, Helmholtz, or
the rest of the World State community
 is later exiled to faraway islands, the fate that Helmholtz also meets, a place
where his differences and criticism pose no threat to the peaceful & exultant
World State society
Helmholtz Watson
 is deemed an outcast for being overproductive; has a higher intelligence and
higher amorous love marks than all the Alpha Pluses; feels that he should go
beyond what is necessary & acceptable and write/do something better; feels
underachieved
 is a mutual buddy of Bernard Marx, the only other mentioned ostracized
character in the book; shares advice & feelings of their defects
 is above the necessity of ladies and social glamour; he stays noble & well-
respected throughout the book, loyal to his words
 a foil for both Bernard and John: Bernardhe is the complete opposite of
Bernard, physically and socially, yet they both find themselves sequestered
from society; Johnhe ravenously devours the mastery of Shakespeare, but
jokingly rebukes the concept of family & romance, since he was taught to
denounce such things
 is exiled in Falkland Islands, where he hopes that the stormy and tumultuous
weather will help inspire him of greater feelings vital in poetry writing
Lenina Crowne
 is the femme fatale of the story; she entices seductive illusions in John, who
refutes the temptation as he has not proven himself worthy yet of her love
 introduced as a “weird” female Beta- Minus; she is already castigated for not
being promiscuous enough & has committed herself to a man for a longer
period of time than accepted
 she is the frequent source of the hypnopadic sayings, as she meets
uncomfortable and aloof Bernard and handsome and breath-taking John, both
men she cannot understand
o “everyone works for everyone else”… “a gramme saves nine”
 is sought by John as a lover; but his attraction to her only lead him to greater
disappointment and disillusionment of the World Stateshe tries to engage in
a sexual relationship with him, since she only knows this way of romantic
acknowledgement
 constantly uses soma to circumvent confrontation of her problems, things that
incur anger or despair
 is distorted and pressured by both Bernard and John to become someone they
perceive and wish her to be; they cannot view and love her for who she really
is
o John: sees her as a Juliet, an ideal, devout lover, then later as a
“strumpet”, a prostitute
o Bernard: hopes for her to empathize with him and understand the
emotional conflicts inside him; seeks to shatter her cocoon
 is whipped and flogged by John at the endthe haunting symbol of John’s
weakness to the society he loathes
Mustapha Mond
 a Controller who is literate in both the literature of the olden, ancient times
and the contemporary, senseless modern works
 he judges the good and bad of the societyanything that jeopardizes the
means of social order and harmony of the World State must be eradicated
 he is a ruthless, power-hungry figurehe choose to become an ultimate World
Controller and forfeits his science and his independence for the sake of forging
stability and prosperity to the state
 censors religion, science, & arts for the society, as he sees these as the main
proponents to the imbalance and gradual destruction of the human race
 important role * (in the notes about John)
Fanny Crowne
 main female critic of Lenina; is the one to tell her that she must try to be more
sexually active
 is the epitome of all women in the World State; shallow, inattentive to
anyone’s emotional needs, alleviates their own sexual satisfactions, is
incapable of any deeper affection than the physical expression of love
Henry Foster
 the masculine stereotype in the World State society; is prone to love making
and leading the proscribed life
 in this sense, he is an excellent follower and is the general example of the vast
majority of men in this technological world
 he is indifferent and emotionally detached to anyone--- he escapes and run
away to guarantee his own safety from John’s wrath, leaving Lenina to suffer
the physical punishment on her own (end of the book)
 he is blandly characterized as Lenina’s four-month lover
Linda
 DHC’s past lover and John’s mother
 Is completely torn and abhorred by bearing John and becoming a mother
 Lived in the Savage Reserves since she was lost during a vacation with the
DHC
 Is banished and brutally beaten by the women in the Savage Reserves for her
indiscriminate sexual affairs with their husbandsJohn: severely prejudiced
against by all on the Reserve
 Is engulfed by her shame and sadnessshe has bared the disgrace of being a
mother & her nostalgia
 Is incapable, like Lenina & Fanny, to extend any emotional boundaries and
express some blatant motherly affection
 Her subsequent death after John’s arrival in World State propels John’s decision
to physically separate himself from the rest of the World State population, to
form his own utopia within this supposedly paradise main catalyst for John’s
decision and the main generator for his motivation to expel any luxuries and
desires
DHC-The Director
 John’s father; director of the Fertilization
 Major role is as John’s estranged father; also his memory about Savage
Reserves serves as foreshadowing
 He is also another example of the faulty conception of World State as a
complete drained and emotionless communityhe still reminiscences over the
loss of Linda and his trepidation and pain---spoken by Bernard as “the
forbidden thing to do”
 Tried to banish Bernard to Iceland, but resigned from his post after an
complete breakdown in the Fertilizing Room, where John announces himself as
DHC’s illegitimate son
The Warden
 Grants Bernard & Lenina passage into the Savage Reserves in America
 First presents the portrayal of the Savage Reserves in penury; the Savage are
obdurate, backwards creatures who can never renovate their economic
condition and rejuvenate out of their impoverished dilemma
 “children are actually born, revolting as that may seem…”
Pope
 Linda’s lover at Savage Reserves; the one who provides John his Shakespeare
book
 Plays a rudimentary role of a father---gives John things he may like but never
takes extreme interest in himsame as Linda
 Goes to Linda often to quench his sexual thirst---gives Linda alcohol as some
sort of payment
 John once tried to kill Pope out of rage and jealousy
The Arch-Community Songster
 Archbishop of the World State; forecasts the development of consumption, free
sex, and feelies as an addictive aspect of this new modern religion

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