MWDS Brave New World free essay sample

Biographical Information about the Author: Aldous Huxley was a British writer born in Surrey, England on July 26, 1894. He studied science at Eton, but a problem with his eyes left him partially blind and he had to leave after three years. When it eventually improved he attended Oxford, receiving a degree in English Literature. Over the course of his life he wrote many books of all which ranged from topics of drugs and sex to religion and politics. In 1945, Huxley began experimenting with drugs, predominately LSD and mescaline. He died in California in 1963. Historical Information: The novel was heavily influenced by theories of eugenics, the idea that regulation of genetic traits would improve society. 1932 was also an influential time period in United States history because it was at the height of the depression and many other people at that time period were forced to reevaluate their lives in order of â€Å"survival of the fittest. † Characteristics of the Genre: Dystopian novels apply extreme elements of contemporary society and function as a warning against some modern trend. They usually warn against an oppressive regime or liberal thought by a supposedly utopian society and proving that perfection cannot exist. Plot Summary: The book begins with the Director of Hatcheries giving a tour of the :conditioning center† and â€Å"cloning† facilities. He introduces the Bokanovsky process of cloning and sleep teaching. Each person is put into a â€Å"caste† and then â€Å"conditioned† to fit into the role of that caste. Then Mustapha Mond, the World Controller of Western Europe, he explains the instability of the previous society and the improvements of the new society. He says the new society formed because an economic crisis that ensued after the Nine Years War allowed the world reformers to take control. Bernard Marx is then introduced as the short misconfigured Alpha who is insecure of his position. He likes Lenina Crowne, a Gamma, but does not display this in the traditional way in this society. Yet, he finally asks her on a date to the Savage reservation in New Mexico. Lenina, who also dates Henry Foster for a shot time, doesnt want to at first but then remembers long-term relationships are not exactly allowed. Bernard learns that the Director had been there previously with another girl who had gotten lost during a terrible unforeseen storm and had been forced to leave her there. When they get there they meet a young man named John and his mother Linda who is that woman the Director brought. Both are outsiders considering they were not native and Linda not having any soma has become an alcoholic. John begins to like Lenina he expects to find some romantic qualities that would make him unworthy of her attention. When they get back Bernard his humiliated by the Director but he then blackmails him when he brings out John, the Directors son, and the Director then resigns. However John does not like this new world he is introduced to and his feelings for Lenina grows stronger. He says that he loves her but does not advance in a physical relationship with her. John then learns that his mother died from an overdose of soma. He goes to the hospital to overhear people saying how ugly his mother is. He then thrashes soma away and starts an angry mob effort. Helmholtz, the prefect definition of an Alpha and a friend of John joins him against the mob. These two and Bernard are told to go to Mustapha Monds office who then tells them of being deported. Everyone but John goes because Mond wants to continue his experiment. John runs away to a lighthouse and begins to self-harm to cleanse himself. Lenina comes with Henry Foster and angered by his memory of her advances he beats her. The crowd takes it sexually. He then wakes up the next day overwhelmed with the guilt of the night before he hangs himself. Describe the Author’s Style: Huxley’s style for Brave New World was Modernism as well as Narrative. Modernism, trailing after Realism, is a style that follows the mantra â€Å"Make it new! † It challenges previous styles, focusing less on spirituality and more on science and technology, becoming apathetic and less optimistic. Narrative style is a writing style that is presents all events in chronological order, and has a tendency to change focus going from one setting to another. Provide an example that demonstrates the style: â€Å" ‘Or the Caste System. Constantly proposed, constantly rejected. There was something called democracy. As though men were more than physic-chemically equal. ’ ‘Well, all I can say is that I’m going to accept his invitation. ’ Bernard hated them, hated them. But they were two, they were large, they were strong. ~ ~ ~ Memorable Quotes ~ ~ ~ ~ Quotes â€Å"‘And that,’ put in the Director sententiously, ‘that is the secret of happiness and virtue – liking what you’ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny. ’† Ch. 1 pg. 16 â€Å"But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin. † â€Å"God in the safe and Ford on the shelves. † Significance of each Quote: The Director is explaining the reasoning being the class system of their society. He says as long as people are happy with their life, then society can function without problems. He believes that it is better for people to be unaware that there is anything better than their own life. John means, through this quote, that the World State is robbing him of everything that makes him human. Since he was raised in the reservation, he never received conditioning to the think â€Å"normally†. He didn’t want a carefree life, he wanted to work and face hardships. John wanted the good things in life as well as the bad. This quote is from when John and Mustapha Mond are discussing the World State and why people are conditioned to act only a certain way. One topic that was mentioned was religion. God is replaced by science and machinery. God causes solitude and different ways of thinking, which the leaders in this world can not accept. So they take away everything that may cause doubt and replace it with their knowledge of science and what â€Å"Ford tells them. † Characters Name Role in Story Significance John the Savage Bernard Marx Hemholtz Watson Lenina Crowne Mustapha Mond Henry Foster Linda The Director Son of the Director and Linda. He’s the only person in the entire novel to have grown up outside the World State. Spent his whole life on a reservation and feels as if he is not the same as those in the new society. His main knowledge and morals is brought to him by Shakespeare’s plays. An Alpha-Plus who does not feel as if he fits into this society because of a physical shortcoming. He has different values and beliefs then all his other Alphas. His insecurity about his size and status makes him discontented with the World State. Emotional engineer, teacher, perfect Alpha-Plus, Bernards and Johns friend. Pretty gamma who convinces Marx to take her to the reservation World Controller of Western Europe, the Antagonist Alpha peer of Marx, Leninas lover Conditioned woman raised in the hatchery but left on reservation, mother of John Another Antagonist, threatens to deport Marx, father of John, administrator of Hatchery and Conditioning Symbolizes purity and tradition. He is the perfect symbol of mans forsaken nobility. His view is based on Shakespeare. He likes Lenina, but his morals cause him to not do anything about it. Feels left out of the society because he does not agree with its social organizations. Marx is ironically a rebel who modelizes tradition. He is the pertfect embodyment of what it means to be an Alpha. Alothough he is succesful he still sympathsizing with Marx. However, Watsons issues aree a lot more philosophical than Marxs. She is the one girl that all guys want that has a relationship with Foster as well as Marx and develops strong feelings for John He explains the history and all about the new state, notably reffering to the fact that society traded happiness for sucessfulness. He symbolizes reason, yet symbolized God to John. Foster is the typical Alpha male. He makes Bernard angry with his attitude towards sex and success. She was raised in civilization but then is left on a reservation, she is the opposite of John who is raised only on the reservation but later lives in civilization. He starts the book of by giving a â€Å"tour† of the hatchery and lets the teacher get a taste of the customs and technology apparent in this time period. He attemps to deport Marx. Setting and the Significance of Setting Significance of Opening Scene: The novel is in London, 632 A. F or approximately 2540 A. D. It shows the inner workings of a more advanced society in which people are â€Å"conditioned† to be happy with their lives and their given status. This world had gotten rid of poverty, famine, disease, but has also gotten rid of importance such as art, religion, and morality. Skyscrapers are everywhere and nobody pays much attention to the actual nature around them. In this world, people are not born but created and are predetermined for their whole lives in a five-tiered caste system. While on the other hand there is the Indian reservation in the Western United States. Supposed unable to be civilized this land has been left as is. Old traditions are frequent here. The Londoners find the Malpais are disgusting. The people of Malpais naturally produce children they also have more moral values such as family. It puts the reader into the depths of Huxleys dystopia. The setting of â€Å"a squat grey building† shows a common sense of uniform and identical roles, yet by saying the 35 story building â€Å"squat†, Huxley contradicts everything especially the date of publication of this novel. The opening shows the new ideas such as decanting, conditioning, and Bokanization. Significance of the ending/closing scene: At the last moments the mob throws almonds at him waiting for the â€Å"whip† trick but John refuses to until he sees his Lover. Ironically, the mob returns Johns hateful whip lash with their love, in the form of Orgy-Porgy. The ending is quite violent and the uttermost climatic. The people attack John and blur his morals. The next day, he hangs himself from guilt of that night. Symbols Significance/Meaning of Title of Book Soma: Soma is the drug used to bring people in to a state of happiness. The Society has become so dependent on this drug for their happiness. Soma represents the dependency of the people on everyone and everything BUT themselves, and basically how the leaders have everyone brainwashed so they can’t think freely. Shakespeare: represents the past society of individuality. Only in his plays does one learn morals that have been forgotten in the new society. The title refers to the poem itself. In the poem it speaks of beautiful things and the first time its brought up by John he is speaking of Lenina who he has just met. The title is referring to an amazing new world that is perfect and undisturbed yet later on in the novel it becomes obvious that this world that is not so amazing and the meaning changes to hopefulness that it will one day change into a wonderful world. Possible Themes: The division of classes shows them that knowledge is power. As the novel was clearly divided in to the classes Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon; the idea that the more a person knows the more powerful they are is established. The alphas have the most power because they were raised to know more. This can be related to the real world in that children are taught that if they do not go to school and do well they will not be successful. Overall it can be said that when one gains knowledge one gains power. Individuality is needed for a perfect society, that uniform behaviors does not create a utopia but instead the choice and options we have is what will make a perfect society. The more we know the better informed we are and the better choices we make. Yet we make those choices and it becomes a mistake we then learn from that mistake. For there to be true stability in a society the government must ascertain to the populations happiness. Works cited: Shmoop. com Sparknotes. com Clifnotes. com Wikipedia