Samiyah, Saieder, Kristina, Briona, & Evelin -- use this space to begin your discussion of Brave New World. You are responsible for reading the first 10 pages, asking a good Level 4 question, and answering it in CCEJ. You may also add on (new evidence) or disagree with another group member's post. Continue to post each week as you follow the reading calendar you made in class Tuesday.
What are the scientist main goal in the first 10 pages?
ReplyDeleteThe scientist main goal in the first few pages are to ensure the happiness and stability of society. Genetically, the scientist used embryos and spermatozoa to pick out identical twins and what they figured was substantial adults. In the novel it states, "'Community, Identity, Stability.' Grand words. 'If we could bokanovskify indefinitely the whole problem would be solved'"(7). This scientist or leader believes that if they pick out these human that all of the problems in society would be solved. So the lab where the students are studying, are deciding who gets a chance to be in society and additionally determining so by creating these humans.
How were the scientist trying to make these infants "future world controllers"?
ReplyDeleteThe scientist were genetically altering hormones in the infants and designing them to be the way they think they should be. The head nurse even went as far as electricuting the babies in order to condition them to reflexes. In the text it states, "'They'll grow up with the psychologists used to call an 'instinctive' hatred of books and flowers. Reflexes unalterably conditioned'" (22). The nursed were trying to teach the infants a lesson with the electric shock. They allowed them to cry hysterically without interference so they can observe them. Then after it was all over and the electric shock was done, they offeref them flowers and books so that they could make the connection and link between the two; the nurses wanted the infants to associate the horror of the electric shock with books and flowers.
What were the director and nurses "conditioning" the infants for?
ReplyDeleteThe director and the nurses to hate the condition. They intentionally created and sculpted these infants to do and think what they wanted. They separated what they wangted to know and love versus what they didn't want them to know and hate. In the text it states, "'We condition the masses to hate the country...But simultaneously we condition them to love all country sports...So that they consume manufactured articles as well as transport. Hence those electric shocks'" (23). They would use certain punishments that the infants would associate with being negative. They purposedly rewarded the infants so they could associate particular things with being good and worthy. Even though some of their punishments such as those elcgtric shocks were cruel and gruesome, they understood that the infants would soon began to understand the connection between the two.
What was the author's purpose in the first ten pages?
ReplyDeleteIn the first ten pages the author was trying to set up the scene for the readers by describing the setting. The author Aldous Huxley starts off with a tour of the building with a group of students. They are touring a hatchery where they make babies. Not just any babies but babies that are made perfect for the world. In the text it sums it all up saying,"For of course some sort of general idea they must have, if they were to be good and happy members of society, as possible" The man was basically saying that they were building babies that would grow up and make perfect people in the community so that the community could be happy and perfect.
What are some signs of a dystopia already in the book?
ReplyDeleteIn the book there are some signs of a dystopia, for example them trying to build babies to make a perfect society and then taking things away from the babies to make them think a certain way. To begin on page 16 the director says," 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 unescapable social destiny." The director is saying that if you build people to be what they are going to be later in life then they will be happy because the key to happiness is liking what you do in life. by doing this they are making a perfect society which is a dystopia. Next the director tells how they take away things from the babies to build them to be a certain away which is to not love nature. In the text it says," We condition the masses to hate the country," concluded the Director."But simultaneously we condition them to love all country sports" so the director is saying that the make the babies to hate one thing but love another more, this is a sign of a dystopia because they controlling the babies minds so that when they are older they will be one way.
Another sign of a dystopia is the inability to think for one's self. In Brave New World the citizens are not able to be that smart and think for themselves. They are not allowed to question authority or the controllers around them. For instance when the kids are in the hatchery the text states,"For of course some sort of general idea they must have, if they were to do their work intelligently--though as little of one, if they were to be good and happy members of society, as possible"(4). Clearly, the citizens individual thought process is being hindered. They are not allowed to challenge things out of the belief that they will not be happy in society. Clearly, Brave New World is a dystopia due to the citizens not being able to think on their own and having their ability to think hindered.
DeleteA Brave New World also show signs of being a dystopia because their is a dictatorship being ran in the country. They have what seems to be a leader named the director that controls the fertility of the society. In the text it states,"the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning entered the room...A troop of newly arrived students,very young, pink and callow, followed nervously, rather abjectly, at the Director's heels"(4). Clearly, there is a director seen as a head leader who controls the society that is being built. The Director is not just a leader but a controller. He is in charge of the society and how it's built.
DeleteWhat is the hatchery building the babies for?
ReplyDeleteIn the hatchery they are building the babies to be who they are destined to be when they grow up. They design the babies and make the adapt to things that will be around them when they grow up and do these jobs so they will be accustomed to them. In the text it says," On Rack 10 rows of next generation's chemical workers were being trained in the toleration of lead, caustic soda,tar, chlorine. The first of a batch of two hundred and fifty embryonic rocket plane engineers was just passing the eleven hundred metre mark on Rack 3. a special mechanism kept their containers in constant rotation." By doing all this they are setting them up for the life that they ant them to be. They build them based off the jobs they want them to have and then they set up the conditions they think they would have to deal with in their future job.
Does the society in a Brave New World shows signs of segregation or racism?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion A Brave New World hints at signs of racism or segregation. In the book it distinguishes certain groups of people based in color it seems. In the book it calls a certain group of people negro.The text states,"You should see the way a negro ovary responds to pituitary!It's quite astonishing when you're used to working with European material"(9). It seems that A Brave New World does classify people based on race and possibly have racism based on the derogatory term of negro.
Nice work, ladies. You all received full credit this week!
ReplyDeleteIs manufacturing people in society to be what you want them to be immoral?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion manufacturing people in society to be what you want them to be is not immoral. I have found that in society there needs to be the "haves and the have nots", people who succeed and the people who don't in order to maintain a stable community. Brave New World demonstrates children being made to fit certain societal roles that are necessary for their community to be stable. These societal roles can be seen when a young Beta child is being taught that, "Alpha children work much harder than we do, because they're frightfully clever. I'm really awfully glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas.. . . Epsilons are still worse" (27-28). It seems that the Controllers of this world have noted that there needs to be people at the top and people at the bottom. People are not meant to be on the same status level, so they've decided to take care of this issue early on. Does anyone else have any thoughts on if this idea is moral or immoral ?
I would like to disagree with Evelin's statement because manufacturing people to be what you want them to be is immoral because it doesn't give the people free will. Granted everyone is not going to be a supreme leader or power. Some people have to have tinier roles in society.However, there is a difference between people choosing those roles and being controlled.In "Brave New World" the peoples fate are being controlled and that is immoral. The text states,"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"(16). The people are being forced not to like certain things and told what certain things to like. Truthfully, their fate are inescapable because they are forcefully inescapable. The people in the society's fate are not chosen by them but for them. Not allowing someone to make their own decision is immoral. Therefore, manufacturing people in society is immoral because it doesn't give people free will and choice.
DeleteWhy did Bernard feel more isolated and alone in Church?
ReplyDeleteBernard felt more isolated and alone in Church then he already did because he couldn't feel the vibe everyone else was getting in Church. While everyone else was praising the 'higher being', he felt normal and differently then them. He felt a sense of emptiness. In the text it states, "He was as miserably isolated now...his unreplenished emptiness, his dead satiety" (86). Bernard began to feel separate from the church because spiritually they were being touched and conncected. He felt alone, as if eveyone left him right then and theere in that church to be with the Greater Being.
How does Brave New World fit the Characteristics of a dystopian Society?
ReplyDeleteBrave New World fits many characteristics of a dystopian society but one characteristic is that information, independent thought and freedom are restricted. In Brave New World the people are put into a type of caste system at conception, where they don't have the freedom to move up or down in the system, one is stuck where the controllers put them. While on a tour of the Hatchery the director explains how people are chosen for each caste. He reveals, "Nothing like oxygen- shortage for keeping an embryo below par. . . the lower the caste the shorter the oxygen. . . But in Epsilons we don't need human intelligence" (14-15). The controllers of this society limit the freedom of the people when they place them into these castes. These caste are also a constraint because the people cannot move about within these castes. These constraints helps to push the dystopian feel of Brave New World.
Does Brave New World have pieces of satire in it ?
ReplyDeleteBrave New World has many pieces of satire. One major piece of satire that one can see in Brave New World is the exaggeration of how babies are made. The society in Brave new World goes to such great lengths to make as many babies as possible to repopulate the world. At the Hatchery they can produce "Ninety-six identical twins to work ninety-six identical machines" (7). The idea of making 96 identical twins is obviously an exaggeration, but why would a society need to make these many people? The author of Brave New World wanted us in society to think about how many people we are loosing every single day. Everyday in a war, murder or suicide a life is lost and one day we will have to replace all those lost lives by making 96 identical twins.
Does Bernard often wants self-pity?
ReplyDeleteBernard does sometimes seem as if he wants self-pity based on things and he says and does. For instance in the church he went on and on about how he doesn't experience the Greater Being and how alone he feels. Throughout the chapter and the book he expresses his lonesome life and he separates himself from society. In the text it states, "And the outbursts of an abjects self-pity with which it alternated. And his deplorable habit of being bold after the event, and full, in absence, of the most extraordinary prescence of mind" (99). Helmholtz even expresses his dislike and acknowledgement of Bernard's sympthetic ways. He lists it as one of the few things he dislikes about Bernard because he doesn't quite frequently.
I have to disagree i don't think Bernard wants self-pity. I believe that he is starting to see the separations between the people in his society and he see's how he is at the bottom of the society and he hates the fact that people like Henry Foster were on top of society. In the text he describes how he felt saying," How bitterly he envied men like Henry Foster and Benito Hoover! Men who never had to shout at an Epsilon to get an order obeyed; men who took their position for granted; men who moved through the caste system as a fish through water--" (pg 65). So Bernard doesn't want pitty from anyone he wants to feel equal to or be like Henry because in society they have power and authority from the others below them.
DeleteWhy do characters in the book belive "savages" won't do any harm?
ReplyDeleteThe savages that the characters are referring to are Indians, I believe. Being that this book is about a dystopia, their realities are different then most. They kind of believe in the opposite. We associate savages with being distructive and harmful, while they know them as harmless. In the text it states, "'they're perfectly tame; savages won't do you any harm'" (106). Based on that excerpt from the text they believe that they have threatened and already had put fear ito the hearts of the Indians or "savages". They didn't feel a need to be scared of them any longer; they were comfortable.
I have to disagree with Samiyah after reading about the savages. I don't believes that the savages are Indians, I think the refer to the people that are more closely related to the human feelings that people of today are feeling. meaning the people that feel pain loss, extreme sadness. A pilot notices the savages and says, "They never learn... and they never will" (105). The pilot is referring to how those people are stuck in the old times, the old, outdated way of doing things, so they cant understand. That's what I think Huxley means by calling them savages.
DeleteWhy did the people of this dystopian believe it was necessary to leave behind the old world (our society)?
ReplyDeleteThe people thought that it was time for them to leave behind the world that we have today because they thought it was too destructive. The idea of monogamy is what was thought to be a huge reason of why life in the old world was too much, the people of this dystopian society believe that it is wrong and almost unnatural to stay with one person and one person alone. so they created a world where kids could be manufactured, so that people did not have to bear the burden of having to care for another human being and they make it acceptable and almost a rule to sleep with any and everybody that they please to. At a very young age they are taught to be sexually promiscuous, the text says the kids learned "elementary sex for the first forty minutes" (27). The society values the idea of sex and pleasure and doing what feels good, that is what it changed to. There was less responsibility in this world.
I agree with you Saieder but I want to play devil's advocate
DeleteThe people of this dystopian society felt the need to leave behind the old world(our society) because this was the only way there could be an existing dictatorship. Our society was left behind because of the director's own selfish wants to be in control. The text states,"Till at last the child's mind is these suggestion, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind...But all these suggestion's are our suggestions! The Director almost shouted in his triumph...He banged the nearest table."(29).Clearly, the Director has a want for power. He admires being in control of others lives and the main reason fro their moral and values. If anything, the desire to leave the old society behind came from him due to his want to rule and not just out of the thought that we were too destructive.
What are other ways people are separated in "Brave New World"
ReplyDeletePeople in "Brave New World" are not just distinguished by name but color as well.Each group must wear a certain color and are a certain color based on rank. The text states,"Delta Children wear Khaki...I don't want to play with Delta Children...They're too stupid to be able to read or write. Besides they were black, which is such a beastly colour...Alpha children wear grey"(27). Clearly, the people in society are also told apart based on their color they must wear and color of skin as well.
Proposed question:"Why are certain colors chosen for smart people and stupid people in this society? I.E: Blacks are stupid. What might this mean or show?
Another sign of a Dystopia in the book is you can tell that the government had control over the people, so much that it puts fear into them. In chapter 7, they show a secret that there is a women who use to live in society that had a baby, but because of the society she had to leave. When Lenina found this out it was shocking and kind of horrifying to her. In the text it says, " Linda was his mother ( the word made Lenina look uncomfortable)" (118). Lenina was so uncomfortable because she wasn't use to it. She see's her as disgusting because in that society what she did was unacceptable. Also for Linda to leave her society she had have fear in her heart about what the government would do to her if she stayed.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a question but i found something interesting in the book. Ok so i'm on chapter 10 and i think that this is the climax of the book because the relieved a big secret that could cause the system just like in the movie "The Minority Report" once the system falls the society falls. In the text it says, " he came in at once, paused for a moment just inside the door, looked round, then soft on his moccasined feet strode quickly across the room, fell on his knees in front of the Director, and said in a clear voice;" My father" (pg 151). So basically this is saying that the Director made Linda have her baby and he was the father. So to keep it from being known she was exiled from the town but now Bernard brought her back to revel the secret.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Lenina want soma?
ReplyDeleteLenina always seemed to want soma once she was places in awkward or uncomfortable situations. Soma was her outlet out of hard situations because once she was uncomfortable the topic of soma would appear within the book. When she witnessed festival activities that seemed a little inhumane amongst Indians she wanted soma to calm her down. In the text it states, "Astonishment made Lenina forget the deprivation of soma" (117). After coming face to face with problems of someone else from a tribal group, she no longer longed for soma in this particular instance. However before she was confronted she craved soma as an outlet and source of calm aid.
Why did Bernard feel so passionately about motherhood?
ReplyDeleteBernard felt so passionate about motherhood after seeing how the Indian women interacted with their children. He made it appoint to point it out to Lenina who wasn't so impressed. In the text it states, "I often think one may have missed something in not having had a mother" (112). He admired a mother and child's intimate relationship and tried to convince Lenina otherwise as well. He felt that people missed out by not having a mother and/or not experiencing motherhood. Lenina seemed to be a little embarrassed by the conversation.
Why was Lenina so afraid and uncomfortable around the Indians?
ReplyDeleteLenina was afraid and uncomfortable around the Indians because their living styles were of some she had not been familiar with nor exposed to. They grew up differently then her and she wasn't use to the rawness of how they lived day to day. Seeing the Indian man climbing a ladder almost startled her because of his appearance. In the text states, "'what's the matter with him?...old?... But the director's old; lots of people are old; they're not like that'" (110). Lenina was totally ignorant to an old Indian man. Even seeing Indian women breast feed babies mad he turn her head because they were out in the open with no care in the world.
Why is the history often discouraged in this novel?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the past is discouraged as a way to maintain the control of everyone. For instance having a family and parents are frowned upon because it is of the past." Brave New World" states,"most historical facts are unpleasant..for you must remember that in those days of gross viviparous reproduction, children were always brought up by their parents and not in the State Conditioning Centres"(24). Clearly, the past is frowned upon because it does not keep the business of the State Conditioning in order and does not allow the Director to control everyone. If people can not compare their lives to something else they will not want differently. They will not want to possibly have families, they will just enjoy their lives of being controlled and continue to want it.
Why are strong emotions dangerous?
ReplyDeleteEmotions are dangerous because they also do not allow for a stable government or happiness. The text states,"What with mothers and lovers, what with the prohibitions they were not conditioned to obey, what with the temptations and the lonely remorses, what with all the diseases and the endless isolating pain, what with the uncertainties and the poverty—they were forced to feel strongly. And feeling strongly (and strongly, what was more, in solitude, in hopelessly individual isolation), how could they be stable?"(41). Emotions would mean that people would form bonds and would try to change the unfair treatment of their loved ones. Emotions also caused people to feel sad and not always happy. The cancellation of emotions causes happiness and assures that the unfair treatment of citizens can continue on without rebellion.
Why is hypnopaedia important?
ReplyDeleteHypnopaedia is important because it maintains the citizens to be conformed. The text states in chapter 6,"A gramme is always better than a damn . . . A gramme in time saves nine . . . One cubic centimetre cures ten gloomy sentiments . . . Everybody’s happy nowadays . . . Every one works for every one else . . . When the individual feels, the community reels . . . Never put off till to-morrow the fun you can have to-day . . . Progress is lovely". This is one of the daily phrases cited. It represents the values that were expected and upheld in the society. They did this everyday as a way to brainwash the citizens. Clearly, the hypnopaedia was important because it helped to brainwash the citizens into being controlled.
END OF Q3
DeleteWhy did John want to know what it was like to be crucified?
ReplyDeleteJohn wanted to know what it was like to crucified so the feeling could motivate him to keep going despite being alone, just like Jesus. He compared crucifixion to Jesus and connected it to loneliness. He felt if Jesus withstood his troubles and tribulations he can do the same. In an excerpt from the text it states, "'If Jesus could stand it. And then, if one has done something wrong... Besides, I was unhappy; that was another reason.'" (138). Pretending he was being crucified was John's way of curing his unhappiness and getting passed it. It was sort of like his motivations. Instead of taking soma to kill his uneasiness and pain, he simply envisioned being crucified.
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ReplyDeleteWhy weren't Twins allowed in Eton?
ReplyDeleteTwins weren't allowed in Eton because they were believed to cause complications. The director preferred to have one egg assigned to one adult. They also thought about the responsibilities that the eggs might have to encounter once they become humans, and having twins would be difficult. In the text it states, "It makes education more difficult of course. But as they'll be called upon to take responsibilities and deal with unexpected emergencies, it can't be helped" (161). Eton was reserved exclusively for upper-caste boys and girls. Education was valued and thought about well before they egg began to fully develop. They took account the importance of having independent eggs.
Why did the Penitentes began to beat themselves up?
ReplyDeleteThe Penitentes began to beat themselves up to make each other laugh. They did this for entertainment purposes. It was their own way of keeping their humor up and entertaining themselves. In the text it states, "...the Penitentes rose to their feet, stripped off their upper garments and, with knotted whips, began to beat themselves, blow after blow. Redoubled, the laughter drowned" (162). They thought it was humorous and funny to strike blows at one another. It seemed odd, but that was how they kept themselves busy and occupy.
i agree with her statement but however i don't think that the kids thought it was funny, i believe that just how they were taught to not like certain things they were taught that this was okay. On page 162 it says, "Why? The Provost turned towards him a still broadly grinning face Why because it's so extraordinarily funny." This meaning that he thinks it's okay and since he thinks that he put them ideas on the people on society. So just like in the beginning when they did it its just another example. People in a dystopia don't have a freedom of thought so they aren't doing this because they think its funny they do it because the hatchery does.
DeleteWhat is Soma?
ReplyDeleteFrom inference in the text i can infer that Soma is some type of drug they give the people in the society to make them feel numb to things. I can infer this because in the text it gives a lot of clues saying, " Soma may make you lose a few years in time," to me this means that when taking this it make the person go through things faster or feel numb to time. When they say lose a few years in time meaning the drug make them feel as though the years are going by fast. Soma may be a way for the hatchery to keeps it people in the community for years so they don't really know
Yes Kristina, Soma in this novel is definitely a sedative. It sedates the citizens and definitely allows for the controlling of them. The text decribes Soma as,"Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant." Clearly, Soma does have some drug like effects.
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