Brave New World Entry #1

Shimasaki, Entry #1 on Brave New World

            The first thing I noticed when I read this first section was how ridged their society is. The beginning introduces the Director as a very commanding figure who is described as “Tall and rather thin but upright… had a long chin and big rather prominent teeth” (Huxley 4). This brings an image of a tall, handsome man who is all about protocol rather than emotion. When the Director is showing the new students around the factory, everything is described as very mechanical and scientific. The Director even describes the production of humans in a very mechanical way, stating “Eight minutes of hard X-rays… a few died; the least susceptible divided into two; most put out four buds… by which time the original egg was in a fair way to becoming anything from eight to ninety-six embryos” (6-7). The author sets up the scene and mood of the book by describing the machines used to create humans. It creates a very sterile situation that reeks of order, suppression, and monotony.

What do you think about the section talking about torturing the babies to ingrain in them a fear of flowers or books? That section ties in to the other sections that talk about the sleeping children and how they are influenced by words. I thought it was very interesting because of similar tests done in real life. I know that people learn information more efficiently if they learn things before going to bed. I do not know if this is where he gets his information or if this was made up by the author but there is some real-life tie-ins. Two final questions: What do you think of the part about the children’s erotic games? I do not understand the purpose but it set a very creepy tone to the whole book and when I read it, I felt digested and slightly violated. The second question is why do you think the author formatted the last chapter of the section in the way he did? I found the fragmented conversations highly confusing. It was a different way of writing which I had never seen before and the author probably did this to be confusing, adding to the overall tone of the book.