Brave New World Entry #5

Bethany #5

                In answer to your questions, I agree with you on the soma rationing for the lower castes. I believe the government has programmed the alphas to take soma and have also programmed them to know that it is dangerous to take too much. They extend control over the lower castes by controlling everything about them. In chapter 17, the ford mentions that an “alpha-conditioned man would go mad if he had to do Epsilon Semi-moron work…Alphas can be completely socialized” (222). This shows the difference between the two castes. Alphas are programmed to be different and they think they are superior to everyone else. That is why I think they can handle the soma rationing on their own, because it’s been programmed into them.

                I also agree with you about Lenina liking men who are different. I think she is a representation of those who follow the guidelines of society and do not want to stand out but is not satisfied with the way society actually is. I also think John does in fact love Lenina. When he’s with her, he tries to do something heroic so that he is worth of her and states “some kinds of baseness are nobly undergone. I’d like to undergo something nobly.” (190). In today’s standards, a man doing something noble for a women is starting to diminish. It is starting to become abnormal for men to be gentlemen. This shows the values of the time period. If he only loved her for her looks, then he would try to have sex with her and he wouldn’t want to do something noble because his feelings for her are shallow.

                The death condition was horrible because it reminded me of my grandmother’s death. In this book, they make death seem so normal and unimportant. The fact that John’s own mother could not even recognize him in her death broke my heart because I believe one of the greatest things about being a human is being able to have close relationships with others and depending on each other. Just like most people who lose someone they are close to, he tries to recall her words “How beautiful her singing had been! And those childish rhymes, how magically strange and mysterious.” (201). Even the things he remembers about her are manufactured things that are not meant to have any emotional meanings.

                The end of this book was so intense! All the things that society is made of came out in chapters 17 and 18! All the questions I had about why things are the way they are were basically answered! Because this is a consumer-based world, The Controller states that “Beauty’s attractive, and we don’t want people to be attracted by old things. We want them to like the new ones.” (219). This idea that the government wants the people to be attracted to what they give them shows their need for control over the situation. Mustapha Mond goes on to say that “We believe in happiness and stability” (222). They give up things like beauty, emotions, love, and science so that society can be stable. I see the benefits of a society like this but it’s not reflective of reality. I’m reminded of what Mr. Dyck said a couple of days ago. He mentioned that when he is counseling clients, he describes a perfect world and then he describes a world filled with mistakes. He then asks them to choose which world they want to live in and they always chose the “messed-up” world because the perfect world is unbelievable. That is what is happening here. What do you think about the world that we live in and the world that they live in.

                Finally, a lot of stuff happens to John in the end. What do you think about it and why do you think the author writes the ending this way?

Brave New World Entry #4

Bethany #4

I agree with you about the culture being a combination of different cultures. I think the author created this culture to represent known cultures of the time that the book was written. I also think the author wrote this section so that the readers could reflect on their own religions and compare them to the society that is completely religion-free.

In response to your question about John’s phrase “Oh brave new world that has such people in it” (160), I think that because he grew up in a completely different world but saw the effect of the two different societies on his mother, he is hesitant of the society that he has just stepped in to. I think he’s astonished at how different things are and how people act. He had an idea about this new world from his mother but when he really joined society, the actual way things are surprised him. I think this really comes out when Lenina takes him to the feely and his reaction afterwards. On the way home the book states that he was “bound by strong vows that had never been pronounced, obedient to laws that had long since ceased to run” (170). I think that the vows the author is talking about are actually the moral laws. John grew up in a society that had specific morals and so John knows the moral law. The movie had so many perverted and sexualized concepts in it that he was uncomfortable and awkward, so much so that he could not even speak to Lenina without being strained. Do you think the people of this society have moral laws or do they know the difference between right and wrong?

I found it interesting that you asked me about Bernard’s character change because all that popularity blows up in his face in chapter 12. Bernard’s popularity was soley based on the fact that he brought back the “savage”. Everyone goes back to thinking that “it’s absolutely true about the alcohol” (174) almost instantly after finding out that the “savage” would not be joining them for dinner. The façade that Bernard had built up through his popularity is so thin that one small thing shatters it. This section also shows how self-centered everyone is. The author mention that, for the guests, “ the higher their position in the hierarchy, the deeper their resentment” (173). Also, Lenina thinks that “John had refused to come because he didn’t like her. He didn’t like her” (174). Everyone acts so entitled and Lenina thinks that the only reason why John didn’t come, shows a self-centered attitude.  To me, the society was designed to be perfect but in reality, all the good and honest traits of humanity were lost and replaced by traits like self-centeredness and greed. What do you think of the society and what it reflects on our own society.

Things come to a breaking point when Lenina visits John at his apartment. He quotes poetry quite a bit, especially from Shakespeare. Why do you think he does this and why do you think the author chose Shakespeare? Also, what do you think of Lenina’s relationship with John and John’s relationship with Lenina?

Brave New World Journal #3

I found the section on the “Savage Reservation” very dark and disturbing. I think the author wrote this section to be dark on purpose because we’re seeing them from Bernard and Lenina’s perspective. The most disturbing part of the whole section, for me, was the scene with the ritual dancing and the whipping of the boy. Lenina kept sobbing “Too awful… too awful! That blood” (116). The way the author described it was almost chaotic and hypnotic at the same time. As readers, we are experiencing it as the two “society” members would but for us, we have an advantage of knowing that the ritual is a normal thing for this culture. As for Linda, I think that the “society” has brainwashed her so much that even if she spent her entire life there, her entire being resists that culture because that is the way she is designed.

I also agree with you about the Soma drug. The fact that it is so readily available concerns me but I believe they use it so much because they do not have the willpower to handle anything uncomfortable. Their brains are designed for them so I think that is why they are so weak. The lessons that we learn as children about handling difficulties and moving through the awkwardness of life are not taught to them and the only way they handle those moments is through drugs. When Linda returns to the “social” world, she cannot even join everyone else because of her need for the drug. The long withdrawal from the drug was so traumatic and when she actually gets the drug, “the holiday it gave was perfect” (154).  Her need for it shows the control that the government has over their people.

The fact that Bernard and Lenina brought back John really surprised me. Because he was from a different culture, I figured that the government would never ever allow something like this to change their perfect society! I also found it interesting because everyone else wants to me the “savage”. Barnard became popular and “only had to hint at the possibility of an invitation, and he could have whichever of them he liked” (156). I thought people wanted to be the same and to blend in with society. Because Bernard was different, everyone did not like him. Why do you think everyone wants to be associated with him now that he brought back the “savage”? Also, what do you think John thinks about this new life?