The Snow White Mood

"Buzz, buzz!  the hive was humming, busily, joyfully.  Blithe was the singing of the young girls over their test-tubes, the Predestinators whistled as they worked, and in the Decanting Room what glorious jokes were cracked above the empty bottles!"  Brave New World (p. 147)

First things first... is Huxley making a reference to Snow White, or did Disney steal this idea from Brave New World?

According to my research, the Disney film was released in 1937... Brave New World was published in 1932.

So yes, famous literature influences even children's animation.  Yay, literature!   

The quote listed above created a happy, busy mood at the Bloomsbury Centre.  Although the author paints a picture of an industrious, futuristic, distant world in previous chapters, this is the first time that I can recall where the people who worship Ford act animated and with some emotion.  The author potrays a happy mood through actions such as singing, whistling, and joking.  Also, adjectives such as "joyfully" and "young" create a carefree environment. 

Moods help the reader pick up on what might happen next.  Also, a reader can feel more in touch with a character.  In this case, the carefree, jolly mood will soon be crushed by the angry Director.  However, it will pick back up at the end of the chapter when all the workers laugh at poor John who claims the Director to be his father.  Again, he finds he doesn't fit in.  I think John would be better off in Snow White...

One Dangerous Bird

The most feared of all birds.

"Very slowly, with the hesitating gesture of one who reaches forward to stroke a shy and possibly rather dangerous bird, he put out his hand.  It hung there trembling, within an inch of those limp fingers, on the verge of contact.  Did he dare?  Dare to profane with his unworthiest hand that.. No, he didn't.  The bird was too dangerous." Brave New World (p. 144)

Hm... in one word, I would have to describe this chapter as creepy.

First of all, the breaking of the window.  Why?  Was the door actually even locked?  Secondly, I don't think a normal man would wear a woman's perfume and scarves.  And the Shakespeare quotes... instead of romantic Shakespearean rhetoric, I honestly thought I was reading some kind of Edgar Allen Poe horror poem.

The excerpt at the top of the page contains an analogy comparing Lenina to a dangerous bird.  A bird, because Lenina is a gentle, new creature to John.  Dangerous because John has no idea how Lenina lives or what her personality is really like.  The author places this image in the mind of the reader in order to show how something gentle and unknown can be secretly dangerous at the same time. 

John has no idea what he has gotten himself into, but I'm sure he will soon find out.  Marriage?  He might as well forget that.  I feel bad for the kid, but I honestly think he is barking up the wrong tree.  Maybe he should try a less intruding approach...

This could really be a good life...

"O brave new world," he repeated.  "O brave new world that has such people in it.  Let's start at once."  Brave New World (p. 139)

Yes, this quote does have the title of the book in it.  

Beyond that point, John (one of the savages) made this statement as he was offered to travel with Lenina and Bernard out of the reservation.  When I first read this, I was confused because how in the world are the guards going to let "savages" out into their homes?  Isn't that kinda like releasing a tiger out of its cage?

 Anyways, I thought this excerpt represented an internal conflict pretty well.  Internal conflicts add to the drama and external conflicts in the story.  John wants to escape from his "prison" - start a new life, maybe even find people that are similar to him.  He feels trapped at the reservation - every person who lives where he calls home has dark skin and dark hair, while he has light skin and hair.  From the stories he hears from Linda, John believes he can belong in the Other Place.

Personally, I think he will find the exact same (if not worse) problem in the Other Place.  All the clans and groups of Lenina and Bernard's world are conditioned to do certain things.  Since John does not belong to any type of clan, he will probably find himself ostracized from the groups.

This part of the story reminded me of the movie Avatar.  Jake Sully, the main character who is paralyzed from the waste down, agrees to control an avatar in order to have a normal life once again.  He wants to start over in order to fit in with a new crowd of people.  However, the "blue people" soon realize he is different, and once again, he is treated negatively for this reason. 

Don't worry.  There is still happy ending.  :)

Ending in Epistrophes

"There's so much one doesn't know; it wasn't my business to know."  Brave New World (p. 122)

In Chapter 7, we are introduced to the "savages" of the novel.  One of those savages was named Linda, "a very stout blonde" whose "front teeth were missing."  Behind her image, Linda's past was actually exactly like that of Bernard and Lenina.  She too was formed from blood-surrogate and conditioning.  However, she accidentally became pregnant, and was banished to the reserve.

Linda says this quote in light of not knowing what to teach her son because she was never conditioned to raise a child.  This sentence demonstrates an epistrophe (both clauses end with the word "know").  This literary device emphasizes the word "know" showing Linda's lack of knowing really anything.  Where did this lack of knowledge come from?  The answer is her past (which [by the way] is one of the most fun cards to get in a game of Apples to Apples.  Glamorous:  My Past.  Dirty: My Past).

Anyways, the question soon becomes: Is conditioning really beneficial in the end?  If a person is only taught to do one thing, he or she would be extremely limited.  While technology may benefit society, it can also cause many limitations.  Without personally experiencing things, one can really never learn.                                                                                  

This blog is starting to sound like a cheesy advice book on life...

 

Savages, Savages

"Uphill and down, across the deserts of salt or sand, through forests, into the violet depth of canyons, over crag and peak and table-topped mesa, the fence marched on and on, irresistibly the straight line, the geometrical symbol of triumphant human purpose." Brave New World (p. 105)

Through this entire chapter, I could not help but think of the movie Pocahontas.  I'm not sure if it was just because the word "savage" was mentioned over and over or just the fact that I love Disney movies way too much. 

Either way, this movie actually has some relation to this chapter.  

In the story of Pocahontas, Europeans come to a "strange land" filled with things they had never seen before; therefore, they automatically assume everything that is different from their own culture is corrupt and immoral.  The Europeans feel like they hold "superiority" over the Indians.  This leads to violence and conflicts.

This seems to be a common theme through history.  In the history of the United States, Indians were forced out of their own native land only because they were different.  Even today, a fence, like the one mentioned in the excerpt above, separates the borders of the US and Mexico.  In the novel Brave New World, Huxley repeats this theme.  The races formed from blood-surrogates and conditioning feel as if they are superior to all other types of humans and peoples.  Therefore, they exclude themselves from anything considered "different," and consider all others to be savages.  

Does this really solve anything?

Now, here is the song I have had stuck in my head ever since I started reading this chapter.

 

Ardent Alliterations

"Lenina remembered her first shock of fear and surprise; her speculations through half a wakeful hour; and then, under the influence of those endless repetitions, the gradual soothing of her mind, the soothing, the smoothing, the stealthy creeping of sleep...." Brave New World (p. 74)

As we all remember from our days of AP Lang, alliterations are a repetition of the same or similar consonant sound in words that are close together.  Reading this passage, I was reminded the dreaded Analysis essay, and how (at the beginning of the year) I could never follow Mrs. Sander's train of thought.

Now, I can see how an alliteration demonstrates how the author conveys his message to the reader.  The "s" words create a kind of hissing noise in the mind of the reader.  This harsh sound conveys the author's disapproval of new, "breakthrough" technology such as playing recorded, repeating messages over and over while a child sleeps.  

The harsh alliteration is also paired with negative diction such as "creeping" and "endless."  These words also show disapproval toward technology of the day.  "Creeping" is followed by something that is meant to be peaceful - sleep.  These words are juxtaposed to represent how simple, everyday actions can be contaminated by new technology.         

Thank you Mrs. Sander.

Even though this video has nothing to do with the passage (actually quite the opposite), here is a famous example of an alliteration.  You can't beat Louis!

The Ugly Duckling?

"But whereas the physically defective Bernard had suffered all his life from the consciousness of being separate, it was only quite recently that, grown aware of his mental excess, Helmholtz Watson had also become aware of his difference from the people who surrounded him."  Brave New World (p. 67)

Thus far, the novel has introduced individuals who look exactly the same as their neighbor.  These "humans" were cultured from the same cells to become basically the same bodies.  But yet, every person is still different.

Every person we have met in the novel has had their own unique personality.  Although everyone is similar in appearance, the "races" or "clans" of people are still not perfect.  The excerpt above shows the struggles of Bernard and Helmholtz Watson - both realize that they are different than everyone else.  However are they the only ones that are different?  Bernard's appearance gives away his unique characteristics, yet Helmholtz appears to be normal because of his appearance.  Because he has his own personality and personal thoughts, Helmholtz is unique.

During the time period the author lived in, cloning was probably a new idea.  Although we have not accomplished cloning humans, sheep such as Dolly and other organisms have been cloned.  It is still questioned whether cloning should be morally allowed today.  The author is trying to show that while cloning may create individuals that look exactly the same, they are still individuals.  Each clone would have their own unique set of characteristics.  Therefore, the dangerous act of cloning would not be worth it in the end.

Allusions of Power

"The students nodded, emphatically agreeing with a statement which upwards of sixty-two thousand repetitions in the dark had made them accept, not merely as true, but as axiomatic, self-evident, utterly indisputable."  Brave New World (p. 40)

Chapter 3's main goal is to explain the way of what we would consider the normal, moral people today.  However, the students absorbing the information set forth by the Director are extremely appalled.  They wonder how these people could possibly be happy with their restricted and limited lives.  Personally, I believe rules and regulations benefit our society.  

In the quote above, Huxley alludes to the Declaration of Independence made by the early United States ("We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...")  Just as the United States wanted independence from Great Britain, the revolution of technology also seeks independence.  During Huxley's time, genetic engineering and other forms of technology were just starting to develop.  These scientists were seeking ways to be less dependent on the human body and more dependent on machines and engineering.

Also, the reference to the Declaration of Independence shows just how much power the Director has over the "students."  The Declaration of Independence was a source of power because it started a revolution of independence from Great Britain.  In the same way, the Director is a major source of power in the story.  

The Silent Scream of Normality

"The stiffly twitching bodies relaxed, and what had become the sob and yelp of infant maniacs broadened out once more into a normal howl of ordinary terror."  (Brave New World p. 21)

Let me begin with saying, in my life terror is usually not ordinary.  If that is the case in your life, I am sorry.

In Chapter 2, Aldous Huxley places the oxymoron "ordinary terror" after children are tortured with electrical shock and loud noises.  Ordinary is juxtaposed with terror to show how every day in the lives of the young, perfect Delta children is a struggle.  The children must struggle in order to reach the "perfection" adults in no ordinary way.  The Director speaks of "Social stability" - could this be so ordinary that it leads to terror? 

The author may also want to show that not everything is as great as it seems.  Even though these children are perfect replicas of one another, they each suffer individually.  Their lives are filled with hardships and loneliness because no variety exists.  Their lives are glum and boring.  Everything is ordinary.  Although every kid wishes to be ordinary, is it really worth it in the end?

Ironic Beginnings

"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." (Brave New World p. 16)

Brave New World does not start with subtle beginnings.  Instead of lightly letting the reader know the dangers of science, the reader is hit over the head with how science can lead to the polluting of human virtues and morals.  In the excerpt above, the normal cliche of "loving what you do" is twisted into an ironic meaning.  In the first chapter, students are introduced to a kind of "human factory" which is said to  produce "social stability" and "normality."  The embryos are conditioned to do one thing in life.  They have one destiny, and it cannot be changed; therefore, factory workers force embryos to like what they are meant to do.  To me, this seems a little ironic.  Usually, people live their lives experiencing new things and discovering their likes and dislikes.  Choosing someone's life path for them usually leads to unpleasant or opposite results.  For example, in the movie The Notebook, Allie's parents blatantly encourage her to marry a rich man in order to fulfill her social expectations.  However, she falls in love with a poor man named Noah instead.  Even though she tries to marry a rich man, she chooses her own path in the end and marries Noah.  I know this is a stereotypically chick flick type of movie, but it really does bring about what really happens when forcing someone to do something.  How can force lead to positive results when rebellion usually follows?  Does happiness come from a chosen destiny or finding destiny oneself?  Are we all really trapped inside an inescapable reality?