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?
Monday, June 13, 2011
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?
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?
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When I read that part, I was like highlighthighlighthighlight. I thought it might be an epigraph, even though I don't completely know what an epigraph is -- I just feel like with all of the details of the predestination process, the quote miiight be indicative of the theme. But I don't really know.
ReplyDeleteBryan!
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