Saturday, June 25, 2011

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.
 

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