Brave New World
Notes on Imperialism
Imperialism~Its Definitions
• “Acquisition by a government of other
governments or territories, or of economic or
cultural power over other nations or territories,
often by force. Colonialism is a form of
imperialism” (Hirsch 95).
• Britain was renown for this practice~especially in
Africa, Japan, and India during the reign of Queen
Victoria (1837-1901).
How it Pertains to BNW
• Note the role of the government in BNW
• The imposed caste system
• The hypnopaedic lessons on
society/mores/views (a.k.a. propaganda)
• The prevailing ideology~”glad I’m not an
Epsilon…”
• Note how when Lenina is told if she were of
another caste, then she’ be talking trash about
the other (including hers) castes just as well.
Textual Evidences of Imperialism in
Brave New World (1932)
• “…and we looked at the savages…” (Huxley 96).
• Extremely common for any invading country to refer to
natives as savages (Hollywood did this repeatedly in its
early twentieth century westerns! So, you could say
imperialism does not exist merely in novels and texts.)
• Just because people may dress totally contrary to what
you wear, or dance, eat, work, play, et`c. totally
different than you, it doesn’t meat these people aren’t
civilized. They have a civilization~it’s just different than
yours.
• Vocabulary ~solecism~a blunder, or mistake in speech
Can You Find a Scholarly Article on
Imperialism in Brave New World ?
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Here’s all you do:
Go to CSUB Home Page
Click on Walter Stiern Library
Click on Research Databases
Scroll down to JStor
Type in Imperialism in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
Navigate around until you find a scholarly journal that offers up an interesting
article title and see if that is the one you want
Found in Translation. Taking one paragraph, paraphrase it, and add your own
analysis. I doubt if you can copy and paste the paragraph text, so just print out
ONE PAGE of your research, type up about ten to twelve lines of text in the left
column, turn into the walking talking thesaurus for the middle column as you
determine which synonyms will work best for your middle paraphrased
column~don’t forge the MLA!!!!! Finally, in the third column, do your literary
analysis of the text. What do you think is going on in the writer’s heart, mind,
soul? What are the author’s intentions? What is the author’s motive for saying
what he/she is saying? If you cannot begin this last analytical column any other
way, begin with these three words: I think that…