Class, Race, and Physical Bodies in Brave New World
In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, physical bodies directly correlate to class. Physical bodies of
abnormal growth often mark difference from society and indicate lower class standing. Race also plays a role in
physical bodies and class. The issue of race in Brave New World exists on a continuum in which lower class
standing correlates to darker skin tone: conversely, the higher the caste, the whiter the individual. Lastly,
comparisons between insects/animals and characters in the book provide insightful commentary into the nature
of class relations in Brave New World.
The lower-caste people of the book are given alcohol during the embryonic stage so as to stunt their
proper growth and development. While the use of drugs in Brave New World is overwhelmingly dominated by
the golden recreational drug, soma, alcohol is viewed in the society as poison. Lower caste embryos are “dosed
almost to death with alcohol,” during development (Huxley 7). The standard result is “a stunted Epsilonhood”
(146). Bernard Marx, an Alpha Plus, is lower in stature than his colleagues of the same class. He is physically
defect and at numerous times in the text this defect is attributed to “alcohol in his blood-surrogate,” (64).
Bernard is seen as an outsider in his own caste, presumably a result of his mishandled embryo. While Bernard
and Lenina are visiting the Savage Reservation, they find a woman of Beta-Minus status who was lost on the
Reservation many years before. When they meet Linda, she “simply reeked of that beastly stuff that was put
into Delta and Epsilon bottles” and “positively stank of alcohol,” (119). So when a Beta-Minus like Linda stays
with the Savages for too long she is reduced to the level of a Delta or Epsilon when back in the brave new
world. Another description of Linda reveals that her “nails were black,” (119) further enhancing her
transformation and downgrade in class as a result of living amongst the Savages. Perhaps this adverse nature of
alcohol in the brave new world is Huxley’s comment on alcohol usage in the society of Huxley’s time.
The majority of the Savage Reservation population has dark skin. Lenina and Bernard meet an elder and
“his face was profoundly wrinkled and black, like a mask of obsidian,” (110). Similarly, the majority of the
lower caste members of society in the brave new world are black. For example, the hangars for the helicopters
were staffed “by a single Bokanovsky Group” in which “the men were twins, identically small, black and
hideous,” (64). At the beginning of the book, Mr. Foster says, “‘You should see the way a negro ovary responds
to pituitary! It’s quite astonishing, when you’re used to working with European material,’” (9). Mr. Foster was
discussing the Bokanovsky Process during this time, so it is inferred that only Bokanovskified eggs are of
“negro” descent, thus the reason they are the first choices for Deltas and Epsilons. Since both the lower-caste
members of the brave new world and the Savages are black, this shows how they are relatively close in class
standing.
The race of the Savages is further underscored through the comparisons between Savages and animals.
For example, when John is relaying his memories on the Reservation to Bernard, he remembers that Popé was
“like a black snake trying to strangle her [Linda],” (132). The “black” is in reference to Popé skin color, and
snakes are, at least in Western culture, the animal archetype of evil. Later, during an exchange between Bernard
and the Director back at the Hatchery in London, the Director replies to Bernard, “‘Yes-s,’ […] lingering, a
serpent, on the ‘s,’” (148). This encounter foreshadows the Director’s imminent meeting with Linda, whom he
had left at the Reservation so long ago, and equalizes the Director and Popé.
Another instance of comparisons between black people and animals occurs when Lenina and John attend
the feely. The premise of the feely is that a concussion destroyed a “gigantic negro’s” conditioning. As a result,
he developed “an exclusive and maniacal passion” for a “Beta blonde,” (168). After a “sensational kidnapping,”
the Beta blonde was “ravished away into the sky” and kept there for three weeks until “three handsome young
Alphas succeeded in rescuing her,” (168). The negro was shipped off to an Adult Re-conditioning Centre. This
“feely” sounds strangely comparable to the plot of the film King Kong, which came out right around the time
Huxley published Brave New World. If this assertion is valid, then essentially Huxley likens an abnormally
huge black gorilla to a black man.
Just as race is compared to animals in Brave New World, similarities between Deltas and Epsilons and
insects can be drawn from the text. On numerous occasions, the Bokanovskified twins are compared to insects,
which highlight both their unity and insignificance.
One example of this is when Lenina and Henry hovered in their helicopter over London: “the
approaches to the monorail station were black with ant-like pullulation of lower-caste activity,” (73). This
description equates the lower-caste with ants, which are numerous and inconsequential. Moreover, this scene
literally places Lenina and Henry above the lower caste members to match their figuratively elevated position
on the hierarchical ladder of the society.
References to bees are abundant in Brave New World as well. A description of the Central London
Hatchery and Conditioning Center is “Buzz, buzz! The hive was humming, busily, joyfully,” (147). It can be
deduced that the brave new world is just like a beehive: there is a Queen, the World Controller, there are drones,
the upper-caste members of the society that cannot contribute to feeding the community but are in charge of
reproduction, and finally, the workers, which provide food and stability for the rest of the hive while still
inconsequential and easily replaced.
At the foot of Linda’s deathbed, John becomes overwhelmed with a series of “eight-year-old male
twins” in khaki (201). Soon, “the ward was maggoty with them,” (201). Another reference to the Deltas later
states: “Like maggots they had swarmed defilingly over the mystery of Linda’s death. Maggots again, but
larger, full grown, they now crawled across his grief and repentance,” (209). This comparison of maggots and
Delta children explains a few things. The first is the situation: maggots usually appear in dead animals, and the
jargon is befitting for the situation because Linda is on her deathbed. Furthermore, maggots are typically viewed
as a grotesque nuisance, which perfectly suits John’s state of mind at the time. Maggots are also the larva of
flies, hence the reason the Delta children are referred to as maggots instead of flies.