Brave New World, Part 1
Some Basics About the World State
• The World State: The name for the central government
that controls the entire world in Brave New World.
• The World State is run by people who have the title of
“World Controller.” Mustapha Mond is one of these
people.
• The “D.H.C.” or “The Director” is the “Director of
Hatcheries and Conditioning” for London, where much
of Brave New World takes place.
• The year is stated as “632 AF,” which means 632 After
Ford. The World State starts its calendar in the year
Ford produced the Model T, which means the novel
take place in 2540 AD, our time.
The Caste System
• Castes: Social classes with no possibility for upward (or
downward) mobility.
• In the World State there are five castes, predetermined at
birth by manipulation of the embryos during development:
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Alphas
Betas
Gammas
Deltas
Epsilons
• Castes are named after the first five letters of the Greek
alphabet (in fact, we get our word “alphabet” from “alpha
beta”).
• Children (and sometimes, but not always, adults) of each
caste wear a specific color associated with their caste, and are
conditioned to be happy that they are a member of their
caste and no other.
The Society of Brave New World
• Group work: How does The World State (the society
portrayed in the novel) approach the following issues?
How might this be a critique of Huxley’s own society?
Can you make any comparisons between Brave New
World and what we learned about Utopia? Each group
should have several quotes to discuss with the class.
• Group 1: Equality
• Group 2: Individuality
• Group 3: Emotion (both good and bad)
• Group 4: Consumerism
• Group 5: Sexuality
• Group 6: Nature
This is an idea novel…
• As I said before, this novel is light on character
development, heavy on ideas. With that in mind, here are
some characters through whom Huxley gives us a big does
of the philosophy and attitude about human nature that is
the basis for the World State:
• The Director’s Tour of the Hatchery and Conditioning
Center tells us a lot about how the World State thinks about
scientific progress, individuality, child-rearing, etc. This is
where Huxley hits us in the face with how different this
place is.
• The World Controller, who joins the tour on p. 34, is
basically a mouthpiece for the World State, explaining why
the World State did things like abolish families and get rid
of emotion.
But the Characters Do Matter…
• What makes Bernard stand out? Why is he
different from the rest of the Alphas?
• How about Helmholtz? (Bernard’s writer friend)
How is he different?
• Lenina also stands out from the crowd. What
makes her different from others like her?
– Lenina’s name is unusual because she is named after
Soviet leader Vladamir Lenin – note that the World
State admires Communist conformity and efficiency
while at the same time embracing the consumerism
and materialism more often associated with
Capitalism.
The Solidarity Service
• The section that we read for today ended with
the “Solidarity Service” (otherwise known as
the “orgy porgy” scene) on p. 78-86. What
purpose does this quasi-religious ritual serve
for the “World State”?
• How does this scene relate to the themes of
lost individuality and the relationship of
individuals to society?
Brave New World as Response to
Utopia
• Brave New World and other works of dystopian fiction
make some fundamentally different assumptions about
human nature than Thomas More did when he wrote
Utopia.
• In Utopia, the Utopians follow the strict rules because,
More believes, Utopians’ ability to reason tells them
that following the rules will lead to a better life for
everyone.
• Huxley is not to optimistic about human nature. In the
World State, people follow the rules not because they
have decided to, but because they are conditioned to
follow them.
Some other echoes of Utopia to
watch out for…
• In Utopia, people are able to do productive,
fulfilling work. If they were inclined to a job,
they could be adopted into a family who
would teach them that job. No one lacks work,
and everyone has a job that they enjoy (most
of the time… unless they’re farming).
• In Brave New World, everyone has work, but
there are significant differences. What are
they?
Some other echoes of Utopia to
watch out for…
• In Utopia, the sick and the dying are well
cared for, and the terminally ill are given the
option to commit suicide as not to take up
resources from the rest of the community.
• In Brave New World, you will eventually see
how the World State treats the sick and dying.
Compare their treatment of these people to
the country of Utopia’s.
Some other echoes of Utopia to
watch out for…
• In Utopia, education and the development of the
mind are of the highest importance.
• In the World State, books are deemed dangerous.
What fundamental difference between the two
societies does this show?
• In both Utopia and the World State, each
individual is expected to act and live for the good
of the community, but what does it mean to act
for the good of the community in each society?