Chapter Three
Chapter 3 introduces many of the main
philosophical issues within the novel.
Huxley presents the social necessities for
perfect stability within his society. These
include the role of consumption, the
interplay between sexuality and emotions,
the role of history, and the redefinition of
religion.
Consumption
• Consumption is viewed as beneficial to
society. The society believes that more
consumption means that the more goods
will have to be made. This will increase the
number of jobs and keep the society fully
employed. Consumption is increased
through hypnopaedic phrases which tell
people to throw away old clothes and buy
new and conditioning in each caste.
Sexuality and Emotions
• Because monogamy, sex, and family ties
generate most human emotions, Utopian society
embraces the opposite: promiscuity and baby
factories. The goal is to eradicate emotions by
replacing them with pure sexual desire and
nothing else. This, combined with the baby
factories, destroys family life and monogamous
relationships. Emotions are therefore directed
mostly by the state, which is necessary for social
control and stability. The goal in the Brave New
World is to eliminate sexual emotions.
History
• History and religion are viewed as
dangerous and potentially corrupting.
Having a history gives people a sense of
time outside of their own time frame. This
in turn makes people think about
progression through time, which is
something the society cannot permit
without causing social upheaval. History is
worthless and should not be studied.
Religion
• The new "religion" in the society is based
on consumption. There is not really
religion to speak of, but rather a system of
ideologies which acknowledges Ford as its
leader. Thus the society replaces the
Christian "Our Lord" with "Ford" and uses
the T instead of the cross. Consumption is
viewed as extremely positive due to the
introduction of mass production.
References in BNW
• Pg.44 “Ford’s in his flivver, all’s well with
the world” taken from a Robert Browning
poem “God's in his Heaven -All's right with
the world!”
• Pg. 56 the Controller says “Suffer little
children” a reference to scripture from
Matthew 19:14.
Vocabulary
• Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy: an intricate ball game played
with complicated equipment
• Erotic Play: a pastime for utopian children – sex discoverymeant to absolve all feelings of guilt associated with sex
• “Feely” : a movie involving senses of touch/smell
• Hypnopaedia: subconscious teaching during sleep
• Pregnancy Substitute: a medical procedure that allows
utopian women to experience the psychological benefits of
childbirth without actually being pregnant
• Malthusian Belt: a device worn to discourage sex in the
unsterilized women to avoid pregnancy
• Soma: a drug that dulls the passions and understandings of
the people, creates false sense of happiness
References to Famous People
• Leon Trotsky (Polly Trotsky)-was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik
revolutionary and Marxist theorist
• Thomas Malthus (Malthusian Belt) – a political economist best
known for his highly influential views on population growth
• Alfred Mond (Mustapha Mond) -was a British industrialist,
financier and politician. He later became an active Zionist.
• Sigmund Freud (Our Freud instead of our Ford) –
revolutionized psychology, invented psychoanalysis
• Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov "Lenin" (Lenina Crowne)-was a
Russian revolutionary, a communist politician, the first head of
the Soviet Union, and the primary theorist of Leninism, a
variant of Marxism
• Karl Marx (Bernard Marx)- was a Prussian philosopher,
political economist, and revolutionary.
Characters in Chapter 3
• D.H.C.: director of the hatchery; gives the students a tour of
the facility
• Mustapha Mond: resident controller of Western Europe; one
of the ten world controllers; also lectures the students on the
past and present state of earth; tells the Savage that the
civilized world has decided to take happiness in exchange for
freedom, art and religion
• Bernard Marx: Alpha plus successful psychologist who has
an inferiority complex due to his small height; feels isolated
from rest of society; doesn’t believe in the promiscuous nature
of his society; exhibits characteristics of man before Ford
• Lenina Crowne: Woman who tries to persuade Bernard to
take her to the reservation; always seems to unzipping her
clothes
• Fanny Crowne: works in the bottling room; friend of Lenina
who pressures her to be more traditionally promiscuous
Questions to ponder
• How are the views about sex ones that we would
consider strange or morally wrong in the new
world state?
• What word is considered profanity in this Brave
New World?
• According to Mond, what is the primal and
ultimate need?
• Why is history “bunk”?
• How is Bernard Marx different and what might
have made him this way?
works cited, video clip, and final quote
• http://www.novelguide.com/ •
bravenewworld/characterpr
ofiles.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org
• www.somaweb.org
• http://www.gradesaver.com/
classicnotes/titles/bravenew
world/section2.html
• http://www.brandnewworld.
org.uk/video/BNWTrailer.w
mv
“The individual uses sex
as he would a telephone,
a spoon, a car-because it
is needed at the particular
moment. The individual
must not “fall in love”,
marry and raise children
because this would
demand allegiance to
others, and the
individual’s allegiance is
to the state only.” –
somaweb.org
Chapter Four
• Each caste has its own work , uniform and
recreation
• In the World State one should always be with
others, always busy, never alone.
• The World State does not want extraordinary
individuals; it wants "cogs in a wheel.“
• Any deviation from the above and individuals are
labeled as unusual or abnormal.
Vocabulary and References
• Simian –reference to
Old World monkeys
and apes, used in
refernce to a semimoron.
• Ruminating – to
ponder over, to muse
on
• Vivaciously – full of
spirit, lively
• Benito Mussolini
(Italian dictator) and
Herbert Hoover
(American president)Benito Hoover
Questions to Ponder
• Why was Bernard uncomfortable in the
elevator?
• What do Helmholtz Watson and Bernard
Marx have in common and how are they
different?
• Why did Bernard check the door of his
apartment at the end of Chapter 4?
Chapter summary hand out, works cited and final quote
• "The mockery made him feel
like an outsider; and feeling an
outsider he behaved one, which
increased the prejudice against
him and intensified the contempt
and hostility aroused by his
physical defects. This in turn
increased his sense of being
alien and alone. A chronic fear
of being slighted made him
avoid his equals, made him
stand, where his inferiors were
concerned, self-consciously on
his dignity." Pg. 65
•
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/bn
w/PART4.htm