Brave New World : Pre-Reading Background Knowledge
The World
State
•The vast majority of the population is
unified under “the World State”
•An eternally peaceful, stable, global
society
•Goods and resources are plentiful
because the world’s population is
permanently limited to no more than two
billion people
•Everyone is happy
•There is no war or crime
Social
Caste
System in
the World
State
•The World State uses a caste system to
organize its citizens: a ranking system that
divides citizens into classes with some at
the top, some in the middle, and some at
the bottom
•“Normal” reproduction methods have
been done away with- babies are not
created through having sex
•Babies are decanted (sperm and egg are
poured together) and raised in Hatcheries
and Conditioning Centers
Caste
Divisions
•Alphas: the highest class
•Allowed to develop naturally in their
“decanting bottles” in the Hatchery
•Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons:
the lower classes in descending order
•These lower castes have chemicals
added to their decanting bottles to cause
arrested development in intelligence or
physical growth
•The caste system provides NO opportunity
for social mobility- if you are born a Delta,
you’ll die a Delta
Reproduction • Each Alpha and Beta is the product of
Methods
ONE fertilized egg developing into ONE
fetus b/c they are at the top of the caste
system
• Each Alpha and Beta is a unique
human being
• Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are NOT
unique
• They are created using the
Bokanovsky process, which allows
ONE egg to separate and create up to
96 children!
Life in the
World State
• All citizens are conditioned as children to
uphold the values of the World State
• Constant consumption is key to
maintaining stability in the W.S.- things are
produced and must be consumed = stable
jobs and recreation
• Everyone is encouraged to use the drug
soma
• a hallucinogenic that takes users on
enjoyable, hangover-free ‘vacations’
• Provides a replication of religious
experience, which makes religion
unnecessary
•Soma was created precisely for the above
“Everyone
belongs to
everyone
else.”
• Recreational heterosexual and
homosexual sex is a large, very important
part of society
• In this egalitarian society, everyone is
treated equally and sex is seen as a social
activity rather than a means of reproduction
• Sexual experimentation and games are
encouraged at an early age
• The concept of ‘family’ is a thing of the
past
• Sexual competition and emotional,
romantic relationships no longer exist
• Marriage, natural childbirth, parenthood,
and pregnancy are never talked aboutthese things are considered taboo and
profane
Recreation • Spending time alone is considered a
and other
HUGE waste of time
info. about
•Admitting to wanting to be an individual
the W.S.
is shocking, horrifying, and
embarrassing
•People are conditioned to NEVER want
to be alone- they should always be
consuming something, playing golf,
sleeping with someone, etc.
• Death occurs around age 60 after having
maintained good health and youthfulness
for their entire lives
•Death is not feared- everyone is
conditioned to think they are happy = no
fear exists about anything
• The conditioning everyone goes through
as children eliminates the need for
professional competitiveness
• People are literally bred to do specific
jobs and cannot/do not have any desire
to do another job
• Citizens participate in mock religious
gatherings to grow closer to members of
their own classes- great quantities of soma
play a major role in these gatherings
• There are areas of the world that do not
abide by the easy-living, consumption
driven norms of the W.S.
• The W.S. ‘allows’ groups of well
controlled, securely contained
‘savages’ to live on far away plots of
land
Wow, that was a lot of notes!
Nice Job!
Happy Weekend 