The World State: A Hypothetical Consequence In today’s contemporary society, the United States’s class system is divided into three, known as the Upper Class, Middle Class, and the Lower Class. The World State and the United States differ in many ways due to the way their society is ruled. In Brave New World, humans are genetically bred and predestined into one of the five different caste systems: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Each individual has a purpose, according to their caste, to breed or work. They are conditioned to accept the future they will withstand. Furthermore, Brave New world demonstrates the division between five different caste systems in the World State, that reflects more of a hypothetical consequence rather …show more content…
The World State, a country created by the author Aldous Huxley in Brave New World, allocates five different caste systems known as the Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and lastly Epsilons. In the World State, those who are Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are genetically bred through the Bokanovsky Process. The Bokanovsky Process is the division of eggs so that one egg can divide into eight to ninety-six buds and accelerate social stability by predestinating the clones identical tasks at identical machines. The book states, “I’m working on a wonderful delta-minus ovary at this moment. Only just eighteen months old. Over twelve thousand seven hundred children already, either decanted or in embryo. . .” (9) In contrary, in a contemporary society, like the United States, mothers are viviparous, meaning they give birth, and humans are not genetically bred. There are more embryos undergoing the Bokanovsky Process and it is evident for others to perceive what caste they belong to. “They hurried out of the room and returned in a minute, or two, each pushing a kind of tall dumb-waiter laden, on all its four …show more content…
“We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future Directors of Hatcheries.” Directors of Hatcheries predestine human’s future and are the Alphas, the first caste in the system. For example, an Epsilon’s employment is limited and are suitable for jobs like sewage working. Alphas on the other hand, are more intellectual and are suitable for jobs such as directing and psychology. The United States’s society, individuals predestine their own future and have the opportunity to decide what career they would like to pursue by attending college or not. Income determines what class you fall in, the government does not decide that for anyone. Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons, are considered less intellectual and below par, while the Alphas and Betas are the highly intellectual castes. “The lower the caste,” said Mr. Foster, “the shorter the oxygen.” (14) An Epsilon is kept as an embryo, below par. It is given less oxygen, which affects the brain then the body and placed in an environment of just Epsilons, as well as heredity. The United States lets anyone breathe free air and live in diverse cities no matter the class. According to the rights and freedoms of Americans, “Individuals have the freedom to work at any job for which they can qualify.
Merriam Webster’s definition of satire is a type of literary work used to ridicule human vices and follies. This type of work is presented in Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World, when criticizing the power and control of the World State through the use of advanced technology towards the members of the World State. Throughout the novel the World State is portrayed as a totalitarian government controlling every aspect of its citizens lives. This controlling is made possible through all the advanced technology available within the World State. Set hundreds of years after Henry Ford, the renowned auto maker, the government’s technology is highly advanced, a folly Huxley is trying to expose in order to prevent a technological takeover in the life of people in the real world. Conditioning is one technological method used by the government in order to establish individuals to participate in a variety of tasks. Also entertainment is another factor used by theWorld State to keep power. Censorship is also illustrated in the novel presenting the governments ability to control, what is released in the World State.
In his essay “Land of Opportunity” James W. Loewen details the ignorance that most American students have towards class structure. He bemoans the fact that most textbooks completely ignore the issue of class, and when it does it is usually only mentions middle class in order to make the point that America is a “middle class country. This is particularly grievous to Loewen because he believes, “Social class is probably the single most important variable in society. From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all other social characteristics of people that we can measure.” Loewen simply believes that social class usually determine the paths that a person will take in life. (Loewen 203)
Nevertheless, our social structure isn’t a brick wall were individuals are trapped in there social class. We are still able with education and the opportunities to shape our lives and achieve our full potential. Harlon L. Dalton emulates the possibility within his story about Horatio Alger, “neither Alger nor the myth suggests that we start out equal. Nor does the myth necessarily require that we be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Rather, Alger’s point is that each of us has the power to create our own opportunities.”
It is apparent that within the GATTACA institution, there is a definite discrimination against the genetic underclass; that naturally born. Director Niccol is mocking the present-day view of prejudice and racism. In the future of GATTACA, this prejudice is referred to as genoism - genetic discrimination. Racism is a less specific form of genoism, and although such discrimination is outlawed, the laws are unenforceable because in this dystopian society, as it is in BNW, one's "genetic quotient" is known from birth. The underclass people of this world are limited but aware of their social status and they are not particularly happy with it. With the BNW, the lower castes seem to be (they are made to believe so) aware but they are conditioned to like their "light,...childishly simple" work. (p.204 BNW)
Social stability can be the cause of problems. After reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, we are informed that “Bokanovsky’s Process is one of the major instruments of social stability!” Now is it worth it? Is it worth the sacrifice? Questions like those are addressed throughout the book. Huxley wants to warn us of many things, for example the birth control pill, the way that we can colon ourselves and many other things. He wanted us to know that many of the experiments that they do to the caste in Brave New World, we were later going to do investigate more ourselves or start doing them to others. We have all, at a point; come to a point to the question where we ask ourselves “is it worth it? Is it worth the sacrifice?”
Within the book, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, the author critiques his society in a way that can be seen throughout events in the book. Aldous specifically analyzes the idea of an individual throughout the book from hypnoaedic lessons, the adventure through the reserves idea of an individual, and mindless happiness to along with the frustrations of John the Savage. To begin with hypnoaedic lessons, young children are taught the values of society while sleeping. One of the main lessons taught throughout the hypnoaedic refers to the identity as useless, and the society as the most important figure. Within the rising action of the plot, Lenina and Bernard view the society of the reservation as having quite a few differences when referring
There were quite a few changes made from Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World to turn it into a “made for TV” movie. The first major change most people noticed was Bernard Marx’s attitude. In the book he was very shy and timid toward the opposite sex, he was also very cynical about their utopian lifestyle. In the movie Bernard was a regular Casanova. He had no shyness towards anyone. A second major deviation the movie made form the book was when Bernard exposed the existing director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, Bernard himself was moved up to this position. In the book the author doesn’t even mention who takes over the position. The biggest change between the two was Lenina, Bernard’s girlfriend becomes pregnant and has the baby. The screenwriters must have made this up because the author doesn’t even mention it. The differences between the book and the movie both helped it and hurt it.
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley deftly creates a society that is indeed quite stable. Although they are being mentally manipulated, the members of this world are content with their lives, and the presence of serious conflict is minimal, if not nonexistent. For the most part, the members of this society have complete respect and trust in their superiors, and those who don’t are dealt with in a peaceful manner as to keep both society and the heretic happy. Maintained by cultural values, mental conditioning, and segregation, the idea of social stability as demonstrated in Brave New World is, in my opinion, both insightful and intriguing.
As the director says in chapter one, "“One egg, one embryo, one adult-normality. But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult. Making ninety-six human beings grow where only one grew before" (Huxley 6). This certifies that when a society has a lot of technology they tend to take a lot of shortcuts and not do things the original and in some cases the right way.
Humans are the most unique animals in the world and vary due to the many different traits that help to mold and sculpt one’s character. Humans’ traits may be inherited, environmentally determined, or a combination of the two (Wikipedia). Often, traits are used to categorize humans into different classes or societies. An individual’s wealth, education, and occupation ultimately determine the class that will surround him or her. The differences in wealth, education, and occupation are what constitutes the different classes in the United States. Unfortunately, the differences in class will lead to conflict within a society and is prominent in the selection, “Amazing Grace.” The main arguments in “Amazing Grace” are fueled by the differences in
Aldous Huxley begins _Brave New World_ by explaining to the reader the process of civi-lization in A.F. 632 of decanting children. First the children are led into the London Hatch-ery and Conditioning Centerthe main entrance of which reads the World State's motto: COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY (Huxley 1). This signifies that the world has become unified into _one_ state with _one_ main government and _one_ set of rules and regula-tions. The world has become "over-organized"; everything has been taken over by what Aldous Huxley describes as the "Power Elite": a group of people who control the world and everyone in it (Huxley [_Brave New World Revisited_] 1423). Hatchery workers wearing white lab coats working in sterilized scientific labs artificially fertilize sperm cells and egg cells in test tubes. Then, depending on the particular caste of the sperm and egg, some embryos are bokanovskified (made to bud/replicate by bombardment of X-rays); finally all embryos are sent to the Social Predestination Room, where during the nine-month process of devel-opment they are conditioned through additions or subtractions to their biological chemistry depending on their caste (Huxley 29). This shows the reader that there is no concern for the traditional family structure or any respect for the mystery of human creation. The society of _Brave New World_ is totally based on scientific facts and possibilities. Ethics and religion have become obsolete. Instead of having God's gift of free will, people are now prisoners of their predetermined conditioning. Ethics and religion are grouped with history and in the words of Mustapha Mond, "History is _bunk_" (Huxley 24).
Designing life from conception is an intriguing concept. Brave New World’s World State is in control of the reproduction of people by intervening medically. The Hatchery and Conditioning Centre is the factory that produces human beings. Ovaries are surgically removed, fertilized and then fetuses are kept incubated in specifically designed bottles. There are five castes which include: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Each caste is destined to have a different role; for example, an Epsilon, the lowest caste, is not capable of doing an Alpha’s job. This is because “the fetuses undergo different treatments depending on their castes. Oxygen deprivation and alcohol treatment ensure the lower intelligence and smaller size of members of the three lowers castes. Fetuses destined to work in the tropical climate are heat conditioned as embryos” (Sparknotes Editors). When producing ...
As unfortunate as it sounds, no matter where a person lives, inequality will exist. There may be some people who acknowledge it and try to prevent recurrences, but more often than not they go along with the majority, making judgments. When someone lives a different life than another, they are not capable of comparing themselves to the other person or their situations. Differences in society allow judgement of others and inequality to continue to exist. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the World State divides citizens into different class systems known as “castes” depending on the level of mental development in each individual. It is clear to see that because of the direct divisions, inequality would be created among them. In many situations
Additionally, in the World State it is vital to the economy that everyone is fully employed. Each caste group is assigned a particular job in order to maintain efficient economic stability. The Alphas and Betas receive the highest level jobs since they are considered to be the superior group. Alphas and Betas usually work in labs or do other higher level jobs such as writing or research. In the novel, John questions the controller of the World State on why everyone is not programmed to be an Alpha. The controller Mustapha Mond explains that “a society of alphas couldn’t fail to be unstable and miserable” (Huxley 222). The World State is at large, because every caste group is specifically designed to do their appropriate jobs. Epsilons are at
Technology, which has brought mankind from the Stone Age to the 21st century, can also ruin the life of peoples. In the novel Brave New World, the author Aldous Huxley shows us what technology can do if we exercise it too much. From the novel we can see that humans can lose humanity if we rely on technology too much. In the novel, the author sets the world in the future where everything is being controlled by technology. This world seems to be a very perfectly working utopian society that does not have any disease, war, problems, crisis but it is also a sad society with no feelings, emotions or human characteristics. This is a very scary society because everything is being controlled even before someone is born, in test tube, where they determine of which class they are going to fall under, how they are going to look like and beyond. Therefore, the society of Brave New World is being controlled by society form the very start by using technology which affects how the people behave in this inhumane, unrealistic, society.