brave new world
...efore the discovery of “Bokanovsky’s Process” they were only able to obtain a single human from a single egg. With “Podsnap’s Technique”, fertilized eggs are allowed to be produced in great numbers. Therefore, the process of cloning babies replacing child birth allows the World Controllers to control and manage the population of the world. After the babies are decanted from their bottles after being cloned, they are submitted to an abundance of social conditioning processes which help them to conform to society and which assist to ensure social stability. One of these procedures, “Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning”, is named after Pavlov, who was famous for showing that animals can be trained to act a certain way through a system of rewards and punishments. In this procedure, the babies are placed in a room filled with objects which they are trained to dislike. In the case of the Epsilons and the Gammas, the babies are placed in a room filled with roses and books, a series of deafening alarms and sirens sound, as well as a small electric shock. This frightens the babies so that when they are confronted with the same object in their future, they will retreat in aversion. Another method of conditioning is “Hypnopaedia”, which is used to teach the children ethics and ideals. In this process, different ethical phrases are repeated continuously while the children are dormant so that the phrases will become a part of each child’s subconscious. “Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning” and “Hypnopaedia” are two of the principle conditioning methods which are used to acclimatize the children’s conformity to society, and they effectively aid in maintaining communal stability. The fundamental principle behind this society is utilitarianism. This describes a society seeking to generate the utmost amount of social happiness and contentment, which generates economical and social efficiency. An effective way of achieving this is restricting the intelligence and brainpower of each person. This is evidently done by the World Controllers in Brave New World by using a five-tiered caste system. In this configuration, Alphas and Betas are the most intelligent and are given more challenging jobs which necessitate thought and intelligence, whereas Deltas, Epsilons and Gammas are given jobs which require manual labour and other jobs which would be tedious and uninteresting for the Alphas and Betas. Another method which is used by the World Controllers to achieve collective happiness is the conditioning of children throughout infanthood. As illustrated above, such techniques as “Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning” and “Hypnopaedia” are used to ensure conformity to society and, in effect, each person’s maximum contentment. Another method of ensuring social happiness is the rationing and distribution of “Soma”. “Soma” is a narcotic in tablet-form which is taken to create a state of complete elation and rapture without any negative after-effects. Whenever a person is feeling saddened or distressed, they take the appropriate amount of soma and their distress is alleviated and they are able to escape the anguish. The aforementioned aspects of life in Brave New World demonstrate the utilitarianism of the World Controllers as their central focus is to maximize global happiness and in effect amplify communal and economical efficiency. Part II At first glance, the society depicted in Huxley’s Brave New World is possessive of many desirable and enviable aspects of life, and can easily be mistaken for a utopia. Disease, hunger, poverty, violence, and sickness are non-existent. Negative sentiments such as jealousy, insecurity and discontentment, as well as physical pain are alleviated through the usage of soma. As a result, social stability, economic efficiency and global satisfaction have all been maximized. On the surface, society appears to be flawless. However, as the story progresses it becomes evident that the society is also possessive of many blemishes. There is no individuality, sentimentality, family, love, or variety, and a person’s life is predetermined before they are created due to the cloning and the social conditioning. A person’s interests, behaviour, and the dec...