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Brave New World (1932)
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
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Born in Surrey in 1894.
His family members were prominent figures of
the English ruling class and intellectual elite:
His father was the son of Thomas Henry
Huxley (great biologist who helped to developthe theory of evolution).
His mother was the niece of Matthew Arnold
(important English poet).
Huxley’s ancestry “brought down on him aweight of intellectual authority and a
momentum of moral obligations.”
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When a student at Eton, he started suffering from an
eye illness which almost made him blind.
Partially healed, attended Oxford University and
graduated with honors but was not able to fight in
World War I or engage in scientific work.
Acquired an encyclopaedic erudition; travelled widely
around the world ; lived in Italy for a while
His experiences in these places provided material to be
used in Brave New World (1931 – publ.1932)
(ie. Benito Mussolini led an authoritarian government that
fought against birth control in order to produce
manpower for the war)
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Highly interested in
politics (pamphlets against the Spanish War)
pacifism (supported the Peace Movement)
mysticism ( experienced drugs to improve hisvision)
Extremely prolific and versatile, wrote about
painting, religion, music, science, philosophy
A major influence upon the youngintelligentsia of his time
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1984 : Important Terms
Totalitarianism
The political concept that the citizen should be
totally subject to an absolute state authority
Caste System
division of society based on differences of wealth,inherited rank or privilege, profession,occupation, or race
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UTOPIA = Imaginary, indefinite place of ideal perfection(especially in laws, government, and social conditions)
ANTIUTOPIA / DYSTOPIA
The reverse of traditional utopia. It’s aim is to promotethe advent of a better society by presenting the negative
aspects of society in hideous terms.
A dystopian work tends to exaggerate tendencies
already present in society, projecting them into the
future and warning mankind against the dangers of continuing along the same path.
FIRST ANTI-UTOPIA: Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels
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Caste System
The caste system in Brave New
World includes 5 major castes named
after Greek letters (i.e. , Alpha to
Epsilon)There are differences in the
members of castes (i.e., outer
appearance, intelligence, livelihood).
They are trained to dislike other
castes; as a result , everyone is
happy and stability is achieved.
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Introduction
Thomas (The Director)
He is the administrator in the year 623AF of the
Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre.
The Director runs a futuristic baby-factory where
the assembly-line production of genetic castes is
streamlined and controlled, and maturing
youngsters are conditioned to be happy abouttheir state-allotted roles in life.
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Structure
10 World Controllers
Alphas Plus(ruling elite)
Alphas (elite)Betas
Gammas
DeltasEpsilons
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Function of Caste System
The society in Brave New Worldseeks to create happiness for
everyone. Everyone is happy to
belong to their caste.The caste system is needed to cover
every little part of the processes that
form the society (i.e. work, housing,etc.). Everyone works for everyone
(COMMUNITY).