 The World State is…  Community, Identity, Stability…  Who is… and why are they important?  Mustapha Mond?  The DHC?  Bernard Marx?  Lenina Crowne?  Fanny Crowne?  Henry Foster?  Helmholtz Watson?

Be sure to read-along and to take these notes as we read!

 Burnam Beeches  Birnam Woods  This is the same place. It’s not a “beach”, but rather a woodland.  Done on purpose!  Huxley was from a family of literary writers, and would be incredibly familiar with William Shakespeare’s work!  But aside from this, it is an act of foreshadowing!

 Shakespeare wrote several dark plays… Macbeth is certainly one of the most famous.  Macbeth rocked the social and political climate of Scotland 1000 years ago. Malcolm and Macduff come back to reclaim the throne.  Once they do – Scotland is saved.  Huxley is talking to you: sometimes you have to fight to do what is right. In this case, he could be foreshadowing a “happy ending”.

 The citizens of the World State are cremated (definition: the process of burning dead bodies into ashes).  The ashes are used as a form of fertilizer.  Dead bodies decomposing hundreds of years ago that were NOT buried acted as a form of fertilizer. It’s a bit of an exaggeration (ashes = plant food?), but based on real theory.

 Even in death, one believes that you can be socially useful.  Citizens are bred for a job, and they love that job. Citizens also believe that they are useful when they die because they are used to help grow resources.  In that sense, they accept death willingly and with open arms. They death betters the world around them.

 On her date with Henry Foster, Lenina questions the life of an Epsilon.  Are they happy? Yes. Of course they are happy!  Epsilon’s are just like an Alpha and Beta (being an Alpha/Beta does not make you important). Remember, it does not matter who you are or what caste you belong with. Every person in this world is sublimely happy. The World State made you, the World State wanted you to be happy. And so, everyone is happy. No one, not even an Epsilon, is sad.

 When Lenina starts to think that the world could be “off”, she immediately clicks in her hypnopaedic phrases.  The World State has done everything to protect themselves. Programming and conditioning protect those in power.  When someone starts to think, their training will shut their mind down. If all else fails, soma is available to stop those feelings from becoming too real.

 Church in London that hosts many regal events and is an architectural masterpiece.  Burial site of Winston Churchill  BNW has turned this into a dance club.  PROVES: This world has little to no regard for our past or our history. Remember, if someone does not know or value history – then it is forgotten. If it is forgotten, it ceases to matter.

 The song played at the club shows the lack of regard and the ignorance about the devastating effects of soma.  To a W.S. citizen, if you are “bottled” you are safe and protected. So the ideal goal for any W.S. citizen is to be on soma whenever they can be.  The World State citizens do not know that they are addicts, and that the soma provides the World State supreme control of these people.

 Any addict or drug user lives a lie.  The user/addict believes they are in control (they chose to take the drug, after all).  The W.S. wants the citizens to think they are in control and that they have power. If they do not know any better, they will not fight the government.  Substance abuse makes you a follower. You are not really in control, you are being controlled by a pill or a drug.

 Scenario: a man goes to a bar and drinks excessively. He is able to talk coherently and walk in a straight line. As such, he believes that he can drive a car.  Should he? Probably not. He has slowed reactions, at the very least.  But he does not realize this. Humans think we are above the law, that we are invincible. Huxley recognizes that we are not.

 Malthusian Drill: Birth control for the 30% female population able to have children.  All Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon women that have ovaries and are able to reproduce would be subject to this training.  It’s an extra class.  To them, it’s a nuisance to worry about avoiding pregnancy.  That reason alone would encourage them to donate their organs for the human race to continue.

 By now, you are probably really upset at these people. You cannot fault these people, only those that let this happen.  That’s the goal of the novel – to remind you to protect that which needs to be protected!  The abuse of sex and soma allow these people to have their own “religious understanding” that is flagrantly against what we are like. soma Henry Ford sex Birth Jesus Christ/ God Resurrection

 12 people, 6 men and 6 women – seated in a circle, alternating genders  A ceremony that is designed to act as the self- sacrifice of 12 physical bodies to resurrect just one: Henry Ford.  Soma is involved, which automatically makes this suspect  This is a mandated government order.

 This is government mandated, and even Bernard attends.  You can silently disagree, but you will still follow through. Rebellion only goes so far in the human structure.  The use of soma heightens their heartbeat and sensory outputs. This allows them to be controlled into thinking that Ford would resurrect from this (as unbelievable and ridiculous as it sounds).

 Ends with the 12 men and women becoming so out of control from the soma and music that a sexual orgy ensues. Henry Ford does not resurrect.  The idea is simple: to make one body appear from 12, you have to blend the bodies together in one act. On the drug, these people become “one” with no inhibition.  This is an act of foreshadowing:  Too much drugs mean you cannot control the environment around you. Anyone who disagrees with this world would be subject to this sort of behavior. Including Bernard.

 This was one of Huxley’s last methods to make you fight for this world.  Children being exposed to sexual behaviors, religion becoming drowsed in sex and drugs, etc.  These are things you would never imagine could happen, and to allow this world to exist in 2540… people did not fight. That’s the message Huxley wants you to know. When someone targets your faith or what is “right” – you need to have a voice. It’s not meant to offend, it’s meant for you to protect it.

 He acts as a “pseudo” protagonist, which is a role that he can never fully be.  It becomes more and more clear that Bernard is less a political rebel and more of a social misfit.  His belief is that HE is not the one that needs changing, but society.

 NOT A REAL REBEL  He shakes the feathers of some (DHC and Lenina), but nothing radical or worth noting  Boasts about his upcoming vacation with Lenina to Helmholtz  Is afraid of being caught criticizing the World State (during Solidarity Service)  He is a paradoxical character – constantly wanting the society to change, but also merely wanting to be accepted by his society

 A foil to Bernard physically  Bernard is too small and strange for his caste: his size and reactions are what have caused him to become a misfit.  Helmholtz is successful with women, his career and every other aspect: his success is what has caused him to think there is more to life than slogans, sports and sex.  He continues to talk to Bernard as they have one common dislike: the system. But both dislikes are rooted out of very different realms.

 Good luck!