1. Aldous Huxley
Brave New World

2. Apocalyptic Novel
Written about the future and attempts to predict the future in other than utopian terms

3. Utopia/Dystopia
Utopia- A place of ideal perfection especially referring to laws, government, and social conditions
Dystopia- An imaginary place where people live dehumanized and often fearful lives

4. Aldous Huxley Aldous Huxley was born in England in 1894
He wrote Brave New World in
He moved to the USA in 1937
He died on November 22, 1963

5. What is the Brave New World ?
Religion of the World State based on the life and philosophies of Henry Ford.
American car manufacturer, inventor of the assembly line
Invented the Model T car – designed to be affordable to everyone; only available in black
Mass production & mass consumption
Assembly line = improved efficiency
Vertical structure = self sufficient
“Our Ford”

6. Setting London, England A.F. 623
A.F. stands for “after Ford”- the number of years after he started the assembly line (1913).
So, what year is this taking place?
2536

7. What is the Brave New World ?
Caste System:
Alphas (Α)– highest, grey
Betas (Β)- mulberry, bottle green
Gammas (Γ)- leaf green
Deltas (Δ)- khaki
Epsilons (Ε)– lowest, black
There are also plusses and minuses, so one can be an Alpha Plus or a Gamma Minus.
Differentiation achieved through oxygen deprivation

8. What is the Brave New World?
Some individuals are created using the
Bokanovsky Process
Fertilization process used to create Deltas & Epsilons
Divide fertilized eggs to produce identical twins
Produces up to 96 embryos, but 72 is the average
Primary instrument of social stability

9. What is the Brave New World ?
Government organization “conditions” the lower caste children using
Hypnopaedia
“The greatest moralizing and socializing force of all time” (28).
Sleep teaching
Moral education
Class conditioning
“The child’s mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child’s mind” (28-29).

10. What is the Brave New World ?
A society where all aspects of an individual's life are determined by the state, beginning with conception and conveyor-belt reproduction.
A government bureau, the Predestinators, decides all roles in the hierarchy.
Children are raised and conditioned by the state bureaucracy, not brought up by natural families.
Citizens must not fall in love, marry, or have their own children.

11. TONE The book is critical of the society presented in it.
Strongly satirical of the problems in our own society
Warns the readers of the dangers of science when it is misused
SATIRE: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

12. Possible research topics…
Genetic engineering
Drugs prescribed to alleviate depression, anxiety, etc.
Governmental control over society
Over-sexualized society/youth
Obsession with youth (plastic surgery, longevity)
cloning

13. Topics cont… Psychological manipulation Stem cell research
Effects of capitalism/consumerism
Test-tube babies
Utopian experiments