1) What would happen in a society where everyone was
an alpha? Epsilon?
Brave New World has a highly developed
caste system, and everyone is happy within their caste. If there was a society
strictly alpha, people with the highest level of intelligence, the society would
fail. . Mond states
that “The land wasn't properly worked;
there were strikes in all the factories; the laws were set at naught, orders
disobeyed; all the people detailed for a spell of low-grade work were
perpetually intriguing for high-grade jobs, and all the people with high-grade
jobs were counter-intriguing at all costs to stay where they were. Within six
years they were having a first-class civil war.” () The civil war resulted in
the death of nineteen out of the twenty-two thousand people placed on the
island. Alphas consider themselves to be above everyone else.
They would not do dirty jobs that are necessary for a society to function. On
the flip side, a society was strictly Epsilon, people with little human
intelligence, would fail. An epsilon society would have no one to take control
responsively. There would be chaos. Societies need people on all levels of the system.
Someone is needed to run the law and do medical work. Someone is needed to
clean the city. Even if it is unfair for
people to be conditioned the way they are, Brave
New World’s society is dependent on it.
2) John moves out to the lighthouse and whips
himself. Soon, crowds of people and reporters come to see him, chanting “we
want the whip.” Why would people want to see this act of emotion? Is it a
rebellion? Did it have any impact on the society?
People want to see this
act of emotion because it is not something they are used to and it is like
entertainment of them. Watching a wiping is similar to Americans of today
watching any action movie. Most Americans do not have the same action packed
life shown in Salt or Avatar, two movies both popular among
modern day Americans.
If
people in Brave New World started to
whip themselves as John does, they would feel pain and emotion. Any emotion,
except happiness, is looked down upon. So, yes. If people fallowed through with
what they had started, watching John whipping himself could be an act of
rebellion. However, John hung himself. It is difficult for a rebellion to occur
if there is not a central leader who understands why people are fighting.
3) Why would sex be view in different ways in 1984 and Brave New World?
Clear contrast is shown
between the views on sex. One books view sex as fun; the other as a duty.
In
Brave New World, sex is viewed as a
game. Children, young children, play such games on the playground. Women and
men go around having sex for the fun of it. If one person stays with another
person, they are considered strange. Fanny cannot believe that Lenina can
possibly only be with Henry Foster, and later John, for such a long time
without any other men. Physical attractions, or at least physical actions, are
highly encouraged in Brave New World.
1984 portrays
sex as one’s “duty to the party.” Duty always has a negative connotation: It is
you duty to the Party to make love. Almost sounds like, it is your duty to pay
taxes. The Party, however, did not want physical attraction. A council would decide
if two people could be married. No couple receive permission if they had any
sort of physical attraction to each other.
