"Brave New World" and Conformity

Paper Summary:

This paper studies Alexander Huxley's "A Brave New World", a novel portraying the conflict of individualism versus conformity in a Utilitarian totalitarianism society. The paper examines the book's construction of a social order shaped by the motto "Community, Identity, Stability". Then the paper analyzes the main characters of "A Brave New World" and their struggle to become an individual and break away from the norms of society. The paper looks at the characters of John, Lenina, Bernard and Helmholtz. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the only true individual is Helmholtz, and that it is possible for individuals to survive in a utopian society.

From the Paper:

"Huxley's utopian society is able to operate efficiently by combining Community, Identity, and Stability to ensure complete harmony. First, in order to create Community, the population must be divided into groups. In other words, a caste system must be established. For example, the Alphas are the intellectual superiors within the society and the Epsilons provide the menial labor. Therefore, Alphas are given the best jobs and Epsilons the worst. Secondly, Identity is determined in the Conditioning Center by selecting and dividing the embryos into the five groups of society. Thirdly, Stability seeks to create the utmost amount of happiness, and is guaranteed by limiting the degree of intelligence to which each group is assigned. Through social conditioning and stunting one's development, the society is capable of ensuring their maximum happiness. Thus, making the society more efficient. Social conditioning serves to create workers whose preferences are shaped by the society. Therefore, economic stability is also assured by creating preferences to urge spending. The three main methods of social stability are the use of science, Pavlonian Conditioning, and hypnopaedia. Through the use of science, the society is able to actually create individuals through ectogenesis. In other words, "test tube babies". They then, through the use of Pavlonian Conditioning, can condition babies. For example, Deltas are given shocks each time they touch a forbidden item such as a book or rose. Hypnopaedia strengthens the conditioning by teaching certain "hypnopaedic phrases" beginning at birth and used even when the babies are not aware of it, as in when they are sleeping. The characters, especially Lenina, continuously repeat these phrases throughout the novel."

More papers on "Brave New World" and Conformity:

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• Book Review # 145835 : "Authority in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Brave New World"
• Analytical Essay # 18926 : "Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World"

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