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Brave New World Historical Context

Aldous Huxley had an enormous knowledge of science, politics, and history, so when he created the dystopian Brave New World, he based much of the story and setting off of real scientific advancements of his day and real historical figures. If you know a bit about these allusions (references), you will be able to more fully appreciate the novel as well as the humor of the character names and other allusions.

Read the appropriate sources before answering each of the four questions. You may research the topics beyond these sources, but it is not a requirement. Cite specifics from the sources (including BNW if necessary). Answers should range between 100-200 words for each question.

1. Why is Henry Ford worshipped by the World State? How are his work and ideas reflected in the novel?

2. Why is Sigmund Freud also worshipped by the World State? How are his work and ideas reflected in the novel?

3. How was Huxley’s own life reflected in Brave New World?

4. What is Huxley’s main idea in “On Silence” and how does it relate to the novel?

“On Silence” by Aldous Huxley (1946)

“The twentieth century is, among other things, the Age of Noise.

Physical noise, mental noise and noise of desire – we hold history’s record for all of them. And no wonder; for all the resources of our almost miraculous technology have been thrown into the current assault against silence. That most popular and influential of all recent inventions, the radio is nothing but a conduit through which pre-fabricated din can flow into our homes. And this din goes far deeper, of course, than the eardrums. It penetrates the mind, filling it with a babel of distractions, blasts of corybantic or sentimental music, continually repeated doses of drama that bring no catharsis, but usually create a craving for daily or even hourly emotional enemas.

And where, as in most countries, the broadcasting stations support themselves by selling time to advertisers, the noise is carried from the ear, through the realms of phantasy, knowledge and feeling to the ego’s core of wish and desire. Spoken or printed, broadcast over the ether or on wood-pulp, all advertising copy has but one purpose — to prevent the will from ever achieving silence.

Desirelessness is the condition of deliverance and illumination. The condition of an expanding and technologically progressive system of mass production is universal craving. Advertising is the organized effort to extend and intensify the workings of that force, which (as all the saints and teachers of all the higher religions have always taught) is the principal cause of suffering and wrong-doing and the greatest obstacle between the human soul and its Divine Ground.”

Extras: If you are interested, check out the following sources for more background on Huxley’s inspirations for Brave New World. This is not a requirement.

1. Read about the birth of Behavioral Psychology and John Watson’s research .

2. Read about Ivan Pavlov and his experiments on salivating dogs.

3. Character Names in Brave New World

The names in The World State are references to cultural and political icons of the early 20th century, or before. Most of the references are to business men, politicians, doctors, psychologists or writers. Most notably, Lenina (Lenin) and Fanny (Fanny Kaplan, who attempted to assassinate Lenin) are friends. Benito (Mussolini) Hoover (Herbert) is a combination of a totalitarian dictator and the president of the consumer driven economy of the US. Bernard Marx likely refers to George Bernard Shaw (socialist playwright) and Karl Marx (father of Communism).

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