WIlliam Golding

Humans have been known to do cruel and evil things to one another. Hitler’s hatred of the Jews led to the Holocaust. Humankind has also been known to mindlessly follow very cruel leaders. Stalin led his subjects in a communism in which millions of people died. William Golding attempted to put human’s ability to be cruel to one another in perspective in many of his novels. His experiences early in life, along with his comprehension and contemplation of human traits and characteristics helped shape his novels and make them dialogues on the evilness of human nature.
Golding’s father instilled many of the characteristics that Golding mirrored in his writings. His father taught Golding rationalism and scientific method (Feeney). All of Golding’s novels were very rational and could very well occur in our modern times. The supernatural elements of his novels were something that his mother, who was interested in the occult and spirits, had taught him (Feeney).
Golding also survived World War II, serving in the British Royal Navy. His participation in the war may have made a mark in Golding’s mind. Golding saw the true horrors of war and the atrocities men could commit against one another. He also observed the horrors of D-Day on the beaches of Normandy in 1944 (Contemporary). The influence the war played on Golding’s psyche is particularly evident in Lord of the Flies, when Simon is beaten and ripped apart by the boy’s tribe. This unforgivable act of violence in the novel was, perhaps witnessed by Golding during his service in the Navy. Golding also taught school after his time serving the Queen. He observed the school children’s treatment of one another. The children’s mean treatment of one another most likely shaped the way the boys in Lord of the Flies treated one another after the split between Ralph and Jack occurred (Prusse).
Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a key example of his views of human nature and man’s tendencies. The boys land on the island in the midst of a world war. They try and mimic the ways of the civilized world, but the island is eventually dragged down by the sins of its own inhabitants. Some of the boys’ addiction to hunting and killing tears the island’s social structure in two, maybe as a parallel to what was happening in the “real” world. Both the adults and children of the novel seem to have self-destructive tendencies, tearing their own respective worlds to shreds. Golding shows that men who bow to their primitive instincts drag down the men around them, and eventually cause conflict, whether it is physical or psychological (Macdonald).
Golding’s views of human nature are forever immortalized in Lord of the Flies. His time serving in the Navy and his time teaching school children helped to shape these views into what they were. He saw the evils and atrocities that man was able to commit, and preserved his thoughts to record them in his novels. The sins of man will be forever remembered by the novels that Golding created.

Works Cited
Feeney, Joseph J. "William Golding (1911-93): Lord of Horror, Lord of Awe." America 169.3 (31 July 1993): 6-7. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. James P. Draper and Jeffery Chapman. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Aug. 2010.

Macdonald, Gina. "William Golding: Overview." St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers. Ed. Jay P. Pederson. 4th ed. New York: St. James Press, 1996. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Aug. 2010

Prusse, Michael C. "William Golding." Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature, Part 2. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 330. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Aug. 2010.

"William (Gerald) Golding." Contemporary Literary Criticism Select. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Aug. 2010.

Picture:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b7/William_Golding.jpeg

Brave New World's Aldous Huxley

Many times in literature, novelists are influenced by their early life and aspects not related to literature. They may be influenced by other writers and thinkers of the time period, or they may be influenced by tragic events that occur. Aldous Huxley was one such novelist whom was immensely influenced by his surroundings and his peers. His characteristic pessimism stemmed from negative events in his early life. Aldous Huxley’s upbringing and surroundings greatly affected the viewpoints and opinions he expressed in his writings and novels.
Huxley was born into an intellectual family. Both his immediate and extended family was composed of known intellectuals and writers. Huxley lived a privileged early life, showing interest in science and literature. Later in his childhood, he experienced tragedies that would eventually influence his writings and stories. His mother and brother both passed away in his teenage years, and he also began to lose his eyesight due to a severe eye infection (Gale). The First World War also begins to rear its head in this time period. All of these events influence Huxley’s early works. His early poems tell of his feelings of loneliness and negative feelings toward society (Christianson).
During the 1920’s Huxley began a world tour in which he visited different countries. Huxley said in one of his writings that he longed to be, “along the road.” His travels took him many places including India, Japan, and Malaya (Christianson). He wrote many fiction and non-fiction books of his travels. His travelling supplied him with ample information and events that gave the novels he wrote character and a uniqueness only he possessed. During his tour of Asia, Huxley also began to become interested in the Hindu faith and the mysticism surrounding their culture. His interest in mysticism and Hinduism began appearing in his writings later in his life (Christianson).
One of the most influential factors on Huxley’s writings was society itself. Huxley spent much of his time contemplating the future of society. His thoughts and prophecies were summed up in his most memorable novel, Brave New World. His predictions on future society’s characteristics and attitudes were very accurate. Written in 1933, Brave New World predicted attitudes that were present years later in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The tendency towards social unity and racial superiority is a mainstay of Brave New World. Aldous Huxley observed the governments of the time accumulating power and predicted that eventually freedom would be abolished in favor of faux happiness. These predictions may be applied to the Soviet Union, where communism was supposed to increase the happiness of its subjects, but instead robbed them of freedoms and liberties ("Aldous Huxley A Life of the Mind" 2-7).
Aldous Huxley was very much influenced by his surroundings, peers, and time period. His observance of politics, social tendencies, and different world cultures shaped him as a writer and as a person. They aided in forming Huxley’s signature pessimism and satiric tone. They gave him a base in which to prophesize future society and its many unforeseen problems and challenges. Because of his influences, Huxley will be remembered as one of the great thinkers and philosophers of the twentieth century.
Picture:
http://www.american-buddha.com/huxley_pix_1111.jpg

Works Cited

Aldous Huxley A Life of the Mind. 1st ed. New York City, New Yord: Harper Perennial,

2006. 2-7. Print.

"Aldous Huxley." Gale Online Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Literature Resource

Center. Web. 19 Aug. 2010.

Christianson, Scott R. "Aldous (Leonard) Huxley." British Travel Writers, 1910-1939.

Ed. Barbara Brothers and Julia Marie Gergits. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998.

Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 195. Literature Resource Center. Web. 19

Aug. 2010.

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 202

"...Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."
-Lord of the Flies Page 202
Ralph is saddened and disturbed by the events on the island. During his time running from Jack, he had not had time to fully realize the magnitude of Jack's changes and it's effects on the island. He is bothered by the thoughts of what Jack and his groupd were going to do to him if they had caught him. Jack and the rest of the boys had landed on the island as sensible young boys, but had been transformed into bloodthirsty animals. The boys' characters had no innocence left and their hearts were cold as stone. Ralph also wept for the soul of Piggy, who was the only true friend he had never realized.
Song: Wish you were here - Pink Floyd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXdNnw99-Ic

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 171

"I'm going to him with this conch in my hands...Give me my glasses, I'm going to say-you got too!"
-Lord of the Flies Page 171
Piggy asks Ralph to go with him to confront Jack about the theft of his glasses. Piggy believes that Jack may still have morals and give him back his glasses just because it's what's right. I don't believe Piggy realizes that Jack has no morals left. Jack does not care what Piggy has to say and would sooner kill him than return the stolen glasses. Piggy's bold decisions to go confront Jack lead to a dreadful end and give Ralph the realization that no common sense or civility is left on the island.

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 152

"A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe."
-Lord of the Flies Page 152
This is an important moment in the novel. This quote tells of the beginning of the first murder in the novel. The boys of the island have begun performing rituals that detail the hunts that they partake in. Simon, in the dark appears to be the beast and falls into one of the rituals. The boys savagery leads to Simon being beaten to death, marking a point in the novel in which the boys pass from being innocent young boys to being blood-thirsty mongrels.

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 144

"'I'm warning you. I'm going to get angry. D'you see? You're not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don't try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else-'"
-Lord of the Flies Page 144
This seen sets in motion the events that will lead up to the first murder on the island. Simon realizes that the real beast on the island is inside all the boys. It is human nature that will threaten the boys, not some physical being. The encounter scares Simon to the point that he faints in the face of the pig head. The pig head tells him that the other boys do not like him, and that the island will eventually lead to the deaths of all of the boys.
Picture:http://www.dianatetlow.com/gallery/playground/Lord-of-the-Flies.jpg

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 127

"'I'm going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.' He blundered out of the triangle toward the drop to the white sand."
-Lord of the Flies Page 127
This quote shows the climax of the scene in which Jack leaves the original group of boys. The divisions in the boys were caused by Jack's unwillingness to be ordered around by anyone else. He wants only to answer to himself and no one else. Jack's independent tendencies lead him to quarrel with Ralph constantly, leading to his departure from the conch and Ralph. Jack believes that Ralph is a poor leader, but the others do not seem to agree. These events all lead Jack to leave the original pack of boys.

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 111

''Ralph-we need meat even if we are hunting the other thing.'"
-Lord of the Flies Page 111
Even as the group is trying to hunt the beast, many of the boys can only thing of hunting, killing, and eating pigs. The thought of meat seems to put the boys in a trance where the sole objects in their minds is killing pigs. This obsession with meat is beginning to tear the island apart. Even Ralph's mind is beginning to embrace the ideas of hunting pigs. This obsession may eventually lead to the demise of the order on the island.

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 89

"Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind's essential illness."
-Lord of the Flies Page 89
Simon attempts to explain to the other boys what is really the beast on the island. He attempts to tell them that the real beast might be themselves. The soverignty on the island has been breaking down because of the disagreements in leadership. Simon believes that the once noble endeavors of the islanders have become skewed and evil. Jack and his posse once worked for the good of the island, but became engulfed in pride.
Picture:http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/april2007/lord_flies.jpg

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 81

"'You hunters! You can laugh! But I tell you the smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see?'..'We've got to make smoke up there-or die.'"
-Lord of the Flies page 81
This passage comes from Ralph's inspired speech to the boys after the ship has passed. This act infuriates Jack because his love of hunting is belittled. Jack believes that the only important thing to do on the island is to hunt. He gets a sort of adrenaline high from hunting. Ralph uses this speech to try and get the point across that the fire is more important than anything else anyone could do on the island.

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 75

"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in."
-Lord of the Flies Page 75
This chant is the first clue that the boys are becoming more and more savage. Island life is de-conditioning them from what they were taught back home in London. The boys repeat this chant in a ritual they perform to symbolize the hunt. They appear to worship the act of hunting and killing pigs. They are more interested in the pursuit of meat that they will eventually forget of being rescued and their lives in the civilized world.

Quote from Lord of the Flies Page 68

"The fire was dead...smokeless and dead; the watchers were gone. A pile of unused fuel lay ready."
-Lord of the Flies Page 68
This quote is from a very important scene in the novel. Ralph becomes infuriated when the boys he assigned to keep the fire going choose to go out and hunt. A possible rescuer floats by offshore and the signal fire is out. This event is what starts the schism between Ralph and Jack. Jack defies Ralph, saying that hunting is more important than the fire, while Ralph believes the fire to be much more important than eating meat. This division in the parties eventually leads to death and fear.
Picture:http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/gis/gishydro06/Introduction/TermProjects/FinalReport_Drake_files/image006.jpg

Final Words on Brave New World

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is an interesting insight into the primal characteristics of man. The characters in the novel progress from being civilized, English boys to savages on the verge of losing all of their civility. The book serves as an insight onto what might happen when humans are taken out of a world of law and government, and pushed into a world of total freedom and anarchy. The struggle for power between Ralph and Jack lead to the deaths of two of the more sensible boys. The book also possesses many symbols. The conch is one of the most common of the book. The conch represents order to many of the boys. It is what calls the boys to assembly and what dictates who is to speak at the assemblies. The stuck pig head that "talks" to Simon is also a symbol in the book. It represents the island’s overwhelming power. The pig’s head represents human nature. It tells Simon that it is the Beast, and it is inside him. Human nature was the Beast that the boys on the island should have feared, instead of some physical monster. Pigs were also a symbol of Jack’s regression into becoming a savage. The thoughts of hunting and eating meat possessed Jack, causing him and the rest of the boys to forget of being rescued. The signal fire was Ralph’s last connection to any civilized thought. The rest of the boys had reverted back to savages and forgot about the fire, but Ralph’s single-minded obsession was to keep the fire going to signal possible rescuers. Lord of the Flies serves as a testament to what may occur when law and order are removed and people are left to govern themselves.

Lord of the Flies Pages 180-200

The scene with Ralph running into the naval officer illustrates a very powerful oversight in the book. As the novel progresses, Golding's descriptions of the characters and the events of the novel make the reader forget that the characters described are only ten, eleven, and twelve years old. The last scene with Ralph and the naval officer gives a different perspective on the characters. The descriptions change. Golding uses words such as "little boys" to describe the boys the naval officer meets on the beach. No where else in the novel does he describe the boys in such a manner. Golding is narrating the scene through the eyes of the naval officer. The officer is met by a group of boys who appear tribal in their ways, but British school boys by their appearence. Golding also makes the boys appear more adolescent when he writes that they begin to sob after they have realized what they have become.

Lord of the Flies Pages 160-180

The conch that Piggy holds so dear is destroyed in this section of the novel. The conch was a symbol of order and social structure on the island. It was what Ralph called assemblies with and what gave one the right to speak at said assemblies. When the boys in the tribe capture the twins and destroy this symbol, along with Piggy, the island is pushed into anarchy and chaos. Ralph's mindset is completely changed with this development of the story. He initially believed that the boys would come to their senses, but now he comes to realize that these boys have lost all traces of civilized life. Their time on the island has erased the civilizing marks of society and has instilled primitive thoughts and ways in the boys. I believe this is the point in the novel in which Ralph loses all hope in being rescued. He believes that because of the boys choice to be savage, he will die on the island.
Picture:http://www.museumeducation.bedford.gov.uk/Bedfordbytes/nature/images_nature/gallery_natural_objects/images/Common%20Spider%20Conch%20Shell_jpg.jpg

Lord of the Flies Pages 140-160

The divisions in the island become even deeper. Jack's group of boys continues to become more and more savage. They seem to be regressing to a primal human state. It is almost as if the boys are devolving mentally into simple hunters and gatherers. Ralph, Piggy, and the twins are the only ones on the island who seem to keep their wits about them in the face of the island. Simon, along with Jack and the savages, also seems to be losing his sanity. His thoughtfulness earlier in the story seems to be leeching out of his personality. His delusion of the talking pig may be a symbol of how man is his own worst enemy and biggest threat to himself. Simon's theory that man is the biggest threat is shown in Jack's hostile actions towards those who did not join his group. He acts as if he may attempt to kill them off soon.

Lord of the Flies Pages 120-140

The boys split up into two groups as Jack leaves Ralph's leadership and goes off with other boys to be hunters. The two boys had held a very tense relationship regarding the island's leadership. I believe that the stories of the beast made this relationship even more tense. Both boys had different views of how to deal with the beast. Jack took a more aggressive stance, while Ralph would rather just avoid the monster to keep the fire going. It seems that Jack has lost the will to be rescued because he doesn't care about making any signals for ships to see. Ralph is almost consumed by the thoughts of keeping the fire going. Both boys are tiptoeing the line between lunacy and sanity. Simon also seems to be losing his sanity. He is becoming more and more solitary, withdrawing from the rest of the group. I believe that this may foreshadowing some ominous event.
Picture: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/06/06/flies460.jpg

Lord of the Flies Pages 100-120

The boys paranoia grows as two of the twins say they have spotted the beast. Jack's ego also continues to grow. He seems to be offended by Ralph's leadership. Anytime Ralph gives an order, Jack comes at him with some sarcastic or rude remark. This may be because Jack has always been in charge of groups he has been a part of, such as the choir. Ralph and Jack take turns leading a group of boys up the mountain, on the hunt for the beast. Ralph and Jack's personalites clash as the expedition moves up the mountain. Eventually only three boys are left. Jack presses Ralph to go on, but Ralph refuses. Jack's ego pushes him up the mountain, only to be deflated as he sees the beast, sending him running back for where Ralph and the other boy set up camp. Ralph is also paralzyed at the site of the beast. I feel that the differences in personality of the two boys will eventually lead to an epic clash and possibly a death or two.

Lord of the Flies Pages 80-100

The boys call an assembly to talk of the problems of the island. They talk of a beast that the smaller boys have seen. The talk of the beast sends the assembly into an uproar. Jack and Ralph begin to fight over whether or not there is a beast. This fight shows the tension between Ralph and Jack. Jack, the aggressor in the conflict, takes off with a slew of other boys leaves the assembly. The social structure of the island is in shambles and Ralph feels unable to do anything about it. The setting of the novel also lends itself to stories of beasts and monsters. The island is said to be unexplored and the boys are intimidated by its thick jungles. Anything could be hiding in the dark green mess of the jungle. The boys are psyched out by the unknown of the island, which leads to a sort of hysteria among them.
Song: Pink Floyd-Brain Damage
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Lord of the Flies Pages 60-80

The social structure of the boys on the island begins to fall apart. Jack's personality begins to change. The time he has spent on the island, along with his obsession with hunting pigs probably has something to do with his personality change. He repeatedly challenges Ralph at the meetings by the lagoon and he appears to resent Ralph's elected authority. Ralph becomes very angry at Jack for letting the signal fire on the mountain go out. Jack had been hunting pigs while he was supposed to be watching the fire. Ralph's demeanor on the island also begins to change. The initial optimism has died and Ralph has realized that being stuck on the island may not end well. He also begins to realize that he cannot trust many of the boys on the island to do their jobs. This leads Ralph to become pesimistic. Many of smaller boys on the island also being to resent Ralph's leadership.
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Lord of the Flies Pages 40-60

The boys begin to realize that living on this island is not going to be very fun. Ralph and Simon construct shelters for everyone, while Jack tries to kill his first pig. All the other boys go and play in the ocean or sleep. Ralph begins to become frustrated because all of the other boys won't work. His leadership skills seem to be slipping because he cannot seem to get the boys to do what he wants. Simon is becoming more and more withdrawn. This is a sharp contrast to what at first he came across as. He seemed at first very outgoing, but this may have just been a cover for something that he is hiding. Jack seems to be becoming obsessed with sticking and killing a pig. He only talks of killing pigs and every thought he has includes pigs in some way. This obsession may have started because of the boredom of living on the island. The pigs offer a hobby that help focus him away from other things.
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Lord of the Flies Pages 20-40

The boys begin exploring the island. Ralph leads a pack of three around the island. It is clear that Ralph has emerged as the alpha-male of the group because all of the other boys seem to listen to him and do what he tells them to do. At first, Jack the choirboy seems very confrontational. He seems to take an aggressive stance against Ralph after Ralph has called all of the boys with the conch shell. This aggressive attitude eventually gives way to a submissive attitude when Jack goes along with what Ralph says. The other boy Simon is a very odd character. At first he seems quite melodramatic, but a little later in the novel he seems like a very quiet character who speaks only when spoken too. Piggy also begins to change as the story goes on. He seems withdrawn in the first few pages of the novel, but later in the novel, he seems to be outspoken and assertive.
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Lord of the Flies Pages 1-20

What seems to be the two main characters are introduced in this section of the novel. Ralph seems to have all the characteristics of a leader, and I believe he will lead the group of boys during their time on the island. The other boy, Piggy, seems to be much more subserviant. He also appears to be much more child-like than Ralph. The story hints that there has been a plane crash which stranded the boys on the island, but never actually tells of what happened to the plane or how the boys survived. I would've appreciated it if the story had told how all the boys survived. I find it odd that the boys survived, but no adults survived. I don't understand how a plane crash can lead to the deaths of the adults,without so much as an injury to any of the boys. I would also like the story more if the setting was described in more detail. I could not gain a full mental picture of the island from what was described in the novel.
Picture: http://nobelprize.org/press/nobelweb/press_releases/images/flies.jpg

Final Words on Brave New World

Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World as his prediction of what the future may hold. He used well rounded characters to tell the story of a world in which almost every aspect of life was controlled. The settings of the book were very detailed and intricate, from the factory where new members of society were made to the deserts of the Savage reserves. The futuristic characteristics of the society were also very intriguing. These included the different castes of people, from Alpha to Epsilon, the helicopter transportation systems, and the drug soma, which offered escape for distressed members of society. Huxley's opinions on personal freedoms were very evident in the novel. He seemed to feel that governments were on a path that would lead to the destruction of personal liberties under the ideal of "happiness." The novel suggests that government only desires complete control of its own citizens and it will try to gain this control through any means necessary, including taking away the natural right of birthing and parenting a child. Huxley may have acquired this view of government watching the Nazi fascist machine come to power in the early 1930's. At the end of his novel, one of the main characters commits suicide because of the pressures of "civilized" life. Aldous Huxley may have been trying to communicate that if a government ascertains the amount of control it did during the novel, modern ways would perish and all traces of the past erased by the new regime. Brave New World serves as a commentary to what would become if a world government successfully gained an unimaginable amount of control and changed life as we know it.
Picture: http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/brave_new_world_revisited.large.jpg

Quote from Brave New World August 3, 2010 Page 259

"Thew door of the lighthouse was ajar. They pushed it open and walked into a shuttered twilight. Through an archway on the further side of the room they could see the bottom of the staircase that led up to the higher floors. Just under the crown of the arch dangled a pair of feet."
-Brave New World Page 259
The weight of the "Brave New World" that the Savage was thrust into finally crashes down upon the Savage. The new lifestyle thrust upon the world by the maniacal government has finally driven a man to take his own life. The pleasure-centered ways of the new world does not sit well with the Savage. He feels life should and needs to be tough to make it worth living. These people living in such sin angers the Savage because of the beliefs instilled in him by the natives back on the reserve. He cannot stand living with such filthy people.

Quote from Brave New World August 3, 2010 Page 238

"The Savage nodded,rrowning, "You got rid of them. Yes, that's just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it."
-Brave New World Page 238
The Savage rails against the society in his arguement with Mustapha Mond. The society got rid of all of it's inconvieniences so that the people would live in happiness. The did away with sickness and insects to ensure peoples happiness. The Savage believes that inconveniences are necessary. He believes this because he was born and raised in a society that praised mental and physical toughness. The inconveniences and hardships made life worth living in the Savages eyes.

Brave New World August 3, 2010 Pages 236-259

The Savage attempts to purify himself from the evils of the civilized world. He moves away from the civilized world, preffering to live alone. He purifies himself of dirty thoughts. He makes himself physically sick and whips himself to gain purtity. He becomes a sort of hermit in a future world. The society finally finds him and uses him as a form of entertainment. The society turns even the most driven individual to act impurely and participate in an orgy. Because of his actions, the Savage decides to commit suicide. The skewed and perverted views of civilization caused a pure and work-oriented man to commit suicide. The pressures of civilization were too great to handle for someone who was not conditioned to live in civilization. Is it really civilized when you have to be condtioned before being able to conciously think to be able to survive? That kind of life would be entirely unbearable.

Quote from Brave New World August 2, 2010 Page 223

"The optimum population," said Mustapha Mond, "is modelled on the iceberg-eight-ninths below the water line, one-ninth above."
-Brave New World Page 223
Mustapha Mond explains the way that the society is shaped to the Savage. There can only be a very small percentage of Alphas in the whole population. There can only be a small percentage of Alphas because they share the closest resemblance to a free-thinker. They are conditioned and sleep taught, but not as severely as the rest of society. A large group of free-thinkers would become aware of their own oppression and stir up the masses in a revolution against the ruling powers. The government attempts to avoid these situations at all costs by creating a smaller amount of Alphas.
Picture:http://www.focusedperformance.com/iceberg.jpg

Quote from Brave New World August 2, 2010 Page 222

"...we have no wish to have our throats cut," he answered. "We believe in happiness and stability. A society of Alphas couldn't fail to be unstable and miserable."
-Brave New World Page 222
Mustapha Mond explains to the Savage why having a civilization of Alphas wouldn't work. A civilization of the best and brightest would not work because they would detest being assigned the menial jobs of society, such as a street sweeper or doorman. They would also protest against poor working conditions. These things have happened throughout history. In the 1880's and 1890's many protests began in the United States over working conditions in factories. The workers banded together and organized protests to demand better conditions and pay. These actions all disrupt the peace, which the society of Brave New World is trying to avoid.
Picture:http://www.newberry.org/outspoken/exhibitimages/1b06.jpg
Song: The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwhBRJStz7w&playnext=1&videos=IL76pv5_PnE&feature=artistob

Brave New World August 2, 2010 Pages 210-235

The Savage snaps, seeing the government hand out the drug soma. He feels that soma is one of the controlling factors of the people's minds and limits the peoples freedom. The peoples need for soma can be compared to addictions to prescription drugs that we see today. The men and women of the future society use soma to escape the hardships of everyday life, just as the men and women of today use prescription painkillers to accomplish the same task. The difference between today and the imagined tomorrow is that in today's world the government attempts to stop drug abuse, while the fictional government attempts to increase drug use. During this section the Savage and Mustapha Mond also begin discussing ideologies. The Savage believes in freedom, even at the price of unhappiness, while Mond believes in peace and happiness at the price of freedom and freewill. Mustapha Mond believes his viewpoints quite logical. The Savage sees that even though these ideas are logical, they go against liberty and commonsense.
Picture:http://www.drugfreehomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/drug-abuse1.jpg

Brave New World August 2, 2010 Pages 185-210

The Savage begins to resent living in the civilized world. He sees his mother die in a hospital where no one is especially bothered by death. Delta children mock him for caring about his mother. The Savage begins to change his opinions of the new civilized world. This is because he sees all the nice things of civilized life and sees that they are only being used to control the population. The Savage hates the promiscuity of civilized life. He calls Lenina a whore in a murderous rant. If I were the Savage I would also despise the ways of the new world. Orgy and sex are large parts of a normal citizens life. These actions go against all of the morals of a normal person of today. Casual sex is frowned upon today where it is encouraged in the world of tomorrow. I would mirror the actions taken by the Savage if I were put into his position.

Quote from Brave New World August 1, 2010 Page 179

"Bernard's other victim-friend was Helmholtz. When, discomfited, he came and asked once more for the friendship which, in his prosperity, he had not thought it worth his while to preserve. Helmholtz gave it; and gave it without reproach..."
-Brave New World Page 179
Bernard begins to envy Helmholtz for some of his whole-hearted characteristics. Even after Bernard abandoned Helmholtz for his new found friends, Helmholtz held no hard feelings against Bernard after Bernard came moping back from his vanity. Bernard is in a sort of awe for Helmholtz's forgiveness. He feels that Helmholtz should be angry with him, and is shocked that he is not. Helmholtz seems to deny the human trait of revenge, and Bernard is jealous of his denial.

Brave New World August 1, 2010 Pages 159-184

In this section, the Savage and Helmholtz begin to discuss Shakespeare and other poetry. Helmholtz scoffs at the unorthodoxies of Shakespeare's works which include a mother and father and conflict. The reason Helmholtz is so negative towards the ancient works of poetry is because he has been conditioned to scoff at these things. If I, or anyone else had been taught that babies only come from machines and not mothers and fathers, we would have the same response to the literature. The society was taught that mothers and fathers were smut and had no place in civil society. These things were taught because eliminating allegiances was necessary to create an obedient society. The only allegiance any one person held was the allegiance to the government. This was one way in which the government gauranteed itself complete sovereignty and peace. No civilization has accomplished this task yet, but accomplishing this task means taking away freedoms and civil liberties.
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Brave New World July 31, 2010 Pages 133-158

In this section of the novel, Bernard's character begins to change again. He loses his pride and his spirit sinks once again. He realizes that all the friends that he thought were real were in reality just an illusion. The Savage is a large factor in the humbling of Bernard. The Savages defiance to be shown at a large party was the ultimate downfall of Bernard's popularity. Bernard's pleadings with the Savage were to no avail and the men and women of the party began to doubt Bernard. The party-goers left, leaving Bernard alone. This helped Bernard come to the realization that these people were not his friends. Bernard began to see the superficiality of the society, seeing that these people were faking their real feelings towards Bernard. This section also shows how Bernard is very superficial himself. He lets fame and popularity influence his actions and thoughts. He himself reflects the societal tendencies.
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Quote From Brave New World July 31, 2010 Page 178

"The golden T lay shining on Lenina's bosom. Sportively the Arch-Community-Songster caught hold of it, sportively he pulled, pulled. 'I think,' said Lenina suddenly, breaking a long silence, 'I'd better take a couple of grammes of soma."
-Brave New World, page 178
This quote illustrates the use of drugs in future society to avoid stressful situations. The drug soma is virtually a cop-out to having to deal with real emotions and the stresses of everyday life. Presently, all human beings are put in stressful situations. Drugs and alcohol are two different methods of dealing with the stresses, but people who use these methods excessively are looked down upon. In the future, using drugs to alleviate stress is commonplace and preached.
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Brave New World July 24, 2010 Pages 133-158

Bernard's character begins to change in this section of the novel. After he retrieve Linda and John from the savage reservation in New Mexico, his character takes on a new persona. He becomes more confident and is drunk on his success. Other people are very interested in John because of his civilized mother and savage upbringing. Bernard receives much praise for his discovery. He changes from an unsure, almost anti-social government worker, to a man who is very confident in what he does and a man who does very well with his female counterparts. In his head is is still the same man he was before his fame, but his actions reflect those of a new man. His thoughts still show his disdain for social politics and the ways of society. Many of the others in his department begin to doubt his change, even though they act as if he is a great man for finding John.

Quote from Brave New World July 21, 2010 Page 119

"Ford! to kiss, slobberingly, and smelt too horrible, obviously never had a bath, and simply reeked of that beastly stuff that was put into Delta and Epsilon bottle (no, it wasn't true about Bernard), positively stank of alcohol. She broke away as quickly as she could." - Brave New World, Page 119
This quote shows the contempt Lenina feels for the ex-civilized Linda. Lenina hates being around Linda because she is dirty and smells of alcohol. She also disapproves of Linda's affection toward herself and Bernard. In the future, dirt is frowned upon. Since Lenina is not used to seeing any amount of dirt or smelling any kind of unclean smell, she finds the conditions that Linda lives in squalid. Humans are so conditioned that anything that goes against there conditioning is unbearable.

Quote from Brave New World July 20, 2010 Page 111

"The spectacle of two young women giving breast to their babies made her blush and turn away her face. She had never seen anything so indecent in her life."-Brave New World Page 111
This quote embodies the very serious social changes wrought by the future government. Leaders ripped the right to bear children from families and essentially ripped apart the family. The government taught that having and rearing children was immoral and unorthodox. They taught these ideas to very young children in their sleep. Mothers with children were looked down upon in the "civilized world." The government believed that controlling the birthing and minds of its subjects would lead to a public that was totally submissive.

Brave New World July 20, 2010 Pages 107-132

In this section of the novel, Bernard and Lenina are struck by the ways of life of the savages. Bernard and Lenina both believe that they are civilized and therefore more superior to these people. Lenina looks down her nose at these people because she believes they are unclean. Civilized people believe,"Cleanliness is next to Fordliness." The civilized people are taught this through sleep teaching, thus implanting the fear of dirt, smell, and other unclean things. Lenina is also shocked by the aging of some of the savages. Disease and old age do not exist in the civilized world. This is why Lenina is shocked and horrified by the sight of some of the older savages. The sight of a nursing mother also embarrasses Lenina. Having a raising children is considered vulgar in civilized society, but the savages cling to this custom of the old ways. The pueblo style of houses the savages live in are also foreign to civilization.
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Quote from Brave New World July 19, 2010 Page 84

"Orgy-porgy, Ford and fun,
Kiss the girls and make them One.
Boys at one with girls at peace;
Orgy-porgy gives release."
-Brave New World Page 84
This quote explains the thought processes used by the futuristic society. They would partake in sexual orgies as recreational activities. Large numbers of men and women would gather to join in orgies that consisted of certain rituals, sayings, and sex. This particular quote was one of the sayings said at the orgy. It was taught to children in their sleep, as to cement the idea in the children's brains. Sex and orgies are two of the bases of the future sexually charged society. The pleasure-centered characteristics of the society helped keep the public oppressed and "happy."

Quote from Brave New World July 17, 2010 Page 88

"For what was there that one could do in private.(Apart ,of course, from going to bed: but one couldn't do that all the time.) Yes, what was there? Precious little." - Brave New World Page 88
This excerpt shows Bernard's feelings towards the socialization of his society. The government had taken away the basic principle of being ones own. Public unity was the word that was preached. This quote also embodies one of the key points of the novel. Huxley attempts to show the dangers of anti-individualism. He shows that the spirit of one does not necessarily need to be dumped into a social being in which each member of society serves as one cell to the body. The quote also shows how the future humans are fearful of being alone. There were very, very few activities one participates in alone or in small groups. This fear eventually led to the demise of affection felt for one other. This, in turn, led to the casual promiscuity of the population. Pleasure worshipped while passion despised. These ideas led to the flawed social structure of Huxley's imagined, sexually-charged future society.

Brave New World July 16, 2010 Pages 81-106

The author Huxley characterizes the "savages" of the reserves as those who did not conform to the created realities of the new world government. They are those who did not forfeit their right to birth offspring and care for their young. This right of keeping and raising offspring which we today feel as an inalienable right and a requirement of being human, was taken by the world government to aid in creating a subservient class of people. The proletariat created questions little and basks in temptations of the flesh. Huxley portrays the general population as ignorant of all ideologies and very attracted to pleasure that serves no real purpose. This revelation reflects the characteristics of current societies as well. Many people are dumbfounded when it comes to current problems, ideas, and policies, but delight in practices that serve no vital purpose. Huxley realized that ignorance is a very real problem in modern society.

Brave New World July 13, 2010 Pages 41-80

The imagination of Huxley in this section of the novel shines brightly as he describes a future of personal, airborne transportation and the promiscuity of the future culture. His inventiveness dreams up the many levels of contraceptives used by the futuristic females. His views of future governments and their controls on the population are also very intriguing. For example, the government disallows any sport that does not use a certain amount of material things. This helps stimulate the economy by forcing people to purchase goods if they wish to participate in a sporting event. The many references to “Ford” also were very interesting. This reference may be to the late Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company. In this skewed future, he may have gained a world dictatorship and enforced new laws to force the proletariat into submission. It is interesting how the whole of the population worships Ford as a kind of omnipotent leader.

Brave New World July 12, 2010 Pages 1-40

Aldous Huxley has a very unique style of writing. He snaps from one character’s point of view to another character’s point of view quickly and without warning. I lost track of the speaker of the different passages quite a few times because of Huxley’s unique style of writing. As the novel progressed, I began to pick up on the rapid changes a little more easily. This style helps show the significance of certain events occurring during the same period of time and how they affect each other. It helps broaden the spectrum of characters and the plot of the novel. It also helps keep the attention of the reader, because the ever-changing, rapid shift from one story plot to another keeps the reader keyed in on events and how these events may eventually come to interact and effect each other in the broader sense of the story.