At the beginning of the second chapter we are brought into a “Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Room” pg. 14
Here is a link to some biographical works on Pavlov.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov
The Deltas are dressed in Khakis
This sort of reminds me how Khakis are the standard issue dress for the middle classes in our country
Here the students are conditioned using electro-shock, I am starting to see sexual references in the writing. “…pussy and cock-a-doodle-doo.” pg 15
Here the director tells his students how the children are thought to hate books and flowers.
The reason why Deltas are meant to hate books, because they are not superior enough to be bale to read them and it would be cumbersome for an Elite class, like the Alphas, to always have an intelligencia, from the middle class asking questions about their method of ruler ship, and it’s morality, all the time. In other words, nobody likes eggheads.
The director then explains that they are made to hate flowers, and nature because if they didn’t they would want to leave the factories and city life to wonder endlessly into the countryside.
The director then begins to talk about a, then polish, man named Reuben Rakinovitch, who was the first successful example of someone learning while they slept. He successfully recited a lecture by George Bernard Shaw, by listening to him in his sleep. He said that he used to speak French and German, which are at this time, “dead Languages” pd. 17
Then they begin to talk about the past, and the director tells the students how things used to be, the old family unit, the moral constraints, and the individuality of most people, the students then seem to be very uncomfortable with this conversation.
We are then told what this method of sleep learning is called, Hypnaepedic conditioning.
Hynpaepedia is a method of learning in which the material is spoken to the learner while he sleeps in the hope, of having his sub-conscious mind actually absorb it.
It also says that Hynpaepedia was first introduced successfully to the world, “23 years, after the first Model T was put on the market.”
At one point, the director, after saying a quote by Henry Ford, makes a T signal on his stomach, then the students do the same.
This actually may be reminiscent of the way in which believers of the Catholic Religion, make a cross across their torso, and them kiss their hand. It lends me to believe that the belief that Henry Ford is a God, to them is actually true, and they exhibit many of the rituals that followers of other religions often exhibit.
Further on in the chapter the director takes his students to one of the conditioning rooms were Alpha children are undergoing “Hypnaepedia” and here I think that it is interesting how The Alpha children are told about the inferior nature of Delta’s and Epsilons.
This started to get me thinking that the society of Brave New World is “racist” in that it teaches the top classes that the classes beneath them are inferior. In our society there are a lot of examples of class warfare, in which the higher classes, (upper classes), are continually trying to keep the members of the lower classes from climbing upwards. I think even though there is a lot of opportunity in our country to climb social classes, the mere fact that there are the (1%) and then there are the (99%), helps proves that this is true. For the last 20 years, the middle and lowers classes have not even noticed that the upper classes have declared war on them, and this war is ongoing. It is mainly waged through economic means, for example NAFTA.
The director then tells them that Hypnaepedia is, “The greatest moralizing and socializing force of all time.”
I think that this quote is very accurate considering the fact that the children have no choice of whether to accept it or not, this system in BNW is very tyrannical, it is a cold, calculated, and omniscient scientific dictatorship.
At the end of Ch. 2 the director closes it with this quote, “Our Ford… I’ve gone and woken the children.” pg. 21
There is so much to say about this quote, it very openly symbolizes the power and duty that the director, and the controllers in this Brave New World have and how they actually believe that they are doing good, and that their duty is to keep people happy. The belief that power can change the world and keep everybody happy is an oxymoron, it is just simply not possible, all systems sustained by might and power will eventually crumble. I think that outside of religious beliefs this is the only philosophy where you will see this kind of fanaticism.
Ch. 3
At the beginning of Ch. 3 we read that the director is leading his students into an open yard were hundreds of children play “naked” pg. 22
Here the children are playing a game that depends on a massive machine, that is designed to increase consumption.
Then an nurse is dragging a little boy, and then drags him to the assistant superintendent of Psychology, because he, “refuses to engage in erotic play.” pg. 23
like if that’s not normal….
After reading this it sort of reminded me of a police state apparatus they used to have in Soviet Russia, called The Gulag Archipelago, and how it was literally a network of psychiatric hospitals and slave labor camps, for Soviet political dissidents.
Here is a link to some information on The Gulag Archipelago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago
We are then introduced to another character in the story named Polly Trotsky. The director then tells the students about how in the past erotic play between children was considered “abnormal, immoral” this revelation actually shocks the students. Pg. 24
While this is happening a strange man is standing next to them listening in. This turn out to be The Resident Controller for Western Europe, who is one of the ten world controllers. The director then notices him and introduces him to the students as “…his fordship, Mastrapha Mond.”
It’s always straight from the mouth of Ford himself, reference to him being an intermediary to God himself. Here they say that, for example, the Pope is the one who communicates with God everyday.
Further on in Ch. 3, we read that only the controllers have access to, “Bibles and Poetry.” pg. 26
As we are then introduced to, “Lenina” who lets us know that the total population of this Brave New World, is around Two Billion people, “Two-hundred million people.” and that they all share ten thousand surnames between them.
We then hear that the people of BNW actually use the names Ford, or Freud interchangeably to refer to their god.
While Lenina is talking to Fanny, a pregnancy subject,Lenina tells her that she is currently going out with Henry Foster.
I noticed that the quote “Everyone belongs to everyone else” is very important, and it is said to be a Hypnaepedic proverb.
While Fanny is having a conversation with Lenina in a changing room, Fanny accuses Lenina of being faithful with Henry, like if that’s not normal.
She then tells Lenina that its “ horribly bad” to be with only one man, in four months.
Then Fanny begins to talk about the old ways in which mothers used to cook, clean, and b faithful to their husbands, she does this in a mocking voice. She then tells Lenina that she must “tend the wheels” or tend to her own needs.
So far I can read that in this world children are thought to be promiscuous and that people think that sex and pleasure should be the only goal of everyone in the world.
While Fanny and Lenina talk, Fanny starts talking about Bernard Marx’s bad reputation, which comes from his dislike of obstacle golf, and his lonely introverted nature.
Bernard begins to talk about the past with nostalgic reflection.
Apparently the nine years war began on A.F 141.An important quote by Fanny, says “ The Nine Years’ War, the great Economic Collapse. There was a choice between World Control and destruction. Between Stability and…” pg. 37
Another quote that is repeated is “Ending is better than mending” pg. 37
This quote appears to be another Hypnaepedic proverb.
Referring to the nine years war, Bernard says, “… the controllers realized that force was no good.” pg. 38
Then Lenina puts on a “Malthusian Belt” which has contraceptives on it.
Whats interesting to me when I heard the word Maltusian, is how in the Aldous Huxley, Mike Wallace interview he talked about overpopulation, and the man who literally came up with the theory on overpopulation was Thomas Multhus!
Here is a link to some biographical works on Thomas Malthus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Robert_Malthus
Looking at what has happened so far in Chapter 3, I can infer that Bernard Shaw hates the Brave New World, and the chapter ends with Lenina going to meet Bernard.
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