Brave New World Ch.3

  In the novel, Brave New World, a futuristic Utopian society is depicted with questionable values of ethics and morality. "Wheels must turn steadily, but can not turn untended. There must be men to tend them, men as sturdy as the wheels upon their axles, sane men, obedient men, stable in contentment."  The quote above refers to the power of the government to act as a moving force upon society to keep it under control.  According to the Controller, "stability. No civilization without social stability" (Huxley 32).  The government controls aspects of the citizens life from birth, by determining what social caste they shall fall under and even utilize differing amounts of alcohol and oxygen to reduce brain potential as an infant.  Likewise, the government also operantly conditions the lower caste infants to associate flowers and books with feelings of pain and fear by electrocuting them and making them listen to wailing sirens.  ”We always throw away old clothes. Ending is better than mending…” describes the philosophy of hypnopaedia, or the process of brain washing while asleep.  Likewise, the people in the novel have no self esteem nor sense of individuality because of their mass production type births.  The men view Lenina as a piece of meat and even Lenina seems to share this notion also.  Family itself is considered to be a derogatory concept as it requires the use of love and relationships to describe. Having a relationship with someone for too long, is considered unorthodox by society's standards and instead should switch from partner to partner.  People are encouraged to act on sexual desire in order to release out their bottled up emotions.  Mond compares this concept metaphorically like a pipe with increasing pressure inside. Additionally, drugs, “soma,” are utilized to create false sense of happiness. These drugs create a false illusion of happiness that lets the citizens escape the bleak and insipid taste of their own world.