Brave New World Chapter 2

How do you think the Director would have finished the sentence "It therefore follows..."(29)?

"It therefore follows...... that the children will be good citizens of the state.

What is suggested by Huxley's decision to replace the words "mother" and "father" with "crash and crash" and "wink and snigger"?

All concepts of "mother" and "father" are considered primitive and filthy. They are seen as antiquated and a threat to the system. Mother and father are contrary to the system of artificial reproduction. They choose bizarre words to belittle the value of parents.

How was hypnopædia discovered? What were its limitations?

Basically Hypnopaedia is "sleep teaching". It is meant to condition the brain towards promiscuity, use of soma, and complete acceptance of society. Through subliminal messages, people are conditioned for the excesses of society via hypnopaedic slogans such as "a gramme is better than a damn". The use of hypnopaedia strengthens the conditioning and indicates the subversive nature of the state. Huxley is showing the readers that propaganda starts at birth and can occur even when we are unaware of it, as when sleeping. He reinforces the point that people are unaware of how influential the propaganda is by constantly having his characters quote "hypnopaedic phrases." The goal of the state is to ensure social stability

Explain the methods used by the class, Elementary Class Consciousness, to condition children.

In Chapter Two, the students continue their tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. They watch "Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning," a technique that trains infants. Here, the use of electric shocks and sirens in response to touching roses or books modifies the behavior of Deltas. This discourages behavior that might destabilize society, such as allowing Deltas to read books and acquire knowledge. The students also view a group of sleeping infants who receive moral instruction through hypnopaedic learning as they sleep. Sleeping babies listen to repeated catchphrases, and in this chapter, infant Betas listen to a tape played hundreds of times which indoctrinates them to believe they are superior to Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons, but not as clever as Alphas.

Explain how Huxley develops the motif of Henry Ford as a God figure. Use specific examples from the text to support your analysis.

Many consider the beginnings of mass production automobiles, by Ford, to be the onset of modern consumerism. Huxley views commoditized society as a detriment to human creativity. In the novel, people are conditioned to seek goods and services as a means to happiness. This keeps the economy strong and the state in power. Ford epitomizes the ethos of consumption and mass production over introspective thought and individual loyalties.

What is moral education? Why was it possible to adapt hypnopædia for moral education?

Moral education is the implementation of instructional tools to teach children about the values of society. In school, you may have heard this referred to as "character ed". In Brave New World, this is implemented through sleep instruction from infancy, as children were taught societal values through auditory control.

Based on context clues, what historical figure is referred to as "Our Ford"?

Our Ford refers to Henry Ford, the early twentieth-century inventor of the Ford Motor Company. Ford is linked with the religion of technology and consumerism, which the state has adopted. Mechanized efficiency has become part of the new religion of the state.

smut

Soot, matter that blackens or soils things, or obscenity

Explain the conditioning exercise that the Delta infants at the Centre experience. What is the purpose of the "lesson"? How does it reflect the Pavlov's theory? Explain the economic rationale for conditioning lower-caste children to hate flowers.

The students continue their tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. They watch "Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning," a technique that trains infants. Here, the use of electric shocks and sirens in response to touching roses or books modifies the behavior of Deltas. This discourages behavior that might destabilize society, such as allowing Deltas to read books and acquire knowledge. Pavlovian conditioning comes from Pavlov's research, which showed that animals could learn to do an action through punishment and reward. Huxley expands this concept to humans, who use it to condition the babies of the lower classes. In his example, Deltas learn to avoid roses and books by giving them electric shocks when they touch those items. Psychologically, this conditioning also lowers these classes to the status of animals.

What does Huxley mean when he compares hypnopædia to drops of sealing wax falling on granite (28)?

This alludes to the fact that information seeps into the brain in the same way water seeps into the pores of the granite. The information, like the water, then incorporates itself into the brain and the information is thus sealed into adulthood.

Viscose

a viscous orange-brown solution obtained by treating cellulose with sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide, used as the basis of manufacturing rayon fiber and transparent cellulose film.

imperative

extremely necessary; vitally important

Research the experiments of Ivan Pavlov and explain Pavlov's theory.

he experimented with dogs and presented a stimulus, and the dog began to salivate. (drool)

indefatigably

incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring

sibilant

making or characterized by a hissing sound

posthumous

occurring or published after death

apopletic

overcome with anger

insinuating

tending to cause doubt, distrust, or change of outlook

suffuse

to fill up from within; to spread throughout

inculcate

to impress on the mind by repetition, teach persistently and earnestly

indissolubly

unable to be destroyed; lasting

gratuitous

unnecessary or uncalled for