Brave New World 587way of indoctrinating people in their sleep. Having
recognized that this method works most efficiently
when relaying moral messages, the hypnopedic sys-
tem, indeed, takes care of “instructing” the citizens
from the beginning of their lives. Due to the fact
that the messages are absorbed by the person’s sub-
conscious, the citizen accepts them as absolute truth.
Naturally, all hypnopedic lessons intend to promote
and further the World State’s aims and principles.
Thus, Beta-members, for instance, learn to love
being Beta. They feel superior to Deltas and Gam-
mas, but do not aspire to attain Alpha-level. Hence,
people are content with their lives and perfectly
willing to focus on fulfilling their assigned tasks.
Other lessons instill the desire to consume certain
goods, have fun, and, if all fails, take Soma. The
most important lesson, however, is that “everybody
belongs to everybody else.” This not only supports a
high level of promiscuity, it also implies that people
are not individuals; they do not have selves.
Education in the Brave New World, hence,
serves only one purpose: the propagation of the
World State’s goals. This authoritative, totalitarian
approach stands as a warning against a government-
controlled educational system in which citizens are
indoctrinated, manipulated, and conditioned with-
out the ability or chance to pursue any other paths.
Whereas education ideally serves to open doors in
people’s minds to give them a myriad of choices, the
World State closes those doors one by one.
Elke Brown
individual and Society in Brave New World
The World State’s motto “Community, Identity,
Stability” already reveals that identity and com-
munity are linked. In the course of the novel this
fact becomes evident. We meet five characters who
struggle or have struggled at one point with the
tension that arises from the awareness of one’s indi-
viduality and the demands of the World State to
integrate into society to an extent that might require
complete denial of an individual self.
Admittedly the one whose individuality is the
least tangible, Lenina Crowne often is not included
among the characters who have problems with com-
pletely rendering their personalities to the World
State’s demands. However, her case is one of the
more interesting ones for, as a Beta, she should not
have the same urge to individuality as Alphas do.
However, Lenina refuses to obey the rules of sexual
promiscuity and develops feelings for John. Despite
his violent rejection of her “love” for him (which, in
reality, is not romantic love but sex), Lenina appears
at the lighthouse to speak to him. The fact that she
makes that effort proves a kind of loyalty and devo-
tion that is deemed inappropriate individualism in
the Brave New World. Examples such as this one
illustrate her struggle with the dogmas of the World
State. Because Lenina otherwise behaves impecca-
bly and her struggles are private, not political ones,
she does not present a threat and does not have to
be removed.
John Savage is usually deemed the most individ-
ualistic character in the novel. However, his actions
are not so much prompted by the desire to confirm
his individuality but, rather, to integrate into society.
Not a citizen of the World State, John’s denial of the
Brave New World at the end of the novel appears
to be a rebellious act when, instead, it illustrates his
allegiance to the culture of the reservation, which
is supposed to cleanse him from contact with the
World State.
Similar to John, Bernard Marx wishes for noth-
ing more than social acceptance. At the beginning
of the novel, Marx appears as a fundamental rebel
against the rules of the Brave New World: He refuses
to take Soma, prefers to be alone, does not enjoy
the customary pastimes, such as Obstacle Golf, and
wonders what it would like to be free without the
conditioning that ensures the state’s stability. Marx
increasingly reveals his rebelliousness as hypocrisy—
a pretense to make himself interesting. Although
he genuinely feels his individuality, Marx, like John,
wishes only to blend in with everybody else.
In contrast to Marx, his friend Helmholtz Wat-
son honestly tries to become a separate entity: He
wants to create a new kind of poetry that would
shake the World State and gladly accepts exile.
Watson too does not realize that his conditioning
will prevent him from realizing his goal. As Alphas,
both Watson and Marx run into the problem that
they have the mental capacity to discover their
individuality while being forced by their state to
fight the need to feel as an individual, which results