Literature Analysis #2: Brave New World

1. Brave New World is a novel about our world in which everyone is given specific jobs according to how they are bred.  This novel is set in the future and is based on a utopian society.  Your class is based on how much oxygen you are given when still an egg.  Those given less oxygen tend to be of a lower class and vice versa.  The God everyone worships was the creator of the modern assembly line, Henry Ford.  The narrative certainly fulfills the authors purpose in that it demonstrates how absurd such a society would be.  The entire novel is one complete satire
2. The theme of the novel reflects the idea of a society engulfed in technology.  People in this society find that life is too overwhelming to truly understand so by controlling all aspects of life, one releases the normal stress of life itself.  The author portrays through the novel how the reality of such a life is quite lackluster, in fact the qualms and fears that people have actually make life much more interesting.
3. The author's tone can be seen as very melodramatic.  The reason for this is because the author wants the reader to understand that the life the characters are sadly experiencing is so dull that it must me made interesting with a taste of sarcasm.  "Hinted at the gravity of the so-called "trauma of decanting," and enumerated the precautions taken to minimize, by a suitable training of the bottled embryo, the dangerous shock."  This quote obviously makes little sense out of context, which is what the author I believe was trying to accomplish.  "Bernard drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders, bracing himself to meet the dislike and disapproval which he was certain of finding within."  Once again the author offers a sense of great drama in order to make the scene more enticing.  Finally sayings including "Orgy Porgy" and "Thank Ford!" represent again the dramatic and overwhelming sarcasm the author portrays throughout the entire novel.
4.

• Imagery--"Meanwhile, it was a privilege.  Straight from the horse's mouth into the notebook.  The boys scribbled like mad."  This quote gives the reader the understanding of the physical appearance of the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning.  It also gives some kind of comic relief. (pg.4).  "He rubbed his hands.  For of course, they didn't content themselves with merely hatching out embryos: any cow could do that."  Once again the other uses imagery to give a sense of the complexity taking place in this factory.  The author gives the idea that what is developing is something truly important. (pg. 13)
• Onomonopia--Organ Store in the sub-basement.  Whizz and then, click!  the life-hatches flew open."  The word "whizz" imitates the sound of a some kind of operation being done with fidelity and quickness.  Makes this part of the scene more appealing to read. (pg.9)
• Simile--"He pointed upwards.  Like chickens drinking, the students lifted their eyes towards the distant ceiling."  The students taking the tour are in awe when the director decided to point at the galleries connected to the ceilings.  Makes the reader understand just how great the setting really is. (pg.11)
• Satire--"...you all remember, I suppose, that beautiful and inspired saying of Our Ford's: History is bunk."  In this quote the author presents the idea that history should not be remembered because of the constant struggles humans had to endure. (pg.34) .   "What suffocating intimacies, what dangerous, insane, obscene relationships between the members of the family group."  The idea of family is being highly criticized in this quote in order for the reader to understand that the simple idea disgusted the majority of the population. (pg.37)
• Pun--"The more stitches the less riches..."  This quote enables the reader to understand the concept of consumerism which is highly prioritized as keeping the balance of the society as a whole.  They believe that if you fix what you buy, there is no point to continue to consume which will throw off the economy.  (pg. 51)
• Diction--"Phosgene, chloropicrin, ethyl iodoacetate, diphenylcyanarsine, trichlormehty, chloroformate, dickhlotethy sulphide.  Not to mention hydrocyanic acid."  Most of the general public would not know what any of these chemical structures are, however the author uses these once again to intrigue the reader." (pg.47).  "The President stood up, made the sign of the T and, switching on the synthetic music, let loose the soft indefatigable beating of drums and choir of instruments--near wind and super-string--that plangently repeated..."  This novel certainly aims to write towards a direct age group.  The diction presented in this quote is far from elementary.  
• Syntax--"On Rack 10 rows of next generation's chemical workers were being trained in the toleration of lead, caustic soda, tar, and chlorine."  The author's syntax waste's no time circumnavigating around details.  Instead the author tends to get right to the point without wasting any precious time.  
• Motif-- The novel focuses heavily on sex as a motif.  I feel that this motif is used so frequently because sex is something that is known as a great stress reliever and the main focus of this novel is to relieve stress in some way.
• Symbol-- Soma is a drug taken in order to feel basically more happy and relaxed.  Again the author is stressing the point that the general population cannot survive on stress which why it often needs things like Soma to relieve it.
• Irony-- The title itself is quite ironic.  Brave New World when taken into consideration is not at all what it seems.  In fact the world that the characters thrive in is consumed by fear, not lead by bravery. 

Characterization:
1. "The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get... And if anything should go wrong, there’s soma."  This quote is a great example of indirect characterization.  The author wants to portray just how naive Mustapha Mond really is when it comes to the world around him.
   "Put your arms around me...Hug me till you drug me, honey...Kiss me till I’m in a coma. Hug me honey, snuggly..."  Once again the author takes advantage of indirect characterization to portray the melodramatic personalities of the many characters in the novel.
   "Each of them carried a notebook, in which, whenever the great man spoke, he desperately scribbled.  Straight from the horse's mouth."  This quote represents direct characterization in that the director is seen as a higher figure that the students look up to.
   "Beckoning to a fair-haired, ruddy young man who happened to be passing at the moment."  Again the author is making great use of direct characterization in order to reveal physical traits about that single character.

2. When the author begins to describe a character, his diction becomes much more elementary when compared to the rest of the novel.  "His fordship Mustapha Mond!  The eyes of the saluting students almost popped out of their heads.  Mustapha Mond!  The Resident Controller for Western Europe!  One of the Ten World Controllers."  As the reader notices when the author decided to describe a character he makes sure that the readers are able to fully grasp what exact persona each character gives off.  Instead of intertwining difficult words into his text, he would rather have the reader understand the character rather than be lost in a complicated description.

3.  I believe the main character is mostly static throughout the entire novel until he is finally blinded by is optimism.  John is a character who is rejected by both the past and the future, however is he able to keep himself afloat by communicating his thoughts and ideas through the works of Shakespeare.  He wants to see the world as it is but finds it often confusing and somewhat dull.  I feel that he is also a very flat character in that he never truly changes his ways until his death.  With the occurrence of  John's death the reader is able to grasp the idea that John has decided to take the most drastic route by proclaiming his opposition to the world around him.  I believe that if John could have developed a more "livelier" way of conflicting the outside world, he could have possibly been a dynamic character.

4.  Honestly I feel that I have merely read a character.  The characters in the novel are not people I really would like to meet, therefore I have no interest in finding a deeper meaning to each character.  I cannot simply pinpoint an exact textual example because I feel as the the entire novel is one example of the world I do not wish to live in.  I believe life is meant to be difficult and that it is our right to be free in expressing ourselves.  This novel offers a satirical version of what life would be if we could not control our own future, and that scares me.  For all of these reasons I feel that I have only read about characters rather than "meeting" these characters per say.