After reading the first two chapters of Huxley's Brave New World, I noticed Ford was displayed as a God-like figure in their futuristic society. In the beginning of the first chapter, the reader was informed that the year was A.F. 632, and I was puzzled as I tried to determine what A.F. meant, but as I continued to read I realized it referred to the years after Ford, as we would use the terms B.C. and A.D. to refer to the time before Christ and after death. I also notice that in chapter two, about half-way through the chapter, the Director and the students made the sign of a T on their stomachs out of respect after speaking of Ford's T-Model. I linked this sign of reverence to the sign of the cross used as a religious symbol in Christianity. The third indicator of Ford being a God in this society came at the end of the chapter, in a passage where the Director exclaimed, " 'Oh, Ford! I've gone and woken the children.' " I found this to resemble expressions commonly used today to convey shock or surprise, such as "Oh, God" or "Oh my God!" I find it is reasonable for the people of this society to view Ford as a God, for the Gods and deities of our modern society are often linked with stories of creation, and seeing as how the existence of these people is centered upon industry and mass production, two concepts commonly associated with Ford, he is their creator and should be honored and respected.
-Kirsten Miller
Kirsten,
ReplyDeleteI also noticed early on that Ford was supposed to be some type of creator-such as Christians have their god today...if you keep reading into about the middle of chapter three it does in fact confirm that Ford is their god or deity. They take ford, known for mass production as you stated, and they made him into some type of deity. What I considered interesting was the students and the director making the sign of the T. The director speaks as though Christianity is ancient history yet you learn the "T" is derived from Christianity. This seems like a contradiction or even better, hypocrisy.Anyways, I like some of the points you made such as them saying "Oh Ford" instead of "Oh God". It was not something I picked up on until you had mentioned it.