In
chapter two, the Director took the group of students to the Nursery to observe
how the Deltas were taught to hate nature and literature. Then the nurses
presented the babies with books and flowers. As the Deltas got a hold of these
items, loud alarms and bells madly shrieked to scare the curious Deltas. The
babies were able to eventually relate books and flowers with loud sirens and
terror, causing them to develop a natural hatred towards books and
flowers.
Later the Director took the
students to see where the elementary students slept. When he pushed a switch, a
loud voice repeated over and over "Alpha children wear grey. They work
much harder than we........ I'm so glad I'm a Beta." The Director told the students that the purpose
of this was to essentially give the state control over the child's and adult's
minds. In the process of controlling
the minds of the people, the different castes develop strong resentment to one
another.
A famous philosopher named John Locke once stated "mankind is innocent until corrupted by society". In these two scenes the State was unjustly corrupting the children. The children were taught to hate nature, literature, and one another in their childhood. Do you think this was correct for the state to do if it gave them control over the peoples minds?
I agree that what they do to these children is a corruption of mind by society. It really does give them a mindset of hatred. Even though the people might not expressively show hatred to each other, it is obvious that there is resentment between the classes. For example, in chapter 5, Lenina seems annoyed almost that the lower class Epsilons can be used for the same purpose that her higher class is, as if degrading her class. Also, I think that teaching children to hate literature and nature is completely unethical. I certainly see why it would be crucial for the state to ban these things if it is to remain stable; they stir emotion and can be very thought-provoking. However, it hardly seems worth it. While the society remains stable, it also remains at a loss of imagination and respect for nature.
ReplyDeleteI recognize your reference to Locke’s quote, and I agree with you. Even the most pure children are eventually tainted by the darkness of society.
ReplyDeleteAll of this “training” that the Nursery puts the children through was very scary to me, and I am opposed to the hypnopaedia and all of the state's power over the people’s minds. Their very lives are already predetermined due to the various castes and their roles that come with them, but making them even hate the wonders and freedom of nature and influence of books gave me the impression of a totalitarian-like state. It is like reading about the dictators in our history books at their highest peak.
The quote you mentioned by John Locke ties in with this book perfectly. In Brave New World, the main goal for society is happiness for all through complete stability. To reach this goal, they believe they have to have a caste system. The caste system obviously would not have worked without all the training and brainwashing that the poor kids had to go through. Their minds were completely taken over. I don't think this is okay at all. The characters in the book lost the power to control their own minds. Once one loses control of their own mind, they lose everything. Their decisions are made for them and they are forced to live according to what someone else believes is a "perfect lifestlyle". Therefore, in the utopia described in Brave New World, there is no individuality whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteIn Brave New World, the state's way of corrupting children's minds into an Epilson, Beta, Gamma, or Alpha is not morally correct. However, this process of corruption is effective in ensuring the hindrance of individuality and promoting stability. The children are only allowed the knowledge that enables them to perform their duty to society. But without individuality and the growth of knowledge, there would be no scientific or artistic movements like the Enlightenment movement in which the influential John Locke was part of.
ReplyDeleteInstead, the state should have taken a different approach in readying the children for their contribution to society by letting the children be born without the corruption of their innocence. They should be able find their own path to one of the levels of the caste and nurture and develop their own individual ability to make their participation in society more effective.
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DeleteI definitely agree that altering the minds of children, or anyone for that matter, is wrong. It is almost like intruding into someone's home and turning everything upside-down. The State intruded into the minds of the children and forced them to believe that division and caste systems were acceptable in a civilization. By doing so, the State also effectively created a functional, rigid social structure.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not believe that the State was teaching the children to hate. Instead, I believe that children were taught to be grateful for belonging to their respective castes. Although they do recognize distinctions between each other each caste also recognizes the others as a necessary part of society. The State ensured that each individual would be happy within their caste, and would not have any desire to move castes. The method used to achieve this ideal society is not condonable, but the outcome was largely peaceful society, and I believe that in this case, the ends may, in fact, justify the means.