Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The True Purpose of Greek Letters

Throughout the history of mankind there were classes among people. They shifted in position, power, jobs, wealth and other very important aspects of everyday life. Aldous Huxley does not step away from the idea of classes in his vision of the future in Brave New World. The author distinguished 5 major classes: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons. This division shapes the society of the future. I found it very interesting that during the Director’s presentation to his students at the very begging of the book the idea of lower classes seemed normal and obvious, “I’d like to show you some very interesting conditioning for Alpha Plus Intellectuals” (17). The superior class got the best treatment, which seemed obvious, but I realized that would that mean that the superior class is only used to great stable conditions and that any changes to their environment might kill them. The idea of pre-divided classes created some confusion and made me rethink the situation in the society.
The classes are separated at birth at put under different treatment, Alphas and Betas remained until definitely bottled; while the Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons were brought out again” (38). They also receive different housing, “Beneath them lay the buildings of the Golf Club-the huge Lower Caste barracks and, on the other side of a dividing wall, the smaller houses reserved for Alpha and Beta members” (67).These treatments and conditions result in different jobs, careers and social positions. When of the major character Lenina wants to travel to the savages, the Director indicates that it is not safe for everyone mentioning a case of Beta minus that got lost, “She was a Beta-Minus … well, she got lost” (96). The lower classes are more easily harmed and have a smaller understanding of the world. From the very start the lower classes are marked by their clothes, which were shown when the little kids were taught in their sleep the difference in classes and said to have a huge effect on them, “I'm really awfully glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki” (56). The difference in the classes comes up many times throughout the book so far, but all the characters seem to come from the Alpha class and that does not give a view on how the other classes look like. A reason for which the author only includes upper classes is that the life of the lower classes could seem very unchanging and going in a linear direction. The introduction of characters that are able to create a change to the society allows for the author to create action, but also to expand the ideas of how the society is organized.
 
               In this part of the novel, the author also reveals a lot of answers to the previous questions that concerned me, including some information about the Nine Years’ War. Huxley believes that in the future there will be savage reservations, where people who are not under the influence of the Directors will live, “Not more than half a dozen people in the whole Centre had ever been inside a Savage Reservation” (98). The reservation seems to be even a lower class in society then the unformed and uneducated Epsilons. The discussion of the reservation brings many questions about how it began or what is the purpose of keeping these savages alive. The description of the reservation is the first time that the novel explains the major differences between the society of the future and the current society, “…about sixty thousand Indians and half-breeds…absolute savages…our inspectors visit…otherwise, no communication with the civilized world…marriage, if you know what that is, my dear young lady” (103). This is the first time the author introduces the contrast between the current society and how it will be viewed in the future. I wonder what messages will that help show and how it will significantly impact the my view of society today.

 

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