Reaction to Brave New World (first half)

In the novel Brave New World social order is maintained through the use of cloning. Individuals no longer are given birth to and raised by mothers and fathers. Embryos are divided multiple times to produce almost one hundred separate eggs. These eggs produce identical human beings. Each group of eggs is treated different based on what they are to become in society.

There are alphas, betas, deltas, gammas, and epsilons, which each have a different social order. Alphas are the elite members of society and are responsible for more work than others. Epsilons are the lower class and are created to become drones who are taught to preform mindless tasks.

People are taught their place within the society when they are young through hypnosis and shock therapy. This teaches them what they are supposed to like and how they are supposed to respond to things.

It was difficult to read this novel and understand how everyone accepted the ideals of the society. As I was reading the beginning as the director taught the students about how the reproduction process was conducted, I felt like the student that kept questioning the procedure. There was one student that asked what the advantages of the new reproduction process were, and I was asking myself the same question. It seems to create a mundane life where many people just live day to day preforming the same task with no hope of change.

I also was shocked at the lengths the society went to to prevent natural births. It was a horrible thing to become a mother, so women were taught to use contraceptives ritually. Giving birth to a baby was wrong and unheard of. Many younger children didn't understand the concept of birth or parents.

Also the idea of sex and relationships seemed very skewed to me. Everyone was for everyone, a motto of the society, was used with sex and relationships too. You didn't just have one partner, you could have limitless partners. Promiscuity was seen as the norm and monogamy was feared.