Friday, July 8, 2011

Brave New World 6: An Anecdote On Lenina

"Lenina suddenly remembered an occasion when, as a little girl at school, she had woken up in the middle of the night and become aware, for the first time, of the whispering that had haunted all her sleeps." pg. 74

In the beginning of chapter five of Brave New World, Lenina puts herself above the Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons that are of a lower caste than her. It makes her sick to think that when they die, they will be indistinguishable from her. A reminder from Henry Foster of the physico-chemical equality of men brings back a memory from her childhood.

Lenina recalls being a little girl and waking up during one of her sleep lessons. She was scared and nervous. A dark room like that would scare a child in our society as well. She sat up for a bit, afraid to return to her slumber. But, as she listened repeatedly, the noise fell into the background. It became soothing and familiar, and she drifted back off to sleep.

It is apparent that Lenina was no longer really in control of her perspective anymore. She was so used to the common droning that she would believe anything it said. "Even Epsilons are useful." And because she had learned this so long ago, she thought it must be true. She thought Epsilons must be happy because they indeed served a purpose for the world. Although her thoughts sometimes stray a little more than the average programmed human of this universe, it never fails that they return to what she learned in her sleep as a child.

This anecdote about Lenina's childhood shows the lack of desire in this future world for any individual thought or opinion. Lenina's conclusions may have been a mere part of the development of the human brain, but because they strayed from common ideals, they were "wrong" in the eyes of society.

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