Khasawneh 1

Sheerin Khasawneh

AP English Literature Block 3

Ms. Mann

23 August 2018

RRJ: Brave New World Chapter 3

An Indoctrinated Society

Prompt #5: Connect events/concepts in this chapter to our world today and explain the

connection you see.

In Aldous Huxley’s ​Brave New World,​ ​religions are perceived as immoral, unnecessary,

and ludicrous.​ Due to the ten World Controllers, no citizen of this utopia has any knowledge of

religion or God. In this utopia, any motive that has caused wars, violence, tears, pain, or

suffering will be crushed and disintegrated into the past because everything needs to be new and

perfect. ​Huxley alludes to religion and uses irony to compare the World State to the rituals we

practice and what we think is the norm.

Mustapha Mond, one of the World Controllers, is named after an epithet of Muhammad

who is a key prophet in Islam. Mustapha means “the chosen one” in arabic and represents many

historical world leaders that have used violence to enforce their beliefs on others. In ​Brave New

World​, Huxley uses irony to make his Mustapha Mond despise religion use Hypnopaedia- sleep

teaching- to brainwash a group of children into thinking religious morals are wrong​: “‘But

everyone belongs to everyone else,’ he concluded, citing the hypnopaedic proverb” (Huxley 52).

The idea of family is valued in religion which is why this belief perpendicts the World State.

Family is deemed to create love, affection, and stability in religion therefore it becomes a
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traditional element of life. Commitment becomes irrelevant which is why the Controllers

promote sexual activity among children-instead of abstinence- consisting of different partners

everytime to make sure there is no connection, dependency, or relationships being formed

between the same two children during sex. In religion, sex is meant to be for reproductive

purposes but in the World State, people don't reproduce through sex, “‘There was something

called christianity. Women were forced to go on being viviparous’” (58). Mustapha wants the

children to know that there is no need to have one partner because everyone is assigned a

different role in life therefore combining two people together will create instability among the

balance between the caste system.

This society has no books which makes old knowledge and education invalid. Their

world revolves around new information only. They trust what they discover. Happiness is solved

through soma- a mind altering drug- and sex. Since soma preserves youth, death is not feared

therefore religion becomes irrelevant. Without religion, all the values of family and commitment

become necessary. In our society, we are told not to do sex and drugs and to stay in school; the

World State believes that kids should do sex and drugs because school is unnecessary their

education is reliable through hypnopaedia. Due to the caste system, everyone feels roboticized

and even sex is enforced in a way that gets rid of all human affection. Now should children have

sex? Do not tell people what they should or should not do because there will always be someone

that disagrees. Huxley’s purpose in Chapter 3 is that in any society, there will be extremists and

they will always try and enforce their belief on others. There is no point in telling others what is

moral or immoral because everyone will think differently. Therapy is a good reflection of how

society takes people they deem abnormal and fixes their mind set to the way society thinks.
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Huxley compares the World States extremist ways to the way our society works in a parallel

universe. Religion tries to answer the questions life hasn't which is why thinking there is

something greater after death creates an illusion of hope instead of the outcome of despair. The

World State has answered these questions of life through science, hypnosis, and drugs. Huxley

compares these two philosophies to the extremities of society. Some questions should go

unanswered.

Rubric

Novice Apprentice/Proficie Expert

(1-2) nt (5-6)
(3-4)

Depth of Thinking/ Some entries are Most entries contain All entries contain
Insight merely summary, connections, insightful
or some may reflections, and connections to
contain significant deeper level literary concepts, to
misreadings. The thinking. Some the text itself, and to
writing stays on the entries might the world. The
surface. remain on the writer has interacted
surface. (3) deeply with the text
and engaged with
the novel’s themes.

Support & Analysis Assertions and Assertions and Assertions and

interpretations are interpretations are interpretations are
infrequently supported. The supported with
supported. Links writer may rely on direct references to
between evidence paraphrase or (i.e. quotations) the
and claims are occasional text. The writer
unclear or entirely summary. Most clearly and
absent. evidence is insightfully links
analyzed—some interpretations and
interpretive work is evidence.
left to the reader. (3)