Caste System in Brave New World

• Applying: ascribed status, social institution, gemeinschaft, gesellschaft and group

Caste system and ascribed status

• Ascribed status: a social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics

• The basis of a caste system is that you cannot change the caste you were born into, or in Brave New World’s case, engineered into.

• 5 different levels in caste system of Brave New World:– Alphas– Betas– Gammas– Deltas– Epsilons

Social institution in BNW

• Social institution: and organized pattern of beliefs and behavior centered on basic social needs

• All social needs of the people are ‘met’ by the government (World State) according to their caste. Institution example:– Family: hatched/genetically

engineered– Education: Sleep learning– Religion: replaced with

physical pleasure– Politics: Ten world controllers

Gemeinschaft within the caste

• Gemeinschaft: a close-knit community in which personal bonds unite members

• Each caste is a community within itself, even though there was socializing outside of their own caste. Alphas and Betas can relate to one another in those terms as well a some Gammas

Gesellschaft

• Gesellschaft: a large and impersonal community with little commitment to the group or consensus values

• The Deltas and Epsilons, with no individuality, have no sense of what they are doing. Even though their jobs are contributing, they have no choice in the matter. They care little about what others do and are mostly concerned with themselves

Groups of castes

• Group: any number of people with similar norms, values and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis

• The castes in BNW are just that; groups of people instilled with the same norms and values

By: Kent Turtz