Shakespeare’s Shakespeare’s Relevance: Huxley Relevance: Huxley Sets the Stage of Sets the Stage of

Social EthicsSocial EthicsEnglish IV

John

• The Character of “John the Savage”: John is self-educated through the reading of Shakespeare’s Complete Works.

• John the Savage has a entirely different moral compass than everyone else.– He attributes quality in concepts such as:

• marriage • love • family• chastity

John John’s various quotes from Shakespeare create

a stark contrast between the utilitarian simplicity and insane babble of the World State’s propaganda and the nuanced, elegant verse of a time “before Ford.”

“Nay, but to live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stew’d in corruption, honeying and making love over thy nasty sty…”

“Orgy-porgy, Ford and fun, Kiss the girls and make them One. Boys at one with girls at peace; orgy-porgy gives release.”

Shakespeare’s Language World State’s Repetitions

Civilized Uncivilized

JohnJohn• John is initially excited to see the “civilized” society

his mother told him about, but he is quickly distressed by what he finds.– There is no love– No one is allowed to be an individual– Obstacle Golf is valued more than the dignity of

man– Death is unfelt

• “He woke once more to external reality, looked around him, knew what he saw – knew it, with a sinking sense of horror and disgust, for the recurrent delirium of his days and nights, the nightmare of swarming indistinguishable sameness.”

Othello in BNWOthello in BNW The only "feely" in the novel, The only "feely" in the novel, Three Three

Weeks in a HelicopterWeeks in a Helicopter, features a , features a black antagonist with a white black antagonist with a white heroine. (Shakespeare's heroine. (Shakespeare's OthelloOthello))

Othello in BNWOthello in BNW

• John becomes outraged much John becomes outraged much like Othello in Shakespeare’s like Othello in Shakespeare’s OthelloOthello

–Othello is angry with Othello is angry with Desdemona for supposed Desdemona for supposed infidelity and John is angry with infidelity and John is angry with Lenina for blatant sexuality.Lenina for blatant sexuality.

Othello Think of the tragic events that can Think of the tragic events that can

happen because of passion. In happen because of passion. In Romeo Romeo and Julietand Juliet the characters kill the characters kill themselves for love. In themselves for love. In OthelloOthello a a husband kills his wife because he is husband kills his wife because he is convinced she was unfaithful. convinced she was unfaithful.

Shakespeare’s plays provide many examples of Shakespeare’s plays provide many examples of precisely the kind of human relations—precisely the kind of human relations—passionatepassionate, , intenseintense, and often , and often tragictragic—that the World State is —that the World State is committed to eliminating.committed to eliminating.

The Tempest• “O, Wonder!” How many goodly creatures are

there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in’t”– Huxley titles this novel, Brave New World,

which is a line from The Tempest, also written by William Shakespeare.

– The Tempest is the most closely aligned play with regards to the themes of Brave New World. Themes such as: escapism, glorification of perfectionism, and predestined nobility.