Phase 3: Prompt 1

Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, depicts the clash of two very different societies (the civilized and the savages) and leaves the readers wondering which society is more “human.”  Because of my personal definition of civilization and because of the characteristics of the culture, I believe the savages are more human.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines civilization to be “a relatively high level of cultural and technological development; specifically: the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of written records is attained” Merriam-Webster).  It goes on to define it as a “refinement of thought, manners, or taste” and “a situation of urban comfort” (Merriam-Webster).  I believe the latter two are closer to how the people of London would define civilization.  The London society is all about comfort refinement and comfort.  Refinement is achieved through all the conditioning.  Even while the babies are still embryos, they are being conditioned and refined.  For some of the babies, “by the time they were decanted, the embryos had a horror of cold.  They were predestined to emigrate to the tropics, to be miners and acetate silk spinners and steel workers” (16).  In the Infant Nurseries, the nurses offer the babies flowers and books but then set off a violent explosion so that they will “’be safe from books and botany all their lives’” (22).  People of all ages and classes are conditioned to believe certain ideas and most importantly, are conditioned to be content with their job and their life. They are refined in their thoughts and tastes.   Also, the people of the London society are “addicted” to soma.  Soma provides the people comfort from the smallest pains and a “vacation” from the troubles of life.   London is a paradise of urban comfort.

On the other end of the spectrum (in the Londoner’s views) are the savages.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines savage as “not domesticated of under human control” and “lacking of restraint normal to civilized human beings” (Merriam-Webster).   It is interesting that the definition uses the word civilized which was just discussed.  The definition of savage could be different for every culture depending on how they define civilization.  To the London society, the people of the reservation are considered to be savages because there is disease and childbirth and religion.  As Lenina notes while visiting the reservation, the people of the reservation were “naked from throat to navel” and “their faces inhuman with daubing of scarlet, black, and ochre” (109).  She noted the dirtiness of the land and the sadness of the old aged people (111).  Lenina was quite appalled at the way the people live and I think nearly everyone else from London would have the same reaction.  The culture on the reservation is nothing like that of London.  It is not normal to them.  Therefore, the people of the reservation are considered to be savages.  

So which society is more “human”? Well, the Stanford Humanities Center defines the humanities to be “the study of the myriad ways in which people, from every period of history and from every corner of the globe, process and document the human experience” and states that “knowledge of these records of human experience gives us the opportunity to feel a sense of connection to those who have come before us, as well as to our contemporaries” (What…Humanities).   Based on that definition and explanation, I believe that the savages are more human.  Of course, my definition of civilization is closer to the savage’s than the Londoner’s so I may be a little biased.  However, I think the most important statement in that definition is “a sense of connection” because that is what life is all about.  It is human nature to connect with others and I feel like the people of the reservation have much better connections to each other than the London people.  I guess this is mainly because they actually have families! A family is literally the most connected a group of people can get.  I think the people of London are more of a group of robots than a group of humans.

Works Cited

"civilization." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.

"savage." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.

What are the humanities? Stanford Humanities Center. 2012. Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. 14 Oct. 2012. <http://humanexperience.stanford.edu/what>.