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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brave New World | 5/9 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T14:53:04.886890+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Others === Freemartins, women who have been deliberately made sterile by exposure to male hormones during foetal development but are still physically normal except for "the slightest tendency to grow beards". In the book, government policy requires freemartins to form 70% of the female population.
=== Of Malpais === Popé, a native of Malpais. Although he reinforces the behaviour that causes hatred for Linda in Malpais by sleeping with her and bringing her mescal, he still holds the traditional beliefs of his tribe. In his early years John attempted to kill him, but Popé brushed off his attempt and sent him fleeing. He gave Linda a copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare. (Historically, Popé or Po'pay was a Tewa religious leader who led the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 against Spanish colonial rule.) Mitsima, an elder tribal shaman who also teaches John survival skills such as rudimentary ceramics (specifically coil pots, which were traditional to Native American tribes) and bow-making. Kiakimé, a native girl whom John fell for, but is instead eventually wed to another boy from Malpais. Kothlu, a native boy with whom Kiakimé is wed.
=== Background figures === These are non-fictional and factual characters who lived before the events in this book, but are of note in the novel:
Henry Ford, who has become a messianic figure to the World State. "Our Ford" is used in place of "Our Lord", as a credit to popularising the use of the assembly line. Sigmund Freud, "Our Freud" is sometimes said in place of "Our Ford" because Freud's psychoanalytic method depends implicitly upon the rules of classical conditioning, and because Freud popularised the idea that sexual activity is essential to human happiness. (It is also strongly implied that citizens of the World State believe Freud and Ford to be the same person.) H. G. Wells, "Dr. Wells", British writer and utopian socialist, whose book Men Like Gods was a motivation for Brave New World. "All's well that ends Wells", wrote Huxley in his letters, criticising Wells for anthropological assumptions Huxley found unrealistic. Ivan Pavlov, whose conditioning techniques are used to train infants. William Shakespeare, whose banned works are quoted throughout the novel by John, "the Savage". The plays quoted include Macbeth, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, Measure for Measure and Othello. Mustapha Mond also knows them because as a World Controller he has access to a selection of books from throughout history, including the Bible. Thomas Robert Malthus, 19th century British economist, believed the people of the Earth would eventually be threatened by their inability to raise enough food to feed the population. In the novel, the eponymous character devises the contraceptive techniques (Malthusian belt) that are practiced by women of the World State. John Henry Newman, 19th century Catholic theologian and educator, believed university education the critical element in advancing post-industrial Western civilization. Mustapha Mond and The Savage discuss a passage from one of Newman's books. Alfred Mond, British industrialist, financier and politician. He is the namesake of Mustapha Mond. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of Republic of Turkey. Naming Mond after Atatürk links up with their characteristics; he reigned during the time Brave New World was written and revolutionised the 'old' Ottoman state into a new nation.
=== Sources of names and references === The limited number of names that the World State assigned to its bottle-grown citizens can be traced to political and cultural figures who contributed to the bureaucratic, economic, and technological systems of Huxley's age, and presumably those systems in Brave New World.
Soma: Huxley took the name for the drug used by the state to control the population after the Vedic ritual drink Soma, inspired by his interest in Indian mysticism. Malthusian belt: A contraceptive device worn by women. When Huxley was writing Brave New World, organizations such as the Malthusian League had spread throughout Europe, advocating contraception. Although the controversial economic theory of Malthusianism was derived from an essay by Thomas Malthus about the economic effects of population growth, Malthus himself was an advocate of abstinence rather than contraception. Bokanovsky's Process: A scientific process used in the World State to mass-produce human beings. Specifically, the "Bokanovsky Process" is a method of producing multiple embryos from a single fertilized egg, creating up to 96 identical individuals. This technique is central to the society's efforts to maintain social stability and control, as it allows for the creation of a standardized, docile workforce. It's part of the larger theme in the novel of dehumanization and the reduction of individuality in the pursuit of a controlled, stable society. It is thought that the process's name is a reference to Maurice Bokanowski, a French Bureaucrat who believed strongly in the idea of governmental and social efficiency. Complementing this, Podsnap's Technique accelerates the maturation of human eggs, enabling the rapid production of thousands of nearly identical individuals. Together, these methods facilitate the creation of a large, standardized population, eliminating natural reproduction and traditional family structures, thereby reinforcing the World State's control over its citizens.