BNW Point and proof PART 1

Authority & control + Consumerism

What are the themes for BNW

Authority and control

Consumerism

Technological domination

Erasure of History,Art & Literature

Conformity & loss of individuality

Truth vs Comfort

Authority and control: Bernard Marx

Point 1: Bernard’s Insecurity Stems from the World State’s Control Over Identity

• "He was as miserably isolated as Bernard, but his conditioning had made him feel it as a virtue."

  -Bernard feels like an outsider because he’s physically smaller and weaker than other Alphas. This deviation makes him hyper-aware of how the World State dictates identity through genetic manipulation and conditioning. Unlike Helmholtz, who embraces his individuality, Bernard’s sense of inferiority is a byproduct of the State's authority over his very being. His frustration and bitterness reflect how control over appearance and status enforces conformity, marginalizing those who deviate. Bernard’s insecurity is not rebellion—it's internalized oppression from a system that equates physical perfection with social worth.

Authority and control: Bernard Marx

Point 2: Bernard Abuses Authority When Given Social power

• "Success went fizzily to Bernard's head, and in the process completely reconciled him... to a world which, up till then, he had found very unsatisfactory." (Chapter 11)

  -When Bernard becomes popular for bringing "the Savage" (John) back to London, he indulges in the power and status he's been denied. This shows that Bernard isn't against the system of control itself—he resents his low position within it. Once he gains authority, he conforms and even abuses the power dynamics he used to criticize. Bernard’s shallow desire for validation reveals how the World State’s hierarchical control corrupts individuals, turning them into willing enforcers when it's convenient.

Authority and control: Bernard Marx

Point 3: Bernard's Rebellion is Superficial—He Crumbles Under True Authority

• "‘Don’t send me to Iceland. I promise I’ll do what I ought to do. Give me another chance. Please give me another chance.’” (Chapter 16)

  -Despite his earlier posturing as a critic of the World State, Bernard completely breaks down when Mustapha Mond threatens to exile him. His begging and desperation show that his dissent was shallow and self-serving. He lacks the conviction of true rebels like Helmholtz. This moment exposes how deeply the mechanisms of control—fear of exile, loss of status—are embedded in Bernard. The World State’s authority doesn’t need to use force; psychological conditioning and social fear are enough to ensure obedience.

Authority and control: Lenina Crowne

Point 1: Conditioned to Obey Social Norms

• Quote: “When the individual feels, the community reels.”
  — Lenina, Chapter 3

• Lenina parrots this hypnopaedic phrase when Bernard starts expressing individual feelings, showing how conditioning has controlled her worldview.

Authority and control: Lenina Crowne

Point 2: Uses Soma to Escape Emotional Conflict

• Quote: “A gramme is better than a damn.”
  — Lenina, Chapter 6

• Lenina uses this slogan to justify taking soma whenever she feels discomfort, showing how the State uses soma as a tool of emotional control.

Authority and control: Lenina Crowne

Point 3: Conforms to Promiscuity Norms

• Quote: “Everyone belongs to everyone else.”
  — Lenina, Chapter 3

• “Lenina, you don't mind being meat, do you?”- Bernard ch.3

• Lenina reacts to Bernard’s desire for exclusivity by affirming this hypnopaedic slogan, illustrating the State’s control over personal relationships.

Authority and control: Mustapha Mond

Point 1: Censorship of Knowledge

• “We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons.”

-Mond explains the genetic manipulation process, highlighting the State’s authority over identity.

Authority and control: Mustapha Mond

Point 2: Suppresses Dangerous Ideas(banning literature to promote critical thinking)

• “You can’t make tragedies without social instability.”
  — Mustapha Mond, Chapter 16

-Mond explains why Shakespeare is banned, as real art promotes deep emotions which threaten social control.

Authority and control: Mustapha Mond

Point 3: Chooses Stability Over Freedom

• Quote: “Happiness has got to be paid for.”
  — Mustapha Mond, Chapter 16

• Mond justifies the sacrifices made (like truth and beauty) for the sake of societal stability.

Authority and control: JOHN, the Savage

Point 1: Rebels Against Soma-Induced Control

• “But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”- John chapter 17

• John rejects the artificial comfort of the World State, yearning for genuine human experience.

Authority and control: JOHN, the Savage

Point 2: Physically Revolts Against Soma Distribution

• Quote: “But do you like being slaves?”
  — John, Chapter 15

• john incites a riot by throwing soma away, symbolizing rebellion against chemical enslavement.

Authority and control: JOHN, the Savage

Point 3: Seeks Isolation to Escape Control

• Quote: “I ate civilization. It poisoned me.”
  — John, Chapter 18

• John flees to a lighthouse to escape the suffocating control of civilization, but ultimately cannot escape its reach.

Authority and control: Helmholtz Watson

Point 1: Feels Stifled by Propaganda Work

• Quote: “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly.”
  — Helmholtz, Chapter 4

• Helmholtz reveals his frustration with shallow slogans and desires to use words meaningfully, which the State suppresses.

Authority and control: Helmholtz Watson

Point 2: Laughs in Face of Authority

• Quote: “Helmholtz laughed.”
  — Narration, Chapter 16

• “If you had any sense, Bernard, you’d know that’s the best thing that could happen to you. Island life’s going to be better than being stuck here with all this... this...”

• : During Mond’s serious lecture, Helmholtz’s laughter shows his mental rebellion and detachment from the State’s authority.

Authority and control: Helmholtz Watson

Point 3: Desires Creative Freedom

• Quote: “I'd like to write something that meant something.”
  — Helmholtz, Chapter 4

• Helmholtz expresses dissatisfaction with shallow propaganda work, reflecting his resistance to intellectual control.

Consumerism: Bernard Marx

Point 1: Bernard’s Discomfort with Shallow Pleasure-Seeking

• “I’d rather be myself. Myself and nasty. Not somebody else, however jolly.”
  — Bernard, Chapter 6

• Bernard expresses his disdain for soma, preferring authentic—even if unpleasant—experiences over the artificial happiness that soma represents. This moment highlights Bernard’s discomfort with the World State’s consumer-driven approach to happiness, where negative emotions are considered a defect to be "fixed" through consumption of products like soma. His resistance shows a small-scale rebellion against a system that equates emotional well-being with chemical consumption.

Consumerism: Bernard Marx

Point 2: Bernard’s Popularity Surge Exposes His Hypocrisy

• “He had imagined that Bernard had got over that silliness. But Bernard’s jokes were those of a man who is deliriously happy to be in the limelight.”

• After introducing John the Savage to London society, Bernard basks in social attention and status, which are linked to consumption and spectacle in the World State. Despite his earlier criticisms of the shallow consumer culture, Bernard quickly succumbs to the perks of fame—parties, women, and recognition. His hypocrisy shows how consumerism’s allure can easily corrupt even those who claim to oppose it, as success and status are marketed as consumable goods.

Consumerism: Bernard Marx

Point 3: Bernard’s Desire for Privacy Opposes Consumerist Exhibitionism

• “I want to look at the sea in peace.”
  — Bernard, Chapter 6

• Bernard’s wish for solitude and reflection contrasts sharply with the World State’s emphasis on constant activity, entertainment, and consumption. The society discourages solitude because it doesn’t fuel economic consumption; being alone means not participating in group activities, sports, shopping, or soma holidays. Bernard’s desire is an act of quiet rebellion against a system that commodifies every moment of life into a consumer experience.

Consumerism: Lenina Crowne

Point 1: Lenina’s Identity Revolves Around Consumption

• “I always like to have new clothes.”
  — Lenina, Chapter 3

• Lenina’s casual remark reveals how consumerism is embedded in her identity. The constant desire for new clothing is not based on necessity but on hypnopaedic conditioning that equates purchasing with happiness. The World State’s economy depends on this endless cycle of production and consumption, and Lenina is a perfect example of how citizens are trained to derive self-worth from material goods.

Consumerism: Lenina Crowne

Point 2: Considers People as Consumable Experiences

• “You ought to be more promiscuous.”
  — Lenina, Chapter 6

• Lenina scolds Bernard for not engaging in casual sexual relationships, reflecting how even human connections are commodified into consumable, replaceable experiences. The World State discourages emotional bonds because they create instability; instead, relationships are treated like products to be used and discarded. Lenina, fully conditioned, cannot comprehend Bernard’s desire for a meaningful connection, showcasing how consumerist ideology has dehumanized intimacy.

Consumerism: Lenina Crowne

Point 3: Uses Soma as a Consumable Escape

• “A gramme is always better than a damn.”
  — Lenina, Chapter 6

• Lenina recites this slogan when faced with emotional discomfort, immediately turning to soma as a product to solve her distress. Soma is marketed as an instant, purchasable solution to any unhappiness, eliminating the need for emotional resilience or reflection. This highlights how the State uses consumer goods to suppress complex human emotions, reinforcing control through chemical pacification.

Consumerism: Mustapha Mond

Point 1: Consumerism Replaces Religion and Values

• “Christianity without tears—that’s what soma is.”
  — Mustapha Mond, Chapter 17

• Mond explains to John how soma has replaced religion by offering comfort without sacrifice or moral struggle. Instead of finding meaning through faith, citizens are conditioned to consume products that fulfill their desires instantly. This substitution of spiritual fulfillment with consumable happiness is a cornerstone of the State’s consumerist control, turning existential needs into manageable economic transactions.

Consumerism: Mustapha Mond

Point 2: Stability Relies on Endless Consumption

• “Ending is better than mending.”
  — Mond quoting hypnopaedia, Chapter 3

• Mond refers to a State slogan that discourages repairing old items, ensuring that citizens continually buy new products to sustain the economy. The society’s stability hinges on this wasteful cycle of consumption, where citizens are trained to find joy in acquiring new goods rather than valuing durability or sentimentality. This quote encapsulates how the State’s authority is maintained by embedding consumer habits into citizens’ core values.

Consumerism: Mustapha Mond

Point 3: Consumption as a Social Duty

• “We make them hate the country... so they’ll always want to be going out.”
  — Mustapha Mond, Chapter 3

• ond outlines how even leisure activities are designed to drive consumption. By conditioning people to dislike nature, the State ensures they’ll seek entertainment that involves transportation, facilities, and products—thereby stimulating economic activity. This manipulation shows how consumption is not a choice but a duty engineered into everyday life.

Consumerism: John,the Savage

Point 1: Rejects Materialistic Pleasures

• “I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger.”
  — John, Chapter 17

• John passionately rejects the superficial comfort offered by the World State, exposing his disdain for a society that equates consumption with happiness. Unlike the citizens who numb their discomforts with soma and entertainment, John seeks authentic human experiences, even if they involve suffering. His rejection of consumer-driven happiness marks him as a threat to the State’s ideology.

Consumerism: John,the Savage

Point 2: Disgusted by Superficial Entertainment

• “O brave new world that has such people in it.”
  — John (ironically), Chapter 11

• Upon witnessing London’s shallow consumer culture, John repeats Miranda’s line from The Tempest, but now with bitter sarcasm. The society’s obsession with trivial pleasures and materialism horrifies him, revealing how consumerism has replaced deeper human values with mindless indulgence.

Consumerism: John,the Savage

Point 3: Revolts Against Soma as a Consumer Product

• “But do you like being slaves? Do you like being babies?”
  — John, Chapter 15

• John’s physical revolt against soma distribution is a direct attack on the State’s use of consumer goods to maintain control. By trying to free the Deltas from soma’s influence, John challenges the entire foundation of a society that equates consumption with contentment. His rebellion exposes the infantilization of citizens who are pacified into docility through consumerist sedation.

Consumerism: Helmoltz Watson

Point 1: Frustrated by Shallow, Commercialized Art

• “It’s not enough for the phrases to be good; what you make with them ought to be good too.”
  — Helmholtz, Chapter 4

• Helmholtz expresses his dissatisfaction with writing shallow jingles for the State’s propaganda machine. He feels that his talent is wasted on producing consumerist slogans designed to manipulate people into buying and conforming. His frustration shows how consumerism even corrupts artistic creativity, reducing it to a tool of economic and social control.

Consumerism: Helmoltz Watson

Point 2: Sees Words as Tools of Manipulation in Consumer Culture

• “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly.”
  — Helmholtz, Chapter 4

• Helmholtz understands the power of language, but in the World State, words are weaponized to enforce consumer habits rather than inspire thought. His desire to write something meaningful is stifled by a society that limits language to commercial slogans, showing how consumerism dictates even intellectual expression.

Consumerism: Helmoltz Watson

Point 3: Rejects the Comforts of Consumer Society

• “I’d rather be sent to an island.”
  — Helmholtz, Chapter 16

• Unlike Bernard, Helmholtz embraces exile when given a choice, preferring intellectual freedom over the comfort and superficial pleasures of consumer-driven society. His willingness to give up material luxuries shows his rejection of a life dictated by consumption.