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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Malthus:
Brave New World includes frequent references to the prominent scientist Malthus, whose treatises on population control were some of the first to speculate on the dangers of unchecked population growth. Malthus's work is foundational to eugenics, a scientific discipline that evolved around the turn of the 20th century. Eugenicists frequently concerned themselves with the genetic "health" of the population, arguing that culling supposedly inferior people from the gene pool would prevent them from passing on their undesirable genes to the next generation. Today, eugenics is widely considered to be fundamentally discriminatory and unethical. But Brave New World is a eugenic dystopian novel, speculating on what society might look like if scientists developed and implemented high-level gene-editing technology for the purposes of permanently altering the human species.
Malthus, like Ford, is a prominent figure in the cultural lore of Brave New World's eugenic totalitarian regime. In Chapter 5, Huxley alludes to something called a "Malthusian drill," likely a means of birth and population control:
And yet, bottled as she was, and in spite of that second gramme of soma, Lenina did not forget to take all the contraceptive precautions prescribed by the regulations. Years of intensive hypnopædia and, from twelve to seventeen, Malthusian drill three times a week had made the taking of these precautions almost as automatic and inevitable as blinking.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Religious Leaders:
In Chapter 3, while the Director is speaking to his students, a World Controller named Mustapha Mond arrives. The students become incredibly excited, as does the Director. All of them flock to Mond, ready to hang on his every word. During this scene, Huxley uses allusion to depict Mond's nearly god-like power:
Unlock with LitCharts A+His fordship Mustapha Mond! The eyes of the saluting students almost popped out of their heads. Mustapha Mond! The Resident Controller for Western Europe! One of the Ten World Controllers. One of the Ten … and he sat down on the bench with the D.H.C., he was going to stay, to stay, yes, and actually talk to them … straight from the horse’s mouth. Straight from the mouth of Ford himself.
Related Themes:
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Malthus:
Brave New World includes frequent references to the prominent scientist Malthus, whose treatises on population control were some of the first to speculate on the dangers of unchecked population growth. Malthus's work is foundational to eugenics, a scientific discipline that evolved around the turn of the 20th century. Eugenicists frequently concerned themselves with the genetic "health" of the population, arguing that culling supposedly inferior people from the gene pool would prevent them from passing on their undesirable genes to the next generation. Today, eugenics is widely considered to be fundamentally discriminatory and unethical. But Brave New World is a eugenic dystopian novel, speculating on what society might look like if scientists developed and implemented high-level gene-editing technology for the purposes of permanently altering the human species.
Malthus, like Ford, is a prominent figure in the cultural lore of Brave New World's eugenic totalitarian regime. In Chapter 5, Huxley alludes to something called a "Malthusian drill," likely a means of birth and population control:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And yet, bottled as she was, and in spite of that second gramme of soma, Lenina did not forget to take all the contraceptive precautions prescribed by the regulations. Years of intensive hypnopædia and, from twelve to seventeen, Malthusian drill three times a week had made the taking of these precautions almost as automatic and inevitable as blinking.
Related Themes:
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—The Horror:
Brave New World subtly references Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness. In an oft-referenced passage from Heart of Darkness, Kurtz (an ivory trader living among indigenous African people) lies on his deathbed and utters his final words: "He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath—“The horror! The horror!’." Chapter 13 of Brave New World alludes to this key moment in Heart of Darkness:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And suddenly her arms were round his neck; he felt her lips soft against his own. So deliciously soft, so warm and electric that inevitably he found himself thinking of the embraces in Three Weeks in a Helicopter. Ooh! ooh! the stereoscopic blonde and aah! the more than real blackamoor. Horror, horror, horror … he tried to disengage himself; but Lenina tightened her embrace.
Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Brave New World:
The novel's title, "Brave New World," is an allusion to The Tempest by Shakespeare. The phrase "brave new world" is spoken by the character Miranda: "O, wonder! / How many goodly creatures are there here! / How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world / That has such people in't!"
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Related Themes:
