Brave New World Quotes

1. Mother, monogamy, romance. High spurts the fountain; fierce and foamy the wild jet. The urge has but a single outlet. My love, my baby. No wonder those poor pre-moderns were mad and wicked and miserable. Their world didn’t allow them to take things easily, didn’t allow them to be sane, virtuous, happy. What with mothers and lovers, what with the prohibitions they were not conditioned to obey, what with the temptations and the lonely remorses, what with all the diseases and the endless isolating pain, what with the uncertainties and the poverty—they were forced to feel strongly. And feeling strongly (and strongly, what was more, in solitude, in hopelessly individual isolation), how could they be stable?
This passage comes from Chapter 3, when Mustapha Mond is explaining the history of the World State to the group of boys touring the Hatchery. “Mother, monogamy, romance”can be seen as a concise summary of exactly the issues with which John will be most concerned. And “feeling strongly” is what John values most highly, and also what leads to his eventual self-flagellation, insanity, and suicide. Mustapha is saying that by doing away with these things, the World State has finally brought stability and peace to humanity. John’s critique of this position is that stability and peace are not worth throwing away everything that is worthwhile about life—“mother, monogamy, romance” included. Another facet of World State philosophy that is encapsulated in this quote is the idea of constructing a world in which human beings have only one way of behaving. The World State is an enormous system of production and consumption in which humans are turned into machines for further production and consumption. The world “allows” them to be happy by creating a system in which not being happy—by choosing truth over soma—is forbidden.
2. Every one works for every one else. We can’t do without any one. Even Epsilons are useful. We couldn’t do without Epsilons. Every one works for every one else. We can’t do without any one. . . .
This quotation comes from Chapter 5, when Lenina remembers waking up as a small girl and, for the first time, hearing hypnopaedic messages whispered into her ear. She is reminded of the quote by a discussion with Henry Foster about the fact that all humans, regardless of caste, become equal after death. This quote illustrates the power of mind-numbing repetitiveness of the hypnopaedic rules and beliefs that form the basis of World State society. The message also highlights the hypocrisy of the conditioning: it may be true that “every one works for every one else,” but it is also true that certain castes have a much better time of it than others.
3. Ford, we are twelve; oh, make us one,
Like drops within the Social River;
Oh, make us now together run
As swiftly as thy shining Flivver.
. . .
Orgy-porgy, Ford and fun,
Kiss the girls and make them One.
Boys at one with girls at peace;
Orgy-porgy gives release
This song is sung during the Solidarity Service attended by Bernard in Chapter 5. It gives an example of the banal “religion” the World State uses to keep its members in conformity with societal rules. The song’s silly wording helps emphasize the triviality of the ceremony. It also contrasts with the snippets of Shakespeare that John quotes later in the novel. The theme of anonymity is a metaphor for the whole of World State society, whose aim is to create humans that are as indistinguishable from each other as machines made on an assembly line. The repeated calls to “Ford” also point out the connection to the assembly line. Finally, the last stanza’s “orgy-porgy gives release,” like the Violent Passion Surrogate, the Pregnancy Surrogate, and soma, is a signal that the World State has not been able to entirely annihilate human nature. There is still some need for release, some need to experience strong emotions that has not been entirely wiped out through conditioning. The Solidarity Service is one of many mechanisms the World State uses to channel strong emotions in such a way that they present no threat to the power of the State
4. A gramme is always better than a damn . . . A gramme in time saves nine . . . One cubic centimetre cures ten gloomy sentiments . . . Everybody’s happy nowadays . . . Every one works for every one else . . . When the individual feels, the community reels . . . Never put off till to-morrow the fun you can have to-day . . . Progress is lovely These are samples of hypnopaedic sayings that are scattered throughout the novel. Lenina is a continual source of them. In Chapter 6, she responds to Bernard’s soliloquy about the need to be alone with almost nothing but hypnopaedic phrases. Bernard tells her how many times, and for how long, each phrase is pumped into the ears of sleeping children. The irony is that Bernard himself is one of the people responsible for the hypnopaedic phrases, but when he tries to escape their logic he is trapped by the people around him who take every hypnopaedic saying as undeniable truth. The quotes sampled here reflect some of the basic principles of World State society: the use of soma to deal with unpleasant emotions; the identification of happiness as the ultimate goal; the maintenance of the caste system and the use of conditioning to create workers who enjoy their work; the prioritizing of the community over the individual; the support of instant gratification; the promotion of technology and science as necessary foundations of the good life.

5. And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there’s always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears—that’s what soma is.
This passage comes from the conversation between Mustapha and John in Chapter 17. Mustapha is trying to convince John that soma solves one of humanity’s oldest problems: it offers a way to deal with unpleasant emotions that lead to inefficiency and conflict. He claims that soma allows everyone to accomplish something that previously took years to attain. He also makes a connection between religion and soma. The word soma comes from an unidentified, probably hallucinogenic drug that was used in ancient Indian Vedic cults as part of religious ceremonies. The soma of Brave New World is a perversion of this ancient drug. Instead of giving insight, it clouds over the truth. Instead of being used in solemn religious ceremonies, it is used whenever a slightly unpleasant emotion is felt. Mustapha describes soma as a tool that allows everyone to be moral, but it can also be seen as a tool that the State uses to keep its citizens from becoming unhappy enough to try to change the society in which they live. John rejects Mustapha’s “Christianity without tears” as being too easy, too simple, and too superficial. To John, soma seems to be little more than an opiate of the people foundations of the good life.
6. “Did you ever feel as though you had something inside you that was only waiting for you to give it a chance to come out? Some sort of extra power that you aren’t using,” (69).
Helmholtz feels as if there is some kind of happiness outside of the stability that the Brave New World presses upon its citizens. Helmholtz is in his beginning stages of rebelling. He is content with the way things are, but realizes he could be doing things that he wanted to do. The society is taught to do things to keep stability, but Helmholtz is starting to thrive freedom, but he just does not realize what freedom is yet. His feelings foreshadow his rebellion against the community later in the novel. 7. “I’d rather be unhappy than have the sort of false, lying happiness you were having here,” (179).
John realizes he would rather have things be imperfect and make his own choices than be forced to do things under brainless laws and not ever acquire happiness. Because John did not grow up in the new world he immediately identifies the lies that the leaders of the community spread to the citizens. Also, it is easy for him to understand what exactly the leaders are keeping from the people, such as love, freedom, individualism, and real happiness. 8. “I feel as though I were just beginning to have something to write about. As though I were beginning to be able to use that power I feel I’ve got inside of me-that extra latent power,” (182).
Here, Helmholtz is developing further as a character as he begins to discover what it is he is missing. As a writer, he feels as though he only has a limited supply of subjects he can write about, and knows there must be more ideas out there. The “extra latent power” he talks about is his ability to seize the truth. Helmholtz is a smart man, and he knows something is being kept from him. He wants to learn about more than the little that the leaders provide him with. Helmholtz is searching for the truth, and is so close to finding it. 9. “That beautiful other place, whose memory, as of a heaven, a paradise of goodness and loveliness, he still kept whole and intact, undefiled by contact with the reality of this real London, these actual civilized men and women,” (201).
John remembers the Savage Reservation, and prefers the filth, the poverty, and sin of his old home to the “perfect” society. He mocks the people of the new world as civilized only because they truly are not civilized. Practically, they are robots, because they have been programmed through their sleep teaching to behave in a civilized manner. John refers to his old home as a paradise, not in the sense that it is tropical or beautiful, but because he is allowed to be free and act how he pleases. In the new world, everyone acts the same and no one is really happy. 10. Because it’s old; that’s the chief reason. We haven’t any use for old things here,” (219).
Mustapha Mond explains that at the civilization, the leaders do not want their people to be attracted to new things even if they are beautiful. Older things such as works of art, literature, and forms of sciences are too much for people of the civilization to handle. If the people are able to read books and understand plays and the bible they will learn too much. If the people have too much knowledge they will only learn too quickly what they are being cheated out of, and overthrow the leaders. Giving the people the new things keeps everything stable, and they will never know the difference. 11. “You can’t make tragedies without social instability. The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get,” (220).
Mustapha Mond continues to explain the “logical” reason behind social stability. If the people were to read older plays such as Othello, which contains social instability, the plot of the play might sway their actions. In other words, the leaders have kept any kind of literature, movies, records, or advertisements from the people that contain any form of instability. If the people never read or hear about anything other than stability, then they should never rebel because they do not know or understand anything else. The problem is their form of government is lying continuously. They do not allow the people to do anything except what is permitted. The leaders have cut back so many things, how is one supposed to obtain true happiness? And if one is happy, how does that individual know it really is happiness? 12. “We don’t want to change. Every change is a menace to society. Every discovery in pure science is potentially subversive; even science must sometimes be treated as a possible enemy,” (225).
Change is a menace for the leaders because when one thing changes, people begin to like the idea. They prefer the society how it is because the leaders are in total control and the citizens are oblivious to anything other than what they have known their entire lives. Because science is discovering new things, it must be kept under control. If someone were to discover new things in which the leaders are keeping from them, things would get out of control, or unstable. The leaders have put rules on everything that can expose the truth, or make things unstable. 13. “We are not our own any more than what we possess is our own. We did not make ourselves, we cannot be supreme over ourselves. We are not our own masters. We are God’s property. Is it not our happiness thus to view the matter? Is it any happiness or any comfort, to consider that we are our own?” (232).
This is an excerpt that comes from a book in Mustapha Mond’s office. It is the writings of an individual who did not agree with the Brave New World’s society and rules. Only he has this book because is talks of God, and one being happy in different ways. His is obviously not allowed for the citizens because they would be uncertain of their stability. This is an example of an individual who was not happy with the way things were, even though the stability was supposed to make everyone happy. This is yet another example of the proof that a perfect society is far less than perfect. 14. “Isn’t there something in living dangerously?” (239).
John asks Mustapha Mond if the citizens are really experiencing all of life’s emotions. Obviously, the citizens to not encounter danger because danger would mean that things are not stable, and the society does not believe in things that are not stable. Mustapha Mond explains that they give the citizens drugs that stimulate the adrenal glands and are similar to danger, but John argues it is not true danger. The society is so corrupt that John would prefer danger to the “perfect society.” 15. “I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin,” (240).
John explains what true happiness is. Happiness is not living without a family, growing up not fearing death, and taking a pill every time something is out of place. John explains that happiness is doing what one wants, experiencing things that are dangerous and exciting. Exploring new things and learning about the world have never been possible to those of the community, but John knows doing such exists, and he craves being and individual. Sometimes by trying to make things so “perfect,” ironically causes the opposite affect and causes life to be dull and depressing. Life is about doing what one wants, and being happy with the outcome. Making mistakes, and learning from them. Without mistakes, (in a perfect life) one would never learn anything.

16. "Everyone works for every one else. We can't do without any one. Even Epsilons..."
Brave New World, 91.
This quote from Lenina demonstrates the high priority put on community and identity in the society. Social castes move from the Alphas, the most talented and beautiful people in society, to the Epsilons and Gammas, the world's menial laborers. However, each person’s conditioning causes him to feel as though they are all part of an idea economic and social system. Later in the novel, John Savage tries to point out that such a system really only benefits those who rule it, not those that are a part of it. 17. "So they're having children all the time - like dogs. It's too revolting...And yet John was a great comfort to me."
Brave New World, 122.
Linda says this line when Bernard and Lenina visit her on the reservation. Linda, a former inhabitant of the civilized world, tries to explain the incomprehensible behavior of the savages, but this quote illustrates the power of the bonds of parenthood. Huxley often uses surprising emotions in particular characters to demonstrate that there are certain aspects of being human that government and society cannot suppress. 18. "Why was that old fellow [Shakespeare] such a marvelous propaganda technician? Because he had so many insane, excruciating things to get excited about. You've got to be hurt and upset; otherwise you can't think of the really good, penetrating X-rayish phrases..."
Brave New World, 188.
In this passage, Helmholtz Watson responds after John Savage reads to him from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Watson realizes that Shakespeare represents a certain kind of mastery over language and emotion - the same kind of work that he himself does, but Shakespeare is infinitely better at such things because he deals with real human emotion, something that the inhabitants now regard as foreign. 19. "You've got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We've sacrificed the high art."
Brave New World, 226.
In this line, Mustapha Mond responds to John Savage's protests that Shakespeare's literature is better than anything that results from society’s emotional engineering. Mond's agrees that Savage has a point, but he claims that in this society, happiness is the greatest good, and great literature can only come from turmoil and unhappiness. In order to achieve the greatest amount of happiness possible, civilized society has sacrificed art.
20."It isn't only art that's incompatible with happiness; it's also science. Science is dangerous; we have to keep it most carefully chained and muzzled."
Brave New World, 231.
Mustapha Mond posits that science cannot be the only factor in progress. Throughout the novel, the inhabitants of civilized society learn to regard scientific progress as the greatest good, but science often illuminates facts that do not profit an individual's happiness. Progress often makes life more difficult for some and easier for others. Science can thus be a destabilizing force in society.