Fault In Our Stars

Quote

Page Number

Kristina Lundberg
English 3, p1
Fault in Our Stars part 1
Comments

“The World State’s motto,
Community, Identity, Stability.”

3

This motto is mentioned first thing, which suggests that it is going to be very important for the rest of the structure of the book.
The main issues might focus around how the government controls Community, Identity, and
Stability

“In this year of stability, A.F
632…”

4

This is the first hint that there is no God in this society. Instead of
A.D (year of our lord or Anno
Domini) they replace Domini with
Ford. Also, through this you can see that the government is in control because stability is part of their motto, and it describes this year as “stable”.
(My Father had to explain this to me) “Begin at the beginning”

5

The director is referencing the beginning of the process to make human beings, but it is also the beginning of the book. This also sets up an order of events that happens in the story. (beginning, middle, and end) I believe the director will cover the entire human life, and perhaps at the end of the book one of the main character dies. This quote also shows the assembly like idea of the process of hatching humans.

“The operation undergone voluntarily for the good of society, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting to six months’ salary”

5

The director is talking to his students. The quote is ironic because the citizens are brainwashed to do everything for the good of society, so really they don’t do it voluntarily because they didn’t choose, their conditioning has.

“Straight from the horse’s mouth…” 4

This suggests that the Director’s word is the truth, or at least what the students believe as the truth.
They will follow him

unconditionally. I bet if he asked them to jump off a cliff for society, they would do it because
“everyone belongs to Everyone
Else”. This also shows that they have no ideas of their own, they just trust the government to tell them the wrongs and rights of the world. I wonder how this affects science, and literature where you need to have your own thoughts in order for it to progress.
“But one of the students was fool enough to ask where the advantage lay…. Bokanovsky’s Process is one of the major instruments of social stability!. 7

This shows what happens to people that question the methods of society. They get laughed at, and their ideas are crushed as best as possible by the government.

“Ford knew what.”

The replacement of god inter changed with Ford suggests that the society in this setting does not need a god. This may be because everything is stable, and therefore there is no suffering, if there is no suffering, than there is no need for comfort from a larger idea, such as god. By removing religion, they also effectively removed any ties someone might have to god, or to the community of their church.
This enforces the idea of stability.
They might even worship Ford himself for creating their world.

"And that," put in the Director sententiously, "that is the secret of happiness and virtue— liking what you’ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny."

16

The Director in chapter 1. After genetic engineering, social conditioning is the most important way for the government to enslave its people. The different caste members are conditioned to never yearn for a life other than their own. This is the second major instrument of social stability. It keep the citizens in their place. If all their instruments of social stability broke, the people wouldn’t know what to do.

“Moral Education, which ought never, in any circumstances, to be rational” 26

The Director is talking about how they teach the children in their sleep the morals of the world. The director is saying something else,

but from my view Aldous Huxley is saying that the morals that are taught to these citizens are irrational, for example they should wear a certain color because they are a certain class.
However, this idea that fashion defines who you is startlingly similar to our world today. Just look at all of the fashion trends that we feel we need to follow because everyone else is doing it.
"Imagine the folly of allowing people to play elaborate games which do nothing whatever to increase consumption. It’s madness. Nowadays the Controllers won’t approve of any new game unless it can be shown that it requires at least as much apparatus as the most complicated of existing games." 31

The Director says this in chapter
3. Like all other aspects of the citizens world, it is controlled by the government. These games are not really for people to have fun, and socialize, but rather to improve the productivity of the world. If we added this idea to our video game system, that many teenagers seem to be obsessed with, then we could get a whole lot done. “History is bunk."

34

The Director in chapter 3. With no God or other divine morals, the past is regarded as backward and detrimental. History would be a personal connection, and the government removes all of that, so basically there is no history….
(yay no having to study U. S
History anymore)

“Four months of Henry Foster, without having another man…”

41

Fanny is astonished that Lenina would go out with a man for such a long period of time. This is abnormal in society because their brainwashing has trained them to have a day to a week flings. The government has taught them this because the world controllers do not want the people to gain relationships. By having relationships it would upset the stability that they are currently in because the relationship would come before the “greater good”

“Mother, monogamy, romance.
High spurts the fountain; fierce

41

This sets up three of the main issues in this book; Mother

and foamy the wild jet. The urge has but a single outlet. My love, my baby. No wonder those poor pre­moderns 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?” (parenting), monogamy
(relationships), and romance.
Mustapha says that by getting rid of these things the world will be stable, but John’s main point is feeling strongly about something is the most important thing. So, obviously they have a clash of views. “Charming Boys! Still, she did wish 56 that George Edzel’s weren’t quite so big (perhaps he had been given a spot too much parathyroid at Metre
328?). And looking at Benito
Hoover, she couldn’t help remembering that he was really too hairy when he took his clothes off.”

This introduces the idea that there are still flaws in the system, not everyone is a perfect example of their class. It also shows that there are outsiders to the system as well. I bet that there will be more characters with flaws coming up in the book, which is why they introduced it now. The flaws might cause them to see their society differently.

"Wheels must turn steadily, but cannot turn untended. There must be men to tend them, men as steady as the wheels upon their axles, sane men, obedient men, stable in contentment." Mustapha Mond in chapter 3.
This is the justification for totalitarian government. The reasoning is that government, not individuals, know best. So, the government, like an overprotective mother, chooses what the “kids” wear, eat, do, and every other miniscule activity in their life. These “kids” won’t be able to evolve, and then the world will be forever stuck in the
“stable” stage, but won’t progress.

“Go away, little girl….suffer
56
little children, said the controller.”

Mustapha is alluding to the bible where Jesus says, “Suffer the little children to come unto me,” when

his companions are trying to send the children away. The director is telling the children to leave
Mustapha alone. This subtly suggests that the Director views
Mustapha as god, or a high up as god. but queer that Alphas and Betas won’t make any more plants grow than those nasty little Gammas and
Deltas and Epsilons down there.”

74

Lenina voices her thoughts about phosphorous recovery. This is an interesting thought because even though during life an Alpha is more important than an Epsilon, at the end they are all equal. Later
Henry says, “All men are physic­chemically equal,” which is alluding to “all are created equal”.
Maybe, one of these characters will find out that they aren’t just chemically equal, but physically as well. “but the only thing he could think of was Morgana’s eyebrow”

86

This world is not perfect if outward appearances can distract someone from focusing on a bigger picture. It also shows that there could be flaws in their assembly line productions because
Morgana is not as pretty as she should be. Perhaps the rumors about alcohol in Bernard’s blood surrogate is true. Also, attraction and repulsion are feelings that nature creates. So if Bernard is having these feelings then perhaps nature is still around, no matter how hard he is conditioned.

“Myself and nasty . Not somebody else, however jolly.”

89

Bernard refuses soma because he believes the drug won’t only change the way you act, but it will make you into a whole different person. He is not fooled by the governments sleep teaching methods. By him defying this small thing, he is also in a way defying the government; I wonder what happens to people that do?
He might get reconditioned to become an Epsilon minus… that wouldn’t be fun.

“No, the real problem is: How is it that I can’t, or rather—because, after all, I know quite well why I can’t—what would it be like if I could, if I were free—not enslaved by my conditioning.”

91

Bernard talks about how he wishes he weren’t part of the system. Which makes the reader look at him as a unique individual, instead of a piece of the assembly line. This may be a foreshadow to what’s coming up. Perhaps, he finds a way to break away from the government. Also, he is grasping for a bigger idea, but he hasn’t quite reached it yet, just like Benito Hoover.