Brave New World, a novel written by Aldous Huxley, was published in 1932 and represents a dystopian society off of how Huxley thought the future would go for citizens in Great Britain. The dystopian society that is portrayed throughout Brave New World is far from perfect. Therefore, problems start to arise and being in total control is the World State’s answer. Control is a theme that is commonly found throughout the novel, which sets the foundation for World State and their civilization and ultimately displays the human error found in a dystopian society.
The novel starts in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center, where the Director is showing the recruits how young children in World State are taught to like and dislike different aspects of what people today find normal. Here, the Director states the World State’s motto, “Community, Identity, Stability,” to the recruits (Huxley 18). This is the first suggestion of the society’s foundation being set through control. Trying to control the community, the unborn populace, while still embryos are decided onto what rank of the caste level they will be a part of. Up to ninety-six matching embryos are fertilized and will be given diverse injections required to identify as Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, or Epsilons. Additionally, as they mature they are conditioned by being allowed to crawl toward an object put in front of them, and then the Director gives the nurse a signal which allows the babies to endure shocks and loud noises. When the children are offered the objects again, they move away in repulsion. The connection in the children’s minds between the objects they were given now equals the horror they endured, which causes an interminable psychological linkage for the rest of their lives. These acts of conditioning show that the society wants to control every aspect of the children’s lives, their likes, and dislikes, and also what they believe to be wrong and ...