13. Oppression
13. When the guard explains “they’re perfectly tame; savages won’t do you any harm. They’ve got enough experience of gas bombs to know that they musn’t play any tricks” What does this suggest? Coming back to the idea of oppression, how does this emulate the oppressed in areas of today?
posted by Davis @ 9:57 PM
11 Comments:
When he says "perfectly tame; savages won't do you any hard." He is stating that even though they are savages they are trained to be tame. Obviously, they way they've gotten that way is by being trained unjust ways. They've been involved with gas bombs so he's suggesting they won't misbehave because they know what the consequence feels like. It'd be like us getting smacked on the back of a hand with a ruler when we got something wrong and misbehaved in school. That's not the right way to "train us". Instead, in the world we live in today, some people get rewarded for doing the right thing. Instead of getting punished people should get rewarded because then they know how good it feels to do the right thing.
The quote Huxley gave demonstrates opression in Brave New World because the director is showing that after hypnopeadia all the children are doing the same thing over and over with just one say of a command. This is also proving that they are not really being human like, by just following a command that they have been brain washed in their minds. It feels right to them however. In our society today people get who get in trouble with anything they won't do it again, for instance the school bell if you left early once and the teacher never caught you, you would keep doing it, but the minute the teacher catches you, you won't leave class early again.
When the guard explains “they’re perfectly tame; savages won’t do you any harm.", it implies that the people on the reservation have been tamed to obey the wishes of the guards. They have been trained to respond to certain actions by punishments and rewards, like animals. In the other world, things are similar. It's all about societal control.
Its interesting to consider how the statement that the savages have "got enough experience of gas bombs to know they mustn't play any tricks" paralleled situations of oppression in both Huxley's time and does so in our world today. In many situations, such as Cuba, N. Korea, Sudan, etc. people are unwilling to rise up not because they don't value freedom but because they value their life more. Sadly, the ones who are willing to rise up are made examples of, causing others to further question their own convictions. Just like in a number of present day situations, the situation on the reservation has deteriorated to such a level that few even think of escaping, as they've never known any other way of life.
-Eric V
Huxley may have been eluding to history and the many oppressions that have taken place. Oppression has occured countless times including slvery, various predujices, and even discrimination on ones social standing. However, oppression is looked upon as repulsive in our society, yet why has oppression has reoccured throughout history and is even occuring today?If it is so vile, then why do we not stop it?
I believe people are corrupted by society to become the "savages" that Huxley is talking about. Because of hypnopadia, there is no society to corrupt an individual because the government controls what people do and how people act. Therefore, there won't be any corruption in this society due to the opression caused by the government...I hope that made sense, because I think that is what Huxley is trying to say!
Wes Gibler can't remember his blogger password so this is a combined response.
In Brave New World, when Huxley explains "they're perfectly tame; savages won't do you any harm. They've got enough experience of gas bombs to know that they musn't play any tricks" he suggests that they have been classically conditioned. The people of the world have dropped bombs on the gas savage world enough times to condition the savages against particular behavior - in this case playing tricks on visiters of the reservation. This is very similar to our world today in that in the Middle East many people are victims of opression by the groups of terrorists and even the government.
This may mean the savages themselves are oppressed. The quote “They’ve got enough experience of gas bombs” may mean the world state has bombed the reservation to keep them in line, thus controlling them.
Oppression is shown in Brave New World by the way the savages are now tamed because of the gas and the eletric fence's. Whenever the savages tried to escape or were indanger the citizens they would get shocked or hit with gas to make a negative conitation with the behaving badly so that they will be tame and non- dangeriourous thus oppressing the the savages from behaving normaly.
The Brave New World is a simple world Mrs. Davis. The people amoungst this world live in a state of fear ss they are governed through tyranny also known as opression. They remember the gas bombs and the harm caused which is why the people shall be reluctant to ever try anything. This same sort of "learning" is similar to that of the shock therepy used to teach the children to dislike books, flowers, and the countryside. We see oppression today in the same sort of situtaion. Rulers such as Sadaam Husaine, Kim Jong Il, and Osama Bin ladin, are driven to the same extent as the World controller who exercise all use their power to create a society full of robots who do what they are told and know exactly the consequences of their actions.
The savages are able to think a little on their own. They know well enough not to screw around with their 'tricks.' They have learned from their own mistakes that escaping is not an option. Thus turning the savages more tame since they know well enough not to try that again.
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