Brave New World: Quotes

“What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder.”

(Chapter 2) (Character: Narrator)

In Huxley’s dystopian London everything is manmade; there is no room for the natural. There is also no room for art or any conception of beauty. This is a world of immediate and complete self-gratification in the form of drugs, food, technological entertainment, and lust. The quote represents the civilized world’s subjugation of natural principles and the control of human impulses. These are seen as cornerstones of a successful civilization. That humans are no longer given birth to, but are developed in labs is an apt example in this context. Nature is not only regarded as an unimportant aspect of human life but also as a “powerless”, inconsequential force.

“Government’s an affair of sitting, not hitting. You rule with the brains and the buttocks, never with the fists.”

(Chapter 3) (Mustapha Mond)

London, and indeed the rest of the world, is now ruled by Controllers who have successfully forced world leaders to surrender to their technological fascism. These lines are uttered by Mustapha Mond, one of ten Controllers.

He argues that truly civilized governments rule by controlling their population without violence. Violence he contends, only brings short-term goals to fruition, whereas propaganda enables long-lasting control. In his view, governments are successful if their authority and decisions are unchallenged. The quote urges readers to compare the world depicted in the novel with their own societies. It ultimately highlights that the right to hold governments accountable is an essential aspect of freedom.

”One of the principal functions of a friend is to suffer (in a milder and symbolic form) the punishments that we should like, but are unable, to inflict upon our enemies.”

(Chapter 12) (Helmholtz Watson)

Helmholtz Watson utters these lines as he ponders the difficulties of maintaining friendships in a world people are conditioned to ignore emotions. In the novel’s dystopian London, people are strictly divided into hierarchical social classes, with no room for social ascension. One’s social class is predetermined. This system highlights people’s differences, which are based on their worth. The Alphas, for instance, are at the top of the hierarchy, whereas the Epsilons occupy the bottom. Despite this, people are forced to be friends with one other, to enjoy everyone’s company irrespective of class differences.

Since humans are conditioned to disregard emotions, especially feelings of love and beauty, being forced to “enjoy” each other’s company turns out to be a dubious ask. People harbor hatred and jealousy for others, and are unable to control or understand these emotions. While Mustapha argues that regulating emotions is essential to ensure the stability of a civilization, this quote shows that friendship or harmony cannot be achieved if people are conditioned to disregard emotions. In other words, the regulation of emotions will not, as Mustapha argues, foster stability, but only breed discontent.

“Community, Identity, Stability” (Chapter 1) (Character: Narrator)

“What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder” (Chapter 2) (Character: Narrator)

“The greatest moralizing and socializing force of all time” (Chapter 2) (Character: The DHC)

“When you’re not accustomed to history, most facts about the past do sound incredible” (Chapter 3) (Character: The DHC)

“Extremes,” said the Controller, “meet. For the good reason that they were made to meet.” (Chapter 3) (Character: Mustapha Mond)

“Everyone belongs to everyone else” (Chapter 3) (Character: The DHC)

“A physical shortcoming could produce a kind of mental excess. The process, it seemed, was reversible. Mental excess could produce, for its own purposes, the voluntary blindness and deafness of deliberate solitude, the artificial impotence of asceticism.” (Chapter 4) (Character: Narrator)

“Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly–they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” (Chapter 4) (Character: Helmholtz Watson)

“You’ve got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art.” (Chapter 16) (Character: Mustapha Mond)