Essay/Term paper: Under the iron curtain

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Book Reports

Under the Iron Curtain Imagine what the world would be

like if we were all "under the iron curtain." In his foreword to

the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley envisioned this

statement when he wrote: "To make them love it is the task

assigned, in present- day totalitarian states, to ministries of

propaganda…." Thus, through hypnopaedic teaching

(brainwashing), mandatory attendance to community

gatherings, and allusions to prominent political dictators,

Huxley bitterly satirized totalitarian propaganda and political

technique to point out the problems of a dystopian society.

The way the fascist and totalitarian regimes used mass

propaganda techniques to brainwash their people was nearly

identical to the way Huxley described the hypnopaedic

teachings in his novel. He also thought, however, that the

present-day totalitarian states' methods were still "crude and

unscientific." For example, in the novel the different classes

had been brainwashed since birth to believe that they all

contributed equally to society. Therefore, the people

wouldn't go against the World Controllers because they had

never been trained to think anything differently. In addition,

they didn't have any knowledge of a society which they

could compare themselves. This was evident in the saying

"History is bunk." Similarly, the totalitarian dictators

attempted to control but failed because they weren't able to

persuade the entire world to think like them. In addition,

Communism attempted to rewrite history, but the society in

Brave New World took the next step and forgot abou! t

history altogether. The only people who had access to any

knowledge of the past were the ones who had the power:

the World Controllers. Thus, they were able to create a

stable society. Since the hypnopaedic ideas in the society

were continuously repeated throughout one's lifetime,

mandatory attendance to community gatherings, such as the

Solidarity Service, were strictly enforced. The main purpose

of the Solidarity Service was to promote social stability. The

people were driven to this idea by singing songs like the First

Solidarity Hymn, which began, "Ford, we are twelve oh,

make us one." During this time, people were also consuming

soma rations, which drugged them and caused them to get

swept up in the service. Consequently, at the end an orgy

took place, which brought them together as one being. In

comparison, the political rallies Hitler and other fascists held

served a similar purpose. Just as people would chant "Hail

Hitler" at these mass rallies, people in the novel would also

chant their idol's name, Ford, during the Solidarity Services.

Although these uses of political satire are evident, the most

obvious are Huxley's allusions to the prominent totalitarian

dictators. Bernard Marx, for example, was used as an

allusion to Karl Marx, the founder of socialism. Socialism's

main idea was that no one had individual property. Likewise,

the hypnopaedic proverb "Everyone belongs to everyone

else" kept the society from becoming attached to one

particular individual. Huxley also included allusions to other

totalitarian dictators to show how the society in the novel

was closer to a fascist dystopian society instead of the

perfect world they perceived. For example, Lenina, who

briefly dated Bernard, was an allusion to Lenin, the founder

of the Communist Party. Contrary to socialism, communism

is a society controlled by a few elite. Likewise, the Ten

World Controllers controlled the society in Brave New

World. Finally, Benito Hoover alluded to Benito Mussolini,

a dictator of Italy, in the novel. Mussolini's name ! was

included to reinforce the ideas of socialism that were brought

out in the novel. In conclusion, Huxley satirized political

tactics and leaders in his discussion of hypnopaedic

teachings, community gatherings, and allusions to certain

political figures. It is nearly impossible to imagine our world

"under the iron curtain." Huxley, however, was able to shape

a realistic society through his broad knowledge of fascist

ideas. Thus, the reader was able to point out the problems

associated with a dystopian society.