Saturday, June 20, 2015

What is the name of the deity in Huxley's Brave New World?

there is no deity in Mustapha Mond's Brave New World only the historic Henry Ford. Henry Ford was the creator of the Model-T automobile and the creator of the assembly line process. The inhabitants of BNW deify Ford by referring to the passing of time as B.F. (before Ford) and A.F. (After Ford). This is similar to our own use of B.C. (Before  Christ) and A.D. (after Death). For example in chapter one:



The date, A.F. 632, is not clarified yet, but the emphasis on the assembly-line production of people gives a clue to the meaning of the F. The practice of assembly-line production in factories was only about 15 years old when this novel was written, but today’s reader is so accustomed to assembly-line production that this point goes almost unrecalled. At the time of original publication, the assembly-line production of human beings was probably much more difficult a prospect to comprehend.



The deity, then, in BNW is Ford and they worship production, effeciency, and material consumption for the stability of society. They also make the sign of the "T"--another subversion of traditional Christianity. Hope this helps..

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