Chris,+Tariq,+Kelsey

The notion that knowledge is power is evident throughout Aldous Huxley's //Brave New World//. The novel conveys this message of knowledge being powerful through the limitations the head rulers of the world state place on everyone but the select few who belong to the Alpha class. We believe that the novel is sending a message of the effects, both adverse and beneficial, of the lack of knowledge and abundence of ignorance, and that Huxley believes there comes a natural point in which one has attained too much knowledge for their own well being or the good of society. There is a direct corrolation between the most knowledgable people in the utopian society portrayed in Brave New World and the amount of power they hold. Mond, for example, is the Controller of everything and he is the most knowledgeable of the world state- he holds all the ancient texts focusing on religion, art, family- things that the society have shunned. Because the others are blocked from the lessons of history and information of any way of life but the way they live, he is able to control them.

1. "But truth's a menace, science is a public danger. As dangerous as it's been beneficent. It has given us the stablest equilibrium in history. China's was hopelessly insecure by comparison; even the primitive matriarchies weren't steadier than we are. Thanks, l repeat, to science. But we can't allow science to undo its own good work. That's why we so carefully limit the scope of its researches–that's why I almost got sent to an island. We don't allow it to deal with any but the most immediate problems of the moment. All other enquiries are most sedulously discouraged. It's curious," he went on after a little pause, "to read what people in the time of Our Ford used to write about scientific progress. They seemed to have imagined that it could be allowed to go on indefinitely, regardless of everything else. Knowledge was the highest good, truth the supreme value; all the rest was secondary and subordinate." p.234 - Huxley's purpose through this passage was to explain how knowledge is not only significant, it's also so powerful it can become dangerous through acknowledging both the pros and cons of information**
 * -In this passage, Mond speaks of the dangers of knowledge in the form of truth and beauty. He uses logos to prove too much knowledge is too much power. ("We can't allow science to undo it's own good work.. they seemed to have imagined that it could be allowed to go on indefinitely, regardless of everything else.")

2. "True, ideas were beginning to change even then. Our Ford himself did a great deal to shift the emphasis from truth and beauty to comfort and happiness. Mass production demanded the shift. Universal happiness keeps the wheels steadily turning; truth and beauty can't. And, of course, whenever the masses seized political power, then it was happiness rather than truth and beauty that mattered. Still, in spite of everytung, unrestricted scientific research was still permitted. People still went on talking about truth and beauty as though they were the sovereign goods. Right up to the time of the Nine Years' War." (p. 234) -**The purpose of this passage is to bring attention to the two different ideas: ignorance vs. knowledge**
 * -Here, he emphasizes the two different views of the pre- vs. post- 9 year's war era (truth vs. happiness) utilizing paralell structure. ("Our Ford himself did a great deal to shift the emphasis from truth and beauty to comfort and happiness").**

3. "Not quite. I'm thinking of a queer feeling I sometimes get, a feeling that I've got something important to say and the power to say it–only I don't know what it is, and I can't make any use of the power. If there was some different way of writing … Or else something else to write about …" He was silent; then, "You see," he went on at last, "I'm pretty good at inventing phrases–you know, the sort of words that suddenly make you jump, almost as though you'd sat on a pin, they seem so new and exciting even though they're about something hypnopædically obvious. But that doesn't seem enough. It's not enough for the phrases to be good; what you make with them ought to be good too." -Huxley's purpose with this passage is to foreshadow what is to come later on in the story. Also, the beautiful, urgent way Helmholtz describes his need to know more convinces the reader that knowledge is an important part of society.**
 * -Helmholtz is restricted by the society and he feels frustrated that his inability to write about something he feels is more meaningful. In this way he is utilizing pathos to draw the reader in. The double use of the word 'power' in the first line makes the word stand out and increases its meaning.

4.  "It's an absurdity. An Alpha-decanted, Alpha-conditioned man would go mad if he had to do Epsilon Semi-Moron work–go mad, or start smashing things up. Alphas can be completely socialized–but only on condition that you make them do Alpha work. Only an Epsilon can be expected to make Epsilon sacrifices, for the good reason that for him they aren't sacrifices; they're the line of least resistance. His conditioning has laid down rails along which he's got to run. He can't help himself; he's foredoomed. Even after decanting, he's still inside a bottle–an invisible bottle of infantile and embryonic fixations. Each one of us, of course," the Controller meditatively continued, "goes through life inside a bottle. But if we happen to be Alphas, our bottles are, relatively speaking, enormous. We should suffer acutely if we were confined in a narrower space. You cannot pour upper-caste champagne-surrogate into lower-caste bottles." (p. 228)  -Huxley's purpose in this passage is to rule out John the Savage's idea of having a society where everyone is an Alpha Double Plus as absolutely ludacris. Mond thoroughly explains the troubles that would arise if John's plan played out, which allows the reader to see the thought process that Mond has in order to keep his rule over the society. **
 * - Huxley shapes this passage by using a style of writing that shoots down John's idea of having everyone in society be an Alpha Double Plus. By using words like "only" and "even after", Huxley's presents Mond's response in a way that makes John look foolish for even thinking of such an idea. Mond knows that if everyone has the knowledge of Alpha Double Plus', there would be a large power struggle.

Huxley's bold predictions have come to fruition in some aspects. The notion that knowledge is power is true in today's world. In Brave New World, the citizens of the World State were controlled by their ignorance. They knew nothing about the free world as we see it. Everything the people learned was meticulously censored. Their lack of knowledge made them manageable. Conversely, Mustapha Mond's wealth of knowledge made him powerful. Today, government's still censor and "erase" history. Nations like China carefully pick what their people can access through the internet. Others like Russia mold the accounts major historical events in their favor. Many governments use their knowledge to effectively control the masses who are never told the truth in its entirety. Huxley's remarkable visions of scientific progress undermining itself strikes a chord in the modern world. The U.S. as well as dozens of other countries harness nuclear power for energy and weapons. The atomic bomb, a huge scientific advancemencent, killed more than a hundred thousand people during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, many worry about nuclear programs in Iran. Months ago,the world warily watched as the Pakistani army fought Taliban forces advancing on Karachi. This onslaught conjured up nightmare scenarios of terrorist gaining control of nuclear missiles in the capital. Huxley was correct in his envisioned future. Huxley's visions of knowledge serving as a tool for ultimate power over society have partially came true. His fears of man's scientific and technological progression ultimatley trumping themselves have also materialized as well. (NF)