Does this text make you think of another text, song, TV show, or literary work? What is it and what connection is there between the two pieces?
The literary work that this reminds me of is Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. There is a character in Mistborn named Vin who is from a lower class and is dressed up to infiltrate the upper class. The boy that Vin falls in love with is a radical that is within the upper class by birth, but is separated from the other aristocrats. He is from the biggest family in the capitol, but instead of going to parties and meeting women he is studying books and appears genuinely concerned for the lower classes. There is one scene in particular that has this boy meeting with one of his other aristocratic friends in a library during one of the parties and they are basically talking about things that would get them arrested if anyone had heard about them. The conversation coming to an end at the end of chapter four of Brave New World was reminiscent of this because Bernard freaks out when he thinks he hears someone coming. This idea that there is something going on in the lower class that makes them want to rise up, but this cannot be achieved until there is a dissident in the upper class that gives them a way into some sort of weakness. In Mistborn this is achieved through Vin infiltrating, but in BNW, Bernard is already prepared to take down the structure of society.
I've never read Mistborn! That sounds like a neat connection -- and the whole justification for the genetic engineering in BNW is to avoid the "rising up" that is so common in unjust and unequal societies. I think it would be interesting to look at BNW through a power-oppression lens, too, especially with high school classes. The whole question of whether ignorance is bliss is put into practice with BNW, don't you think? Because the lower castes are not just assigned the lower-class lives and jobs; they are also genetically modified to be less intelligent and therefore more accepting of their lives. It's a terrible choice -- and one that I think Mustapha Mond discusses when he asks whether people want to be free or happy. Ouch.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting connection--I have never read this book before either--how did you come across this book? In another class? A very interesting comparison of characters--
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