In the novel, the castes (Epsilons, Alphas, Gammas, etc.) are exposed to the "Ford" being their superior as soon as they are infants. As a result, the castes have expressions that often reference Ford, such as, "Oh Ford!". One last example of this is the world we live in currently.
As a stated before, I was perplexed when I read "Oh Ford!" for the first time. A majority of the people reading this blog have been raised in a Christian-based environment; therefore, you might have had the same reaction as I. Not because you practice the religion, but because references to the religion are found in schools, the founding of the United States and in literature works. That said, there is slim chance of escaping the influence of Christianity in our society.
The smurfs say "Oh Smurf", in Brave New World they say "Oh Ford", and we say "Oh God". All are unique sayings but they all developed because of homogeneity. Are there any other points in the novel that stand out to you because of the isolation of the castes?
-- Ayah League --
"All are unique sayings but they all developed because of homogeneity."
ReplyDeleteExplain, please.
What I mean is that each group developed their unique sayings because of the environment they're exposed to. In each example, there was an idea that was constantly driven into their minds. This idea in Brave New World was Ford. They know of no higher power but Ford, so by default, they would believe that Ford is the norm. The castes are also isolated which means that the same idea is being bounced between the same people. At some point the phrase "Oh Ford!" was developed because it's what the castes knew. They didn't know of God or of smurfs so the other phrases I mentioned wouldn't have been thought of. Maybe a better sentence would have been, "These sayings developed because of the type of influence that was had in each society." Hopefully that explains it.
DeleteI like the point you have here, Ayah.
ReplyDeleteThe phrases such as "Oh God," "Oh Smurf," and "Oh Ford" do all have the connection which is held by the culture around it, and I think a large part of the reason this is is due to the value the words hold. In Christianity, God is the one they worship, and so the name of God holds a signifigant wieght. One would think that a name such as that would require respect due to the meaning behind it. Observing Exodus 20:7, when the Ten Commandments are listed the fourth comandment is "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God," helping signify that yes, a name with weight should be used with revernce, but is often used as expression. When it comes to saying "Oh Ford," I believe the same pattern of required respect is necessary for the name, as Ford seems to have had a major impact upon the world turning it into what we witness in Brave New World. As for the Smurfs, in the Smurfs cartoon the only thing that particularly matters to the Smurfs apperars to be the Smurfs. Due to the fact that is all they know, the word "Smurf" is made highly valued because it represents not only what they are, but their entire culture. The cluture and society within Huxley's novel appers to revolve around ideas and societal behaviors derived from what Ford started, even as far as religiosity as seen on page 52, "The introduction of Our Ford's first T-Model...", "Chosen as the opening Date ofthe new era", and "All crosses had their tops cut and became T's." In this passage we can see the major impact that Ford and his T-Model had upon the society in Brave New World. it is increasingly evident when his name is used in other terms such as "his Fordship" and "Our Ford" instead of the terms we have become familiar with, such as "his lordship" or "Our Lord" due to the possible christian influence in our society today as Ayah mentioned. I find this pattern of creating phrases out of the names that would generally command respect intruiging, especially when they are used not only as terms used to bring honor such as "Fordship," but also in exclaimations such as "Oh Ford!" or "For Ford's sake." I believe such phrases in the novel aslo reflect that although there have been extreme changes to society, certain words and names may always hold a specific signifigance, and Huxley's word choice and punctual use of "Ford" emphasizes this point.