Brave New World - How does society treat death in Chapter 14?
Uploaded by [-red-] on Feb 25, 2001
The Brave New World treated death much as they did birth, this was in contradiction to the way the savage felt death should be
Death in the Brave New World is not important, it is simply something that happens to your body when it has got worn out. In chapter 14 the nurse thought that the savage was
“Undoing all their wholesome death-conditioning with this disgusting outcry as though death were something terrible, as though anyone mattered as much as all that!”
Clearly she too had been death conditioned, to accept that death was certain, but she knew that she could be assured that her minerals would be recoverd after her death and used again.
Societies views of death were extremely different, and even the hearses were “Gaily coloured” and the ward that Linda was on was called the “Galloping senility ward” suggesting that they had no fear of going senile.
I think that the colour of the building and the size clearly represents what society thinks about death.“Primrose”,“60-Story” and the wards were “Bright with sunshine” these aren't the coulors or size modern society would use, but because of their conditioning in The Brave New world they are taught to like it, have happy thoughts about death, and are reassured by the fact, that when they die their bodies can be recycled and turned into chemicals.
What the nurse says to the savage on page 163 also says something about the way that society treats death. She says
“You are in a hurry!” after probably expecting him to be less anxious. She then goes on to say
“You’re not feeling ill are you?” due to his abnormal (for a conditioned world) behavior and his concern for Linda which, as we can see was highly unexpected as few visitors ever came.
The words “Number 3 might go off any minute now” tell us something because the people have lost their identity and because they are dying are now only refereed to as numbers, it is as if no one cares. But saying this the situation around the bed where Linda is dying, with the TV, and scent spraying into the air, tells us that people weren't just left to die, but were given some comforts but they were forgotten.
Bodies were cremated not buried and there was no book of remembrance because this is the Brave New World and they are trying to forget the past,...