Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Why is the director just called The Director in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? What effect does this have in the story?

The Director of the Hatcheries and Conditioning Center, or D.H.C., does have a name, but it is not revealed until chapter seven. Linda tells Bernard Marx that the father of her son took her to the reservation on a date many years ago; but, he left her there after she fell down and they couldn't find her. She was also impregnated by this man, who she reveals as "Tomakin." Marx then remembers that the Director's name is Thomas; and based on clues from an earlier conversation that he had with the Director, Marx realizes that his boss did something completely horrible in the eyes of their society--he became a father.


Having been threatened by his boss to be transferred to Iceland, Marx comes up with a plan to get revenge and avoid losing his job. He takes Linda and her son, John the Savage, back to the city and shatters the Director's life by revealing his destructive and secret past in public. Thus, the effect of withholding the Director's name for a time helps to create suspense and surprise when Marx discovers who his boss is and what he did many years ago. The name is also the key to unveiling the truth of the Director's misdeeds as well as Marx's rise to fame.

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