Friday, July 8, 2011

The Jim-Jams (Brave New World: 16)

"'A doctor a day keeps the jim-jams away,' he added heartily, driving home his hypnopaedic adage with a clap on the shoulder."
-Page 186

This quote is using an aphorism, also known as a maxim or epigram. This novel is chalk-full of aphorisms from the hypnopaedic messages that are permanently instilled into every persons mind. Another one that is repeated over and over throughout the story is, "every one belongs to every one else." These maxims are instinctly memorized by all the civilized people, and are taken to be true, yet a few individuals question them. I chose this particular epigram because it can only make sense in this futuristic world, and would not be said in our time period. Also, I can only imagine what Henry Foster's vision of "jim-jams" would be! It clearly relates to our saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Henry is only concerned for Lenina and wants to cheer her up, but she is clearly not in the mood. I find this aphorism to be humorous, and I had to make a blog about aphorisms since they are said in almost every chapter.

No comments:

Post a Comment