Time Obsessed

There seems to be an odd obsession with time in this society. There's a lot of pressure to be on time, mentioned in other chapters like how the plane in part 3 of chapter 6 was 40 seconds late, to which Lenina calls "not so bad." There are other occasions like this, like early in the book when Lenina was running late to meet up with Henry. And now chapter 10 starts with "the hands of all the four thousand electric clocks in all the Bloomsbury Centre's four thousands rooms marked twenty-seven minutes past two." So not only is there a clock in every single room but they all tell the same time. I don't think Huxley predicted a universal time, but is instead trying to show an obsession with time. What do you think this has to do with the rest of this obsessed society? When Lenina takes a handful of soma in chapter 9, they are able to predict exactly when she'll wake up from her drug-coma, which isnt quiet as possible these days even with pain killers.

Great observation, Riordan.
Any takers?

What do you think of Riordan's observation and question?

Let's see if we get any takers.

A. Myette

The emphasis on time in the book, in my opinion, is due to the impatient nature of the society the characters live in. They live in a world of instant gratification, where having to wait for something is a seemingly alien concept to them. As with many other things in this book, the prominence of time is most likely symbolic rather than having to do with something more literal.

Again, I agree, Jason. Yet, John takes "time" to explore his identity when he is on the Savage Reservation. Perhaps it is literal...what we do with our time is conditioned by our environment...mmmm....