advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects." The drug is at the forefront of their daily lives providing freedom from life"s every ill. "The word comes from the Sanskrit language of ancient India. It means both an intoxicating drink used in the old Vedic religious rituals there and the plant from whose juice the drink was made- a plant whose true identity we don"t know." (Astrachan) The drug is used as a form of recreation, like sex, and its use is encouraged at any opportunity, especially when great emotions begin to arise. They are conditioned to accept this to calm and pacify them should they begin to feel anything too intensely. The conditioning also provides them with their place and prevents them from participating in social activities which they needn"t take part in. (Smith) Class consciousness which Americans are so reluctant to acknowledge is taught through hypnopdia (the repetition of phrases during sleep akin to post hypnotic suggestion) for all social classes: These names are letters in the Greek alphabet, familiar to Huxley"s original English readers because in English schools they are used as grades- like our As, Bs, etc.- with Alpha plus the best and Epsilon minus the worst. In Brave New World, each names a class or caste. Alphas and Betas remain individuals; only Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons are bokanovskified. (Astrachan) The conditioning is begun at an extremely young age and is by modern real-world standards cruel, AThe screaming of the babies suddenly changed its tone. There was something desperate, almost insane, about the sharp spasmodic yelps...
