Here, the World State equates the passion of love with the ecstasy of soma use there is an implication that love is as artificial as the euphoric experience drugs can inspire. Jazz culture and drug culture had many unfortunate intersections which resulted in numerous songs about substance abuse. In Chapter 11, Lenina, infatuated with John, sings a song to express herself: Sexuality is rote learned like a nursery rhyme is rote learned. The rhyme makes sexuality artificial, practiced, and stripped of genuine feeling. It isn’t hard to imagine this version of the rhyme – in replacement of the original – is used in children’s education alongside their engagement in ‘erotic play’.
Taking a song traditionally sung to and by children creates an association between youth and sexuality. This song is a reworking of the traditional nursery rhyme, Georgie-Porgie. The song unites the attendants in a shared feeling of connection, reinforcing the idea that “everybody belongs to everybody”. In Chapter 5, as the World State equivalent of a religious service concludes with an orgy, the participants sing a Solidarity Service hymn together:
Songs in Brave New World are used to reinforce the population’s dependency on the World State. The London Big Ben becomes the Big Henry God becomes Ford nursery rhymes and jazz become state propaganda. In several instances throughout the novel, we can identify familiar aspects of 1930s culture that the World State have warped to suit their agenda.
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