Lyotard’s definition of grand narratives is “big stories, stories of mythic proportions—that claim to be able to account for, explain and subordinate all lesser, little, local narratives” (29).
Grand narratives are in essence big stories that try to oversimplify complicated subjects.
They try to convey a complicated message as easily as they can and in doing this other stories and narratives can be marginalized. A grand narrative would say something to the effect of, settlers from Europe came over to the 13 colonies, expanded, fought some wars (one within themselves), and became known as the country America. Now this is “basically” what happened. But by telling the story in this grand narrative the readers don’t know why the settlers came over to America is the first place, why they expanded, why and whom they fought in the wars, and how they became known as America. Many many important and significant details are missing from this story and although the central message is told the complete story is still unknown.
The grand narrative in Brave New World would be something like, many years ago a man named Ford created a method in which something could be produced with maximum efficiency. Scientists infused their ingenuity with this method of productivity and were able to create a society in which babies were produced into castes and they each led a happy life. Now if the characters in Brave New World were to read this they would form a general idea of what their life would consist of. That would be to be produced in a factory under a certain caste, stay within that caste and lead a happy life. They would not question why babies are produced they would just know that they are. They would not know why everyone was so happy after the creation of the castes; they would just know that they would have to be too. They would know nothing of how Ford came to be or how the people before him came to be. They would know nothing about anything before Ford’s time. They would only know what the grand narrative told. For a lack of better words they would be oppressed. Oppressed because the grand narrative forgot to mention religion, conflicts and compromises between peoples and societies, or something as fundamental as why people should constantly try to better themselves. The people would know...nothing. Which is in part why I believe this is the grand narrative of the novel, because the less the people know the less chance they have of going against the grand narrative.
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Well, you had a very good blog! It was structured perfectly, and the whole thing just "flowed". I especially liked your beliefs and concepts.
ReplyDeleteOne of your last sentence really got my attention. "Which is in part why I believe this is the grand narrative of the novel, because the less the people know the less chance they have of going against the grand narrative." I totally agree with you right here. The society that is created in Brave New World hinders the people of the real truth of their history. But these people know nothing better. They only know what they are told by the overgeneralized "metanarrative". And because this narrative does not emphasize the past before Ford, they are not concerned with it.
Well, let me take that back. For, they do mention the past, but only in a way to support their "Brave New World" life style. If we think about it, the way that they describe the past (as something disgusting and immoral, full of parents and actual emotions) is a narrative in its own. The narrative is that this society that contained emotions, parents, and love is described as a wretched thing to the people. So, it serves to promote the bigger "metanarrative" of their theory of mass production.
So basically, your quote just inspired me on a whole new concept. Great job, your blog was awesome.