By Aldous Huxley
A dystopian fiction written and published in world war I and world war II era by Aldous Huxley covers the his imaginative vision of dystopian future where the emotions and individuality are conditioned out of children at a young age, and there are no lasting relationships because “every one belongs to everyone else” emphasising the system of forced promiscuity, brainwashed into the people from the moment of birth (a common World State dictum).
Huxley begins the novel by thoroughly explaining the scientific and compartmentalized nature of this society, beginning at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, where children are created outside the womb and cloned in order to increase the population.
The reader is then introduced to the class system of this world, where citizens are sorted as embryos to be of a certain class. The embryos, which exist within tubes and incubators, are provided with differing amounts of chemicals and hormones in order to condition them into predetermined classes. Embryos destined for the higher classes get chemicals to perfect them both physically and mentally,
whereas those of the lower classes are altered to be imperfect in those respects. These classes, in order from highest to lowest, are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. The Alphas are bred to be leaders, and the Epsilons are bred to be menial labourers.
Depicting a story of a drug abused mother and a innocent son, revolving around the aspects of drugs, prostitution, poverty and depression in widespread state of his future visions.
Brave New World explores the negatives of a ostensibly successful world in which everyone appears to be content and satisfied, with excessive carnal pleasures yet really, this stability is only achieved by sacrificing freedom in its true sense and the idea of personal responsibility.
Huxley picked up on such optimism and created the dystopian world of his novel so as to criticize it. Much of the anxiety that drives Brave New World can be traced to a widespread belief in technology as a futuristic remedy for problems caused by disease and war. Unlike his fellow citizens, Huxley felt that such reliance was naive, and he decided to challenge these ideas by imagining them taken to their extremes. Huxley’s life was surrounded by science, something that likely helped him to produce the science-heavy Brave New World.
The reception of Brave New World at its publication was primarily negative. Many were offended by the nature of Huxley’s future, and very few understood the novel’s philosophical implications. Many schools and libraries all over the world banned the novel, and even today it remains on lists of censored books because of novel’s themes of promiscuity, self-harm, and overall negativity which are not suitable for children. Others, however, are still influenced by the novel’s take on dystopia.
I think this book is really interesting as it explores the dangers of technology and what it can do to a whole world; indeed, Huxley is trying to convey the idea that technology does not have the power to save us successfully. This theme is what makes the novel controversial - yet a classic that we can relate to, especially in today's world, where technology is close enough to ruling our lives, what with high tech computers, music players and gaming consoles fast becoming a natural part of our lives.
Additionally, Brave New World explores the idea of just how far science can go without being immoral. Would we really want to live in a world where eugenics rule and despite everyone being equal on the surface, deep underneath bubbles the idea of inequality and unfairness? Not for me, thanks! The novel presents the contradictory idea of a Utopia, a perfect world, yet the word "utopia" is derived from two Greek words meaning "good place" and "no place"; this suggests that the perfect world is impossible.
It is true that this book is a complex read and I must confess that some parts I did not understand; however, the novel's meaning has left a deep impression on me. It's certainly a book I won't forget, and I would recommend it to readers aged fourteen and over as the ideas presented are complex, and Huxley writes in a very adult-like manner, with exceedingly complicated sentences and very complex vocabulary.
Overall, Brave New World is a scary depiction of what could soon be our future. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well written and thought provoking novel.
Comments