- •Influence of his loss in Brave New World. The Utopians go to great
- •Important to him; his early novels contain scenes that seem ideal
- •In 1946 Huxley wrote a Foreword to Brave New World in which he
- •In the 1950s Huxley became famous for his interest in psychedelic or
- •Islands. He keeps John in England, but John finds a place where he can
- •Voice ideas in words or to embody them in their behavior. John,
- •Is the most dangerous person in Brave New World.
- •Intellectual. A mental giant who is also successful in sports and sex,
- •Is then rescued by Indians, gives birth to John, and lives for 20
- •It is therefore a novel about ideas, and its themes are as important
- •7. The pursuit of happiness through drugs
- •8. The threat of mindless consumption and mindless diversions
- •12. What does such a system cost?
- •Ideal state where everything is done for the good of humanity as a
- •In this way two Utopian traditions developed in English
- •Important person from the way he speaks. He is the Director of
- •1/3 Miles) during the 267 days before decanting. Huxley makes a
- •In this world, a person's class status is biologically and
- •In order to develop the best brains; Epsilons receive the least
- •In which everything happens the way you think it should, countries
- •Instruments of social stability," and how he reminds his students that
- •Infants, color-coded in khaki clothes, crawl naturally toward
- •In proceeding to the next kind of conditioning, the Director gives
- •In the Director's story, little Reuben Rabinovitch discovered
- •In Brave New World Revisited, a book of essays written in 1958, a
- •In the first scene, the Director is upstaged by one of the ten men
- •Individual motherhood and monogamy, which he believes produces
- •It was "horrible" when a girl made him wait nearly four weeks before
- •Idea. Do you think it's true that human beings can live this way?
- •Item is a "Malthusian belt" loaded with contraceptives, rather like
- •In this world because he likes to be alone, and he despises Foster for
- •Is no old age. People remain physiologically young until they reach
- •In this scene, Huxley satirizes both religion and sex, but still
- •Vision or a restful summary. Everybody who is important in London
- •40 Minutes.
- •It's like to make love to a Savage, but she still doesn't know; John
- •In this chapter. John rushes to the Park Lane Hospital for the
- •Imagine the real nature of conditioning.
- •Is proud of.
- •It's old and beautiful, qualities that might make people turn
- •19,000 Of the 22,000 discontented Alphas. The lower castes, he says,
- •19Th-century religious figures in order to conclude that "God isn't
- •Instead, the Savage sets himself up as a hermit in an abandoned
- •Is learning the truth that the Controller recognized in the previous
- •12. The goals of the world state are mentioned in the first
- •15. Huxley says in his 1946 Foreword that the theme of Brave New
- •12. Lenina is an exemplary citizen except for one peculiarity that
- •In which they grow; equivalent of birth.
It is therefore a novel about ideas, and its themes are as important
as its plot. They will be studied in depth in the chapter-by-chapter
discussion of the book. Most are expressed as fundamental principles
of the Utopia, the brave new world. Some come to light when one
character, a Savage raised on an Indian reservation, confronts that
world. As you find the themes, try to think not only about what they
say about Huxley's Utopia, but also about Huxley's real world- and
your own.
-
1. COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY- VERSUS INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
Community, Identity, Stability is the motto of the World State. It
lists the Utopia's prime goals. Community is in part a result of
identity and stability. It is also achieved through a religion that
satirizes Christianity- a religion that encourages people to reach
solidarity through sexual orgy. And it is achieved by organizing
life so that a person is almost never alone.
Identity is in large part the result of genetic engineering. Society
is divided into five classes or castes, hereditary social groups. In
the lower three classes, people are cloned in order to produce up to
96 identical "twins." Identity is also achieved by teaching everyone
to conform, so that someone who has or feels more than a minimum of
individuality is made to feel different, odd, almost an outcast.
Stability is the third of the three goals, but it is the one the
characters mention most often- the reason for designing society this
way. The desire for stability, for instance, requires the production
of large numbers of genetically identical "individuals," because
people who are exactly the same are less likely to come into conflict.
Stability means minimizing conflict, risk, and change.
-
2. SCIENCE AS A MEANS OF CONTROL
Brave New World is not only a Utopian book, it is also a
science-fiction novel. But it does not predict much about science in
general. Its theme "is the advancement of science as it affects
human individuals," Huxley said in the Foreword he wrote in 1946, 15
years after he wrote the book. He did not focus on physical sciences
like nuclear physics, though even in 1931 he knew that the
production of nuclear energy (and weapons) was probable. He was more
worried about dangers that appeared more obvious at that time- the
possible misuse of biology, physiology, and psychology to achieve
community, identity, and stability. Ironically, it becomes clear at
the end of the book that the World State's complete control over human
activity destroys even the scientific progress that gained it such
control.
-
3. THE THREAT OF GENETIC ENGINEERING
Genetic engineering is a term that has come into use in recent years
as scientists have learned to manipulate RNA and DNA, the proteins
in every cell that determine the basic inherited characteristics of
life. Huxley didn't use the phrase but he describes genetic
engineering when he explains how his new world breeds prescribed
numbers of humans artificially for specified qualities.
-
4. THE MISUSE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONING
Every human being in the new world is conditioned to fit society's
needs- to like the work he will have to do. Human embryos do not
grow inside their mothers' wombs but in bottles. Biological or
physiological conditioning consists of adding chemicals or spinning
the bottles to prepare the embryos for the levels of strength,
intelligence, and aptitude required for given jobs. After they are
"decanted" from the bottles, people are psychologically conditioned,
mainly by hypnopaedia or sleep-teaching. You might say that at every
stage the society brainwashes its citizens.
-
5. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS CARRIED TO AN EXTREME
A society can achieve stability only when everyone is happy, and the
brave new world tries hard to ensure that every person is happy. It
does its best to eliminate any painful emotion, which means every deep
feeling, every passion. It uses genetic engineering and conditioning
to ensure that everyone is happy with his or her work.
-
6. THE CHEAPENING OF SEXUAL PLEASURE
Sex is a primary source of happiness. The brave new world makes
promiscuity a virtue: you have sex with any partner you want, who
wants you- and sooner or later every partner will want you. (As a
child, you learn in your sleep that "everyone belongs to everyone
else.") In this Utopia, what we think of as true love for one person
would lead to neurotic passions and the establishment of family
life, both of which would interfere with community and stability.
Nobody is allowed to become pregnant because nobody is born, only
decanted from a bottle. Many females are born sterile by design; those
who are not are trained by "Malthusian drill" to use contraceptives
properly.
-