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Themes of Brave New World

Themes of Brave New World
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On pages of the novel Brave New World, A. Huxley predicted processes caused by a rapid industrial growth, raising living standards and the development of entertainment.

A writer was one of the first to depict the phenomenon of consumer community, which J. Baudrillard later described in his philosophical work of the same name. Over and over Aldous found dangerous and obvious similarities between his modern society and the world he invented. How close are we to the author’s design now?

Utopia or True Reality

The novel’s genre leaves no doubt about its certainty. If utopia is a fairy tale about a happy future that one would like to achieve, then an anti-utopia is a scenario of the future that one would like to avoid.

Nevertheless, in this work, there are some utopian aspects, according to the quotes.A lot of scientists note that the natural programming of people, the mentality of consumption and caste system serve as the basis of stability, which is so lacking in the modern world. In fact, Huxley solved all topical problems of mankind, completely subordinating the planet to the will and consciousness of the world government. Even the biological and physical laws fell before the mighty thought of the Alpha.Is not this the limit of dreams? There is no war, no epidemics, no social inequality, everything is sterile, provided, and thought out. Even the opposition is not persecuted, but simply expelled from the country and lives with like-minded persons.

But in a beautiful story, the reality appears distinctly. To order, we have to sacrifice by morality, culture, art, family and marriage institutions, as well as the very essence of choice, because human life is predetermined and programmed from the beginning. For instance, an epsilon’s ability to break out into alpha is taken away at the genetic level. Hence, all our ideas about freedom, justice, or love are destroyed for the benefit of comfort.

Some observers point out that Huxley was right when he came up with “sensations” (a movie without meaning, but completely reproducing the heroes’ emotions), “soma” (a drug equivalent to today’s LSD), “mutual use” (analogous to free sex), etc. There are numerous forms, such as helicopters, electro-magnetic golf, artificial food analogs, which can still be attributed to the technical progress of civilization. The essential characteristics of his marvelous new world were absorbed by our reality.

Persons of all ages are obsessed with sex, not with love. Some are not ashamed to show the exposed parts of their body in social networks or to wear outright outfits. Nowadays, merry leisure is a kind of act of unity.

Men and women take soma, see hallucinations, and feel the closeness in the euphoria of drug bliss. Common interests or beliefs are abolished, people simply do not have anything to talk about, so, there is no basis for unity, except for alcohol or other stimulants of joy.

Conflict Lines in the Plot

Standardization of people is the main condition of harmony in the Ford era and one of the dominant themes in the novel. In the name of slogan-quote Commonality, Identity, Stability everything related to human soul is destroyed.

All around is subject to expediency, material, and rough calculation. Everyone belongs to mass and lives today, rejecting history.Alpha refers to individuals of the first grade, engaged in the mental activity. Alfa-plus takes up managerial positions, while alpha-minus ones are of the lower rank. Physical parameters are the best, as are other features and privileges. Beta is women who are in pairs for the Alpha. They are beautiful, always young and slim, smart enough to perform duties at work.

Gammas, deltas, and epsilons characterize the working classes. The first ones represent the service personnel or agricultural laborers. Epsilons are the lower strata of the population, the mentally retarded performers of routine mechanical work.Initially, embryos stay in strictly defined conditions, then, they hatch out of glass bottles. Of course, individuals are brought up in different ways. Each of them brings up respect for the higher caste and contempt for castes inferior. Even the clothes are different.

Alphas prefer gray tones, epsilons – black, while deltas – khaki.The significant problem is that artificial equality, which in actual fact turns out to be biological totalitarianism, and the caste structure of the society cannot satisfy the thinking people. Therefore, some alpha is not able to adapt to life, feeling lonely and alienation. But without so conscious members of society, a brave new world would not be possible. Such people either perceive the service as hard labor, or they leave for the islands in a state of agonizing disagreement with their own kind.

Symbolic Elements in the Features of the Principals

One of the main personages of the novel is Bernard Marx. His name is a mix of Bernard Shaw and Karl Marx. In this way, the writer ironically slandered the Soviet regime, which he considered to be the prototype of his fictitious state. Therefore, the litterateur appropriated to his hero the names of founders of the USSR ideology.Bernard’s image, like socialism, at first looked nice, subdued his opposition to evil for the glory of good, but finally, he revealed his in-depth essence. The alpha higher order is sometimes knocked out because of a high level of intelligence.

Bernard was quite skeptical about the whole progressive world order.Such a negative perception of reality was due to the fact that he, as the quote says, “splashed alcohol into the blood substitute”. He is 8 cm smaller and uglier than the other alpha.

The protagonist feels own inferiority and criticizes the world if only for that he cannot enjoy all the benefits that he has. Girls overlook his attention, while his bad temper and oddity frighten his friends.The bosses also have a negative attitude towards the employee, feeling a dirty trick, but Bernard works well, so he manages to keep the workplace. If in the first part the hero plays, rather, a positive role, then to the finale, his mean and cowardly essence is exposed.

He betrays the mates for the sake of vanity and the dubious goods of the system he so vehemently denied from.John (Savage) is the second principal character. His personality was formed under the influence of Shakespeare’s volume, which he found on the reservation. Linda taught him to read, later, he adopted the habits, the philosophy of life and the desire for work from the Indians. As soon as he arrived in the New World, disappointment reached its apogee. Bernard turned from his friend into a miserable greedy person.

Linda, taking the soma, did not recognize him and eventually died. John rebels against the New World by making a riot. He throws out the drugs, urging a gaggle of deltas to freedom, but they beat him in return. Knocking out sins from the body, Savage tortures himself with an improvised lash, praying all night long, and working tirelessly. However, he is persistently pursued by reporters and curious residents of London, constantly intruding into his life. The hero in a fit of despair committed suicide.

Thus, the ending of the novel is a sentence to that stifling progressive world, where everyone belongs to the state, while stability outweighs the essence of human being.

The Historical Influence on Secondary Personages

The initials of another prominent character, Helmholtz Watson, are tailored from the names of the German physicist and founder of behaviorism. From these really existing persons, he inherited a consistent and firm desire for new knowledge. Thanks to the quotes it becomes clear that he genuinely interested in Shakespeare, understands the imperfection of the new art and tries to overcome wretchedness, mastering the experience of ancestors. Unlike Bernard, he really has the courage to confront the regime to the end. The hero wants to learn sincere feelings and acquire moral values, joining art.

He realizes the poverty of life in the wondrous world and goes to the island of dissidents after participating in the protest John’s action.The name of Lena Crown is formed from the pseudonym of Vladimir Lenin. Probably, the author wanted to show the vicious nature of the heroine, hinting at Ulyanov’s ability to please both friends and enemies. Some researchers still consider him a German spy, who organized a coup in Russia for a tidy sum. So, the girl is programmed for immorality.

In their midst, it was even considered indecent not to change a sexual partner for a long time. The girl always does what is considered the norm, not trying to get out of the way. Even a sincere feeling for John cannot dissuade her from the correctness and infallibility of the social order. Lenaina betrays him, not realizing her crime.

She is characterized by frivolity, vulgar tastes, stupidity, and inner emptiness.The name of Mustafa Mond belongs to the founder of Turkey, who recreated the country after the First World War. He was a reformer, changed a lot in the traditional oriental mentality, starting the policy of secularism. Thanks to his activities, the country rose to its feet, although the orders were not soft.The last name of the hero belongs to the British financier, the founder of Imperial Chemical Industries, Alfred Mond.

He was a noble and rich man, while his views were different radicalism and categorical rejection of the labor movement. Democratic values ?and the ideas of equality were alien to him. He was actively opposed to making any concessions to the demands of the proletariat. The author emphasizes the contradictoriness of the hero.

The name of Morgana Rothschild is connected with the American banking tycoon John Pyrpont Morgan, a patron, and a talented entrepreneur. However, in his biography, there is a dark spot. During the civil war, he traded in weapons, making a fortune on bloodshed. Apparently, this offended the author, a convinced humanist.

The heroine’s name came from the bankers’ dynasty of the Rothschilds. Legends are about their successful enrichment, as rumors of secret conspiracies and conspiracy theories are circulating around the family. The genus is big, having numerous branches, so it’s impossible to say exactly who the writer was thinking about.


According to the book’s plot, people are born not in a traditional way but are grown in special factories.

At the stage of the embryo, they are divided into castes, differing in mental and physical abilities. Numerous authors’ quotes testify to this procedure. In today’s reality, more and more popular become a resort to surrogate motherhood and artificial insemination. An unspoken division into cohorts suitably to a material state or intellectual skills has existed since the Middle Ages.

Our world is still too full of random manifestations of human nature and individuality to become like a science fiction. However, rudiments of such an outlook are visible in the reforms that unify an education system. Single examinations on specific subjects initially determine and limit further progress.Just as Huxley imagined, a contemporary right person, a middle-class representative with a clean job, should have contempt for people involved in servicing or manual labor.

It is a similar orientation on the one-sidedness, specialization, utilitarianism of person that may be compared with the authorial caste system. An akin tendency is aggravated in connection with the growth of megacities, where people become alien to each other and are able to perform only the role of gears of a homogeneous mechanism.

Drugs and Alcohol

A, B, C, vitamin D – fat in the cod liver, and cod in the water” is a quote inspired by hypnosis to the novel’s heroes resemble a slogan of a certain pharmaceutical company.

The emergence of a huge number of medicines and cosmetics, as well as technical devices, new materials, clothes, and their constant representation in the media, give rise to rejection, even disgust for people who do not use these things.Huxley’s characters since childhood were inspired by this attitude of goods: “Buying a new one is better than repairing”. In present society stuff are increasingly made disposable, not requiring fixing.

Such a system corrupts a person, fostering indifference and negligence.There is no marriage institute in a “brave world”. Moreover, the very existence of a permanent sexual partner is considered indecent while categories “father” and “mother” refer to gross curses.

Today, similar phenomena occur in the form of separate hedonistic ideas.In addition, the system described in a book protects itself from rebellion not by threats or violence, but by “soma” and an entertainment industry. We are talking about synthetic music, electronic golf or movies with a primitive storyline.

Mass culture is also simplified, giving the viewer a limited set of images and plots. “Spectacles” for people are accompanied by permitted “drugs” like alcohol, tobacco, or antidepressants.Thus, it would seem that our society has become largely tolerant and humane.

But the government is constantly expanding its influence, penetrating into all spheres of activity. Quite like in Huxley’s novel, except that control, there was carried out by a small group of high-ranking officials. Today power is impersonal and scattered everywhere.Aldous suggests teaching people to be free.

“Any bird has learned to provide for itself without resorting to the use of wings will soon abandon the flight”. So there is a substitution of natural creative freedom with over-consumption, which threatens the very essence of a person. It is worth to struggle constantly for our liberty.

Brandon Johnson
Author: Brandon Johnson
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