Brave New World
Brave New World presents a startling view of the future which on the surface appears almost comical. Yet humor was not the intention of Aldous Huxley when he wrote the book in the early 1930's. Indeed Huxley’s real message is very dark. His idea that in centuries to come, a one-world government will rise to power, stripping people’s freedom, is not new. In fact there are hosts of books dedicated to this topic. What makes Huxley’s interpretation different is the fact that his fictional society not only lives in this totalitarian government, but embraces it like mindless robots.
Soma, not nuclear bombs, is the weapon of choice for the World Controllers in Brave New World. These men have realized that fear and intimidation have only limited power; after all, these tactics simply build up resentment in the minds of the oppressed. Subconscious persuasion and mind-altering drugs, on the other hand, appear to have no side effects. Add to this the method of genetic engineering, and soon almost all "pre-Ford" problems have been wiped out permanently.
The caste system of this brave new world is equally ingenious. Free from the burdens and tensions of a capitalistic system which separates people into social classes by natural selection, this dictatorship government is only required to determine the correct number of Alphas, Betas, etc., all the way down the totem pole. There is no class warfare because greed, the basic ingredient of capitalism, has been eliminated. Even Deltas and Epsilons are content to do their manual labor. This contentment arises both from the genetic engineering and the extensive conditioning each individual goes through in childhood.
Freedom (as well as art and religion which are results of freedom) in this society has been sacrificed for what Mustapha Mond calls happiness. Indeed almost all of Huxley’s characters, save Bernard and the Savage, are content to take their soma ration, go to the feelies (the superficial substitute for actual life), and live their mindless, grey lives. The overwhelming color throughout Brave New World is grey. Everything and everyone seems dull to the reader, except perhaps the Savage, who is the only bright color in the novel. This grey happiness is the ultimate goal of the World Controllers like Mond.
Yet Mond has incorrectly associated lack of pain with happiness. Only the Savage knows that true happiness comes from the knowledge that one has value. He alludes to this when he describes his childhood in the Reservation where the only time he was happy was after he had completed a project with his own two hands. This, not soma, gave him the self-confidence to find happiness. The Savage knows his own value is as an individual, not a member of a collective.
Other characters in Brave New World, however, have no concept of self-worth. This results in their inability to find the happiness known to the Savage and the rest of the pre-Ford world which lives in the Reservation. True happiness is a consequence of freedom, not slavery. No slave can experience happiness until he is free. Yes, any slave can experience the contentment of a full belly and a full supply of instant gratification, but this doesn’t lead to happiness.
Bernard suffers throughout the book, being caught between both worlds. Although he has been conditioned to accept his servitude, he is constantly longing for freedom. He sees this freedom in the Savage, and envies him for possessing the inner happiness— genuine happiness— which Bernard’s society outlaws. Huxley uses Bernard to exemplify this struggle between freedom and slavery. Huxley argues that a genuine, free life requires suffering and pain. Men without anguish are men without souls. Huxley’s future describes a world without pain and a world without soul.
Chapter 1
Huxley’s first chapter begins with a chilling laboratory tour. Even the first paragraph seems a bit overpowering with the nonchalant reference to the "World State." Obviously the setting is in the future (A.F. 632); all of earth is dominated by a one-world government.
The Hatchery Director’s opening remarks should by themselves leave the reader a little perplexed. He lectures his students on the evil of generalities, saying "Not philosophers but fretsawyers and stamp collectors compose the backbone of society." Obviously public sentiment has changed from today’s common beliefs that philosophy is a very important undertaking.
The Director proceeds to lead the obedient students through the lab, pointing out incubators and other technological apparatus designed to fertilize and grow human fetuses. As the students furiously jot down what he says, "straight from the horse’s mouth," the Director tells them about how sperm and ova are removed from the human body. He points out casually, "the operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting to six months’ salary." Soon he begins to outline the Bokanovsky Process— the process by which many multiples of babies are genetically generated from one original cell. While the Alphas and Betas, the higher castes, are kept from this process, the lower castes of Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons are further multiplied, thereby diluting their intelligence. This system, he brags, "is one of the major instruments of social stability." He and another man even seem to joke about having a friendly competition with other regions of the world for the most organisms hatched from a single ovary. Obviously there is strict population control through the centralized government. Even the "specimen’s" gender is predetermined.
There is also a caste system. Some of the embryos are purposefully given oxygen shortages to deliver them mental birth defects. These specimens, the Deltas and Epsilons, will do manual labor while the Alphas and Betas have leadership positions. "In Epsilons," Mr. Foster points out, "we don’t need human intelligence."
Next there is conditioning. Many of the embryos are made to like the heat by conditioning them with cold temperatures. It’s evident that the people have no freedom, but must submit to the will of the World Controllers. The Director adds, "All conditioning aims at that: making people like their unescapable social destiny." Obviously this system has far surpassed communism and any other totalitarian-like societies for ultimate power. The government has used technology and science, not threats and bribes, to control its population.
Chapter 2
Huxley’s second chapter details the incredible and sickening methods used to condition small babies. Dozens of toddlers are put in the sunlight, immersed in countless books and flowers when suddenly bells and sirens sound and electrical shocks penetrate their tiny bodies. These lower caste members, future factory workers, are made to hate books, since this would prove to be unnecessary and wasteful to their line of work. Flowers are also shunned since factory workers need to be content with their urban environments. Any yearning to visit the countryside would hurt productivity.
Next, the first reference to Ford is made. Obviously this society uses it to replace God. The Director and others seem to worship him as God. Proof that this society takes place in the future is seen when the Director says that French and German are dead languages. Even the term parent is considered backward and outdated. This is because modern science has made everyone a test-tube baby. Government is its parents.
Finally, sleep-teaching hypnosis is used to give subliminal messages to the growing children. They are conditioned to love their own caste and despise all others through the constant repetition of key words and phrases. Some Beta babies are told, "I don’t want to play with Delta Children. And Epsilons are still worse. They’re too stupid to be able to read or write..." The Director boasts that hypnopaedia, "words without reason," is "the greatest moralizing and socializing force of all time.
Web:
http://www.huxley.net/index.htmlhttp://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/100/1956/frameset.htmlhttp://www.online-literature.com/aldous_huxley/brave_new_world/http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/bravenew/section1.html
