Brave New World Literary Analysis

Brave New World Literary Analysis

In his science fiction novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley explores the notion of a utopian world that would be made possible through the advancement of technology in various disciplines such as chemistry and biology. He goes ahead to allude that stability is achieved in the society when the government imposes extreme measures of control such as conditioning, the use of soma (an antidepressant drug that creates euphoric feelings), and the enactment of a stringent social caste system. The aim of the following paper is to critically analyze the notion of a controlled society as suggested by Huxley versus the individual freedom which is emphasized in any non-utopian society.

Although Huxley’s interpretation of a utopian society shares some common attributes with the socialism ideology, his definition of a utopian world is that which the government has complete control over what the citizens learn in schools and even how they look (Beck 88).  He further acknowledges the utopian word will have a caste system in which each caste will be tasked with different roles and responsibilities and will be differentiated with clothes that have different colors.  However, even though his beliefs are shaped by the socialism ideology, it is worth noting that even socialism respects individual rights and freedom.  In socialist societies, every individual is given an opportunity or rather choice to be different and as such, it is safe to assume that these governments promote individual government. Huxley’s World State Government, on the other end, believes that the only for the society to achieve stability is to take away the individuality of persons. For this reason, Bernard claims that his most preferred type of freedom is that which allows one to be an individual and as such, he struggles to set himself free in his own unique way. In his defense, Huxley argues that societal structures in the modern society work the same way as soma (antidepressant drug) does.  He alludes that the use of advertisement hypnotizes individuals into wanting to buying a product that they really do not need and as such, views restricted freedom as the only way to contain such irrational behaviors.

The World State Government does not offer any incentive for its citizen to embrace any form of change. In fact, the World State Government creates a ‘bottled society’ where an individual is born in a bottle, spends his or her entire life in the same bottle, and perishes by the bottle. Essentially, the bottle is used figuratively to show how individuals are confined within the social class as they are expected to be contended with their social status. Huxley alludes:

“And that is the whole point of happiness and virtue, liking what you have got to do. All conditioning aims to achieve that: make individuals appreciate their inescaple destiny (12).”

The quote is truly dismal in showing the absolute truth of Huxley’s utopian society. Although everyone seems to be happy to some extent, the utopian world offers no space for embracing change, which may otherwise spur development.  Essentially, every aspect about an individual remains the way it was right from the time he or she is born to the time he or she perishes.

In the Brave New World, authorities believe that the human impulse can play a role in stabilizing and destabilizing the society, particularly in the case of sexual desires. Hence, the authorities encourage people to have sexual relations with as much people as possible and as often as they can be able to have.  Huxley further states that the abolishment of the marriage institution and the encouragement of behaviors that were once deemed as immoral is the only way to eliminate certain inherent dangers that are posed by sexual impulses. However, it is worth noting that Huxley believes that human creativity is undermined when people are granted the freedom to such pleasures (Nelson-Pallmeyer 112).  He states that the freedom to sexual pleasures makes individuals think like infants. For instance, Bernard struggles to control his impulses, but his display of the control frightens those who have mastered the art of being free with their own impulses.

Huxley’s utopian world is a world of ultimate knowledge in humans have been able to get answers to virtually every scientific inquiry. The knowledge mastery has allowed humans to control every aspect of life right from the aging process, pain, pleasure, and even death. However, Huxley’s symbolically compares the abuse of power that comes with this knowledge to Shakespeare play Macbeth.  In the play, Macbeth is able to accumulate present and future knowledge of events which causes him to seek additional power to be able to gain full control over his kingdom. Conversely, this knowledge causes him to abuse power, which subsequently results in his death.  Hence, Huxley affirms that in the utopian society individuals must not have full knowledge of how the society functions lest it results in their untimely demise.

Another aspect of the utopian society that Huxley widely emphasizes in his text is utilitarian happiness. According to Huxley, the main aim of the utopian society is to be able to produce good for everyone in the society. The good that Huxley refers to is happiness and as such, all the institutions that exist in this society are designed to produce happiness to every member of the society. However, John criticizes the aspect of utilitarian happiness.  He affirms that humanity must not always be happy in order for it to be able to appreciate the beauty in experiences and things.  Furthermore, individuals in Huxley utopian society take drugs to avoid any form of unhappiness. Hence, the decision to use the drugs prevents them from appreciating beauty e.g. when Bernard and Lenina decide to fly over the English Channel. While Bernard appreciates the perfect ambience of nature, Lenina, on the other end, sees a horrible scene.

Conclusion

In summary, Aldous Huxley explores the notion of a utopian world that would be made possible through the advancement of technology in various disciplines such as chemistry and biology. Although Huxley’s interpretation of a utopian society shares some common attributes with the socialism ideology, his definition of a utopian world is that which the government has complete control over what the citizens learn in schools and even how they look.   Huxley further states that the abolishment of the marriage institution and the encouragement of behaviors that were once deemed as immoral is the only way to eliminate certain inherent dangers that are posed by sexual impulses. However, it is worth noting that Huxley believes that human creativity is undermined when people are granted the freedom to such pleasures.