Yay or Nay?: Brave New World (Novel)

Once every Christmas, I like to ask for one "classic" novel to read. Last year it was Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse, which, needless to say while I liked her poetry, the book bored me to tears. I had hoped that this year, with my selection being Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, it would be better, and I am happy to say that I am right. 

The Story 

I want you to imagine a world where the theories of Freud, Pavlovian conditioning, and the ideas of Henry Ford and mass production have taken over everything; how we think, see things, and even how such things as babies are "born" (or rather de-canted). 

Basically the premise is as follows (taken from GoodReads): 

Brave New World is a dystopian novel written in 1931 by English author Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to make a utopian society that goes challenged only by a single outsider.

There's quite a lot of plot, but it centres around 4 main characters: Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne, John (The Savage), and Helmholtz Watson.

And I will say now, there is no "happy ending". This book deals with some deep stuff, especially since we were talking about Mass Culture/Production in my classes, and how much this affects us, even today. Certainly an extreme story and plot, it is not one that remains irrelevant even today. 

My Thoughts 

This book has a lot in it. A lot of material that initially seemed to go nowhere, but was just so interesting you couldn't stop. The world that Huxley creates is rich and complex-- and like real life is not simply changed by opposition or disagreement. 

"These," he said gravely, "are unpleasant facts; I know it. But then most historical facts are unpleasant."

In one way or another, the aspect of consumerism and mass production is something that today, arguably, we "worship". In Brave New World, that is literally done. Henry Ford replaces "God". I found this particularly interesting among other things. Parents and family values are considered "primitive", and "Our God" becomes "Our Ford", or his "fordship". Children are raised in facilities and designated castes from birth: Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma , and Epsilon. Everything, including birth is "manufactured" and assembled. There is a science to how the citizens are raised, through "sleep-learning" and conditioned to accept things a certain way depending on their caste. For example, Deltas are conditioned to hate books and flowers, and as children, receive electric shocks when they try to go towards them.

"Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly-- they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced."

The use of words, not just on the page are important as well. It is words that create the doctrine of society, in order to manipulate its citizens. Its words that eventually illuminate the problem of what is wrong with the society as well, when it comes to the Savage, John, who has grown up only knowing the words of Shakespeare, and goes into the "brave, new world", like Miranda from The Tempest. From the objective point of view, this "new world" is not so great, but a drug-induced, incredibly restrictive and harsh "world", that is not about liberty, but control. Reading this, the viewer is like John, the man who has no knowledge of this incredibly diverse, greedy, world, and yet goes into it thinking it is the pinnacle of life. Unfortunately for him, it does not end well for him, and opposes the new world, claiming the "sin of unhappiness" 

"But I don't like inconvieniences" 

"We don't." Said the Controller. "We prefer to do things comfortably."

"But I don't want comfort. I want God. I want poetry. I want real danger, I want goodness, I want freedom, I want sin"

"In fact," said Mustafa Mond, "you're claiming the right to be unhappy."

There was a long silence. 

"Then I claim them all." The Savage said at last. 

This is one of my favourite scenes because throughout, John is the "savage" because he is unregulated, uncontrolled, and most of all, can see through the smoke and mirrors that others can't. But this knowledge to see "beyond" the constraints of society, makes him quite lonely, and otherwise, isolated. He is a freak, an outsider. He does not belong, and he knows it. And I'd like to think this is a clever metaphor for today's society, which, although not exactly like Huxley's vision, is greedy, but restricted. It seeks control, but claims its in the name of freedom.

“If one's different, one's bound to be lonely.”

Ultimately, I think this book is wonderful, and gets to the root of dystopia and clever commentary. Even for the time it was written versus today, its ahead of its time, and makes some very pertinent points. You will NOT get bored by this classic, in fact, I read it in a day. The language is not difficult, the story intriguing and complex. You will be able to read it easily, without any time "period" language barriers getting in the way, or any cultural ones at the time (for the most part). The only real difficulty at the beginning might be the scientific language explaining "de-canting", but that's not something that keeps up through the whole of the novel. 

“The Savage nodded, frowning. "You got rid of them. Yes, that's just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows or outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them...But you don't do either. Neither suffer nor oppose. You just abolish the slings and arrows. It's too easy." 

..."What you need," the Savage went on, "is something with tears for a change. Nothing costs enough here.”

My Rating

Very good book! Buy it, borrow it, whichever works! I think this is a classic that's too underrated, and one that I never read in high school! 

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

~Meghan