It is divided into a caste system and the government tries by all means to keep its people happy. The entire society in the novel is organized to ensure stability.
There is no room for individual thinking or freedom in the society, nobody can ever be alone and, since people only do what they are conditioned to do, they do not even think about individual freedom – in fact, they hardly think on their own at all. You can say that the state’s motto is completely incompatible with individual freedom. Whoever feels different in Brave New World (like Bernard Marx or John, the savage) is almost immediately made to feel like an outcast and strongly criticized by other people.
The society in the novel is divided into five classes and into hereditary social groups and the state also influences the identity of its citizens by teaching them conformity. The state uses hypnopaedia and behaviorism to condition its citizens and to give them an identity that is desirable – at least to the state. Identity in the novel is mostly a result of genetic engineering. Community is also accomplished by organizing the life of the citizens in such a perfect way that a person is almost never alone and has to conform to the masses. Community is seen as a result of identity and stability and it is also achieved through a “religion” that encourages people to achieve solidarity through sexual orgies. The motto of the World State in Brave New World is “community, identity and stability” and most of the things done by the government revolve around those three terms. Afterwards, I will discuss the destruction of the family, the ingenious caste system of Brave New World, the dangers of an all powerful, totalitarian state and, finally, the incompatibility of happiness and truth.Īfter looking at each theme more closely, I will give an account of how much of a certain theme has become reality today and I will conclude the essay with the question “What are the costs of a society like in Brave New World and how can we prevent things like in the novel from becoming reality in our society today?” 2.1 Community, Identity and Stability in Contrast to Individual Freedom The misuse of psychological conditioning, promiscuity used to ensure happiness and the extreme pursuit of happiness trough drugs and mindless consumption are also important themes that will be looked at. After that, the paper will focus on technology used to control the society in Brave New World and on the dangers of genetical engineering. The first theme that is going to be discussed is the contrast between the World State’s motto “Community, Identity and Stability” and individual freedom. This paper is going to focus on several different, and in my opinion important, themes of the novel and it will also take a look at how many of the novels “visions” have become reality today. Aldous Huxley himself said that “the theme of Brave New World is the advancement of science as it affects human individuals” (written in the preface of Brave New World). Today, however, most of those things no longer seem so fantastic and some of them have become reality – at least to a certain extent. How can we Prevent our Society from Becoming a Brave New World ?īeing a utopian novel, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World describes the future, including events that must have seemed fantastic and even unrealistic to most of Huxley’s contemporaries.
What are the Costs and Benefits of a Society Like the One in the Novel?Ĥ. 2.1 Community, Identity and Stability in Contrast to Individual FreedomĢ.4 The Misuse of Psychological ConditioningĢ.6 The Extreme Pursuit of Happiness through Drugs and Mindless ConsumptionĢ.7 The Destruction of the Institution “Family”Ģ.8 The Ingenious Caste System in Brave New WorldĢ.9 The Dangers of an All Powerful, Totalitarian StateĢ.10 The Incompatibility of Happiness and Truthģ.
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