Quick Recap: Dystopian Dictatorship where most people are happy.
For a more in-depth summary click here.
Brave New World is a novel by Aldous Huxley. It takes place in a future version of London and Western Europe. BNW shows us a spectatorial view of a successful dystopian society, and yes I am aware of that contradiction. This “Society” is a dictatorship where absolute control through propaganda, physical and mental manipulation is exercised. Though one would expect it to follow that the people in this society are distressed and depressed, the opposite is true. The citizens that inhabit this world are created in test tubes. They are then conditioned to fit whatever role the Society has chosen for them. There are five castes in Huxley’s world: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. The Alphas are the elite. They are given traits such as tall stature, beauty, strength, and intelligence. Each cast that follows Alpha is less developed than its predecessor, Epsilons being small, ugly creatures that are often mentally or physically handicapped. Alphas are often tasked with jobs as scientists while the lower castes are given increasingly menial jobs. The vast majority of the people are happy, barring no castes. All of their vices are accepted, furthermore they are encouraged. In this world every impulse is accounted for and fulfilled as quickly as possible. “Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness: it depends on the force of the current, the height and strength of the barrier. The unchecked stream flows smoothly down its appointed channels into a calm well-being…. Feeling lurks in that interval of time between desire and its consummation. Shorten that interval, break down all those unnecessary barriers. (Huxley 29)” And if ever a citizen should be temporarily denied something which is desired, he/she needs only to take a gram of “soma” (a futuristic drug that delivers euphoria without consequence) and all worries dissipate. Stability, a major theme of Society, is maintained.
What really stood out in this book was Huxley’s ability to manipulate the emotions of the reader. Huxley is a master at tweaking your emotions through his characters. Through Bernard Marx, one of the predominant characters, Huxley displays his mastery of immersion. When he succeeds you feel a swell of triumph, and when he stumbles your heart sinks. Once, I even felt disappointed in Marx! How odd to feel that way about a mere character in a story. If you are looking for absolute protagonists that can do no wrong, steer clear of Brave New World. On the other hand, if you are looking for a thought-provoking world filled with depth and meaning, look no further.
Picture courtesy of Asofterworld.com
