... We did do Orwell's Animal Farm for GCSE and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale in Sixth Form but, despite their relevance to someone studying political ideas, the likes of 1984 and Brave New World had sat too long on my Amazon wishlist. This summer, I decided to try to put that right.
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use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free.
Advantages: Fascinating vision/warning of the future, relevant to contemporary genetic technology, classic of the genre Disadvantages: Not the best in terms of plot, characterisation, etc
...the likes of 1984 and Brave New World had sat too long on my Amazon wishlist. This summer, I decided to try to put that right.
Perhaps part of the reason for my delay was the feeling already familiar with the societies described in each, though it occurred to me I was almost totally ignorant of the main characters or plot. Nonetheless, I chose Brave New World first, partly because I knew it involved genetic programming and such, and ... ...in 1958).
Brave New World opens, conveniently enough, on a tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, which is the perfect way to familiarise the reader with the technology and society of the future, and spend some time scene-setting. No time's wasted spelling out every detail, however, a lot is left to the reader to imagine - for example, high-tech versions of tennis and golf are mentioned but never explained. more
Sometimes I think that, for someone with an A level in English literature, I'm not very well read. Unfortunately I spent a lot of my time reading politics and philosophy books, so rarely get round to reading fiction for leisure. We did do Orwell's Animal Farm for GCSE and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale in Sixth Form but, despite their relevance to someone studying political ideas, the likes of 1984 and Brave New World had sat too long on my Amazon wishlist. This summer, I decided to try to put that right.
Perhaps part of the reason for my delay was the feeling already familiar with the societies described in each, though it occurred to me I was almost totally ignorant of the main characters or plot. Nonetheless, I chose Brave New World first, partly because I knew it involved genetic programming and such, and also because I'd already read Huxley's essays Brave New World Revisited (which concern the state of society in 1958).
Brave New World opens, conveniently enough, on a tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, which is the perfect way to familiarise the reader with the technology and society of the future, and spend some time scene-setting. No time's wasted spelling out every detail, however, a lot is left to the reader to imagine - for example, high-tech versions of tennis and golf are mentioned but never explained.
The society of the future - 632 After Ford, to be precise - is highly ordered, after the production line. Everyone is assigned a caste, before birth, and takes their place in the hierarchy - from the intellectual Alpha pluses who rule, to the Epsilon minuses who perform the most medial tasks. Religion, high art, the family and emotions are amongst the things that have been banished, in favour of peaceful, stable and happy existence. Free sex is encouraged for recreation (not reproduction), and if anyone feels unhappy the drug soma provides all the escape they could wish for, without negative side effects.
What's interesting is that this is not a totally negative vision - it's one where you can see an appealing idea taken too far, where other ideals and values (individuality, freedom) have been sacrificed to an all-consuming desire for peace and stability, following the Nine Years' War of 141AF. It could be a commentary not only on use of new genetic technology, but the arguably impoverished Benthamite view of happiness, that holds 'push-pin as good as poetry' - and therefore neglects higher ideals of achievement and knowledge in favour of 'bread and circuses', 'alcohol and reality TV' or 'soma and sex' as means to promoting universal happiness. It could be a comment on our own society, and what really makes life worthwhile, as much as a scary or prophetic vision of the future.
While the setting may be well known, the story itself might not be (as it wasn't to me). Essentially it involves a few higher caste (Alpha and Beta) members of society who are, or become, somewhat dissatisfied with their society. Bernard Marx is, despite careful genetic programming, marked out by physical difference, making him an outsider and individual. Nonetheless, he uses his position to take Lenina Crowne on a sort of nature tourism trip to a 'Savage Reservation', to see Indians who haven't been 'civilised' - who live in families, amongst dirt, and practice primitive religion.
It's when they bring back two of the savages that they are led to see their society in a new light. He is disillusioned with what he sees of civilisation, with what has been sacrificed, and they too come to see what they may be missing.
Personally, I found the overall social vision more inspiring than the actual story. The main characters are all variously flawed, which makes them realistic, but it's hard to identify with anyone. I suppose in a way this merely rubs home part of the moral - there's no black and white, good and evil - Mond and Bernard each have different ideals, and neither are wholly right or wrong, they're just different schemes of values. Mond genuinely wants to run society to make people happy, while Bernard doesn't like it.
Not that it's a bad story, in terms of characters, plot or telling - indeed there are some good uses of sharp cuts between different locations, some twists, and matters left to the reader to fill in - but it's the social commentary that gives this book its enduring appeal and that's at least as relevant today as ever. Writing in defence of the 'open society' (liberal democracy), during and immediately after WWII, and against what he saw as its totalitarian enemies, Karl Popper was to warn that the goal of making men happy is always a dangerous one for society. The justifications offered by Mond are, however, truly striking: "whenever the masses seized political power, then it was happiness rather than truth and beauty that mattered" (p.210) and "Happiness is never grand" (p.195).
It's a book deep in references and detail. Whether or not Huxley had Plato's Republic in mind, for example, I found that another useful comparison - for though he lacked the technology of Brave New World, he had similar concerns for unity and society above the individual - even if he'd condemn the Fordian regime's indifference to truth and immoral distractions. More explicitly there are, as the title suggests, numerous allusions to Shakespeare (Othello, Romeo and Juliet and, of course, The Tempest), which it may profit the reader to be aware of.
In fact, so rich are the references, I think this is a book where one who wants to pick up everything - which, of course, isn't necessary, as the main points are more obvious - may well want notes. While some names have obvious significance (Marx, Trotsky, Lenina, Bonaparte, Darwin, Rothschild), I was left wondering if I'd missed something in others. And it took me a while to recognise the Charing-T tower had replaced our cross, as Ford's model-T had replaced the cross in quasi-religious significance.
My edition is the Vintage Classics (pictured below) - cover price £7.99 but currently £6.39 on Amazon - though I was slightly disappointed to find, after buying and reading it, that for the same price, they also do a Readers Guide Edition (ISBN: 0099496976) with an extra 60 or so pages. At the end of the day, however, the most rewarding experience is reading it and thinking for yourself.
...ideology and poignancy, then reading Brave New World at this moment of this world’s history is that book.
That, I know, is a very heavy statement, but try and consider these three questions.
How do we define civilisation?
What is happiness?
How do we achieve world peace?
THE PLOT
Brave New World is set in 632 A.F. (After Ford – after the first successful mass-produced car built by Henry Ford). After several wars and advanced technology ... ...invoked whilst you read a Brave New World. Maybe, because I analyse things too much, I was only too conscious of what was being said and what the likely response would be for someone reading this. Huxley’s ideas made me think of individuality, difference, civilisation, happiness and common satisfaction. Many of the things made me think of what the world is experiencing at this moment in time, how things could change and what would happen if…
...
HappyBunny 16.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Advantages: Fantastic vision, scarily realistic, completely absorbing. Even more pertinent in our day. Disadvantages: Not an easy read, not really recommended to anyone under 18 due to its complexity.
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley is one of the true science fiction giants. Good sci-fi is supposed to make you think; this book has the capacity not just to do that but to change your whole perspective on the human race. It concerns a "savage" being brought into the "civilised" world - by a highly intelligent but unhappy man who just cannot fit into the society around him. In this society everyone alive is a product of genetic engineering, and ... ...position in life - whether scientist or cleaner. Literature that can make you think is banned, much of the happiness is drug-induced, and everybody thinks the system works because they are happy. Prejudices are pre-programmed by hypnopaedia (sleep-teaching) and morals are a thing of the past - the slogan everyone is taught from age 0 upwards is, "everybody belongs to everybody else". All the females are sterilised and long-term relationships are ...
CaptainDisaster 02.08.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Advantages: Morals to be thought about. Disadvantages: This could be our future.
...takes comes nearer to Huxley's Brave New World.
Soma is the drug of the day in Brave New World, although at that time it was based on the effects of opiates, little did Huxley know that very soon, mankind would be producing drugs of a similar nature in Prozac and drugs that artificially heighten the seretonine levels in human beings to make them happier people.
One of the most worrying aspects of Brave New World for me was that individualism was ... ...your own minds up. The Brave New World for me makes me proud of who I am, proud that I am not manipulated into being anything other than who I am. It makes you look at the human race in a different light, and open your eyes to possible manipulation by the powers to be.
Great reading, and totally absorbing. The characters come over as real and I would add here that this is one of the most frightening things about the book, the fact that society could ...
thingywhatsit 03.04.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Advantages: Intelligent and highly inventive. Disadvantages: Badly disguised didacticism.
...remember when I first read Brave New World, but I’m fairly certain it was before I was in my teens. And I’m absolutely certain that I loved it, though I didn’t realize at the time that I loved it for what, from the author’s point of view, were all the wrong reasons. To me, the brave new world of Brave New World was exactly that: brave, and brave because it was new, that is, scientific. Life-long good health, hypnopaedically ... ...in sympathy with it. The brave new world of Brave New World still looks pretty brave to me and the only thing I would truly find fault with now is its intellectual stagnation. As in Nineteen Eighty-Four, science is utterly subordinated to state policy, but where in Nineteen Eighty-Four state policy is to enslave and imprison, in Brave New World state policy is to enthral and entertain.
And as prophecies, Brave New World might seem to be batting ...
rose_of_sharon 20.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Advantages: Beautifully poignant and well written Disadvantages: At least half the people I know had to read it twice to understand it all
...thoughts:
Initially published in 1934, Brave New World addressed the anxieties of industrial progress and communism which plagued its time by taking these a stage further to a world in which humanity rather than the individual is given value. In Huxley's distopia, people are produced and programmed to suit their intended function by the warped use of science, psychological conditioning and soma dependance. Personal Approach:
On my first reading ... ...on play.com).
If you enjoyed this book, I recommend...
'Brave New World Revisited' by Alduous Huxley (published 1964) discusses and re-analyses the major themes of Brave New World.
'Last and First Men' by Olaf Stapledon (first published 1930) is an imaginative history of the future which explores similar anxieties. ...
bbrown116 06.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
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Advantages: Brilliant book, well written Disadvantages: Don't have nightmares!
for Thoughtcrimes. Or you could be somewhere in the middle and see it as an interesting comment on the world at the time, and a warning for future generations.
If you liked 1984 I would recommend AldousHuxley's BraveNewWorld, which similarly portrays a futuristic society, this time taking the mass production of the Ford car as its starting point, but again showing Huxley's criticism of the way society appears to be heading. ...
Advantages: Fantastic story, tense, gripping Disadvantages: Ridiculous film adaptation...
blindness, and its byproduct; the reign of terror effected by the previously contained triffids. The characters, having already survived with their eyesight, have to survive the blind who demand to be helped, the unscrupulous sighted men who see opportunity, a mysterious plague sweeping the country, and another species which grasps its chance to flourish. Wyndham writes easily and convincingly, and even those who find classic science fiction hard to stomach should find it easy to suspend disbelief and be entirely absorbed into a world in chaos. If you enjoy books such as 'BraveNewWorld' by AldousHuxley, or '1984' by George Orwell, then you'll enjoy this. If you enjoy an atmospheric tale of psychological terror, you'll enjoy this. If you just enjoy a great story written well, then guess what? You'll enjoy this!
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I read George Orwell's 1984 a few months after reading AldousHuxley's BraveNewWorld. Both books were set in the future and both predicted a number of things which have since come to pass. 1984 is one of those books that everyone has heard of, but probably haven't read. It is definitely worth reading and, considering it was written in 1949, quite a few of the things that Orwell described have actually occurred. OK, the things that have happened are not as obviously sinister as Orwell's book depicts but they are quite accurate. Big Brother is watching is the backbone of the book and the idea that everything that you do or think is monitored by the government is a frightening thought. Indeed, this book could be considered to be either a horror story or science fiction. There are times when this book will delight you (when Winston ...
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Product Information for "Brave New World - Aldous Huxley" »
Product details
Type
Fiction
Genre
Modern Fiction
Title
Brave New World
Author
Aldous Huxley
ISBN
0099458160; 0099518473; 0586044345
Manufacturer's product description
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY MARGARET ATWOOD. Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through clever use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress... See all Product Description
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