Sex and the Nightmare State (Brave New World - Aldous Huxley)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Date:	07/04/04 (251 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original and detailed look at a possible future, Has hardly dated, especially in terms of its themes

Disadvantages: Character development is omitted deliberately, which may make this less enjoyable and interesting, Drags on in places

The term ?Dystopia? has evolved as a synonym for anti-Utopia; a Utopia referring to a theoretical ?perfect society? often portrayed in the science fiction genre. The novels Brave New World, (Aldous Huxley) We (Yevgeny Zamyatin) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell) pioneered this sub-genre of a futuristic society that appears Utopian in principle but in which a totalitarian government controls the population, whose freedom and thoughts are inhibited. A Dystopia novel explores the author?s nightmare vision of a possible future, in the event of aspects of contemporary society becoming dominant and powerful. The authors? fears and political views can be recognised throughout their novels and related to the author?s time and country of origin.

The oppressive and futuristic society of George Orwell?s Nineteen Eighty-Four is widely known, with the book becoming one of the most recognised novels of the twentieth century, however Aldous Huxley dealt with similar notions of human oppression, albeit from a different angle, in his 1931 novel Brave New World. This review is admittedly much more an exploration of the issues and devices used to further the plot of Huxley?s novel and as such it would serve to spoil the ending for those who are planning to read it. I chose to study this novel, in conjunction with the other two previously noted, for my English Literature comparison of texts, as the idea of a nightmare future has always appealed to me as a form of fiction, however I will certainly rate the book according to its merits also.


A FORDIAN SOCIETY


The society of Brave New World is set in London in the year AF 632, approximately seven hundred years into the future. The World State
is a united society that is run by ten World Controllers, while the embryos of the entire population are grown in test tubes in government hatcheries; these predestined embryos are engineered into social classes, ranging from Alpha to Epsilon, and are assigned a lifestyle before they are even born. The community praise ?Ford,? the American businessman famous for the creation of production lines and automobile manufacture which led to the efficient society of the World State, and a clear play on words of ?Lord.? This use of irony shows Huxley?s contempt for industrialisation, and his notion of a man believing he is superior to God to the extent that a culture is based around his respect and worship illustrates Huxley?s personal disdain for Henry Ford and his ideals.

Children and infants are subjected to conditioning from the repetition of slogans while they sleep and electric shock warnings when expressing an interest in forbidden activities. This ensures that the population have been brought up believing that their lives are perfect, and that they live according to the government?s rules. Family, love and imagination have been replaced by efficiency and constant, empty happiness. ?Community, Identity, Stability? is the motto of the State, as it has created a world where ?everyone belongs to everyone else,? ensuring the maximum possible happiness and sexual freedom, while the repeated slogan ?everybody?s happy now? ensures that the entire population believes this.

The population?s entertainment is encouraged through consumer sports such as Obstacle Golf, they are conditioned to love making purchases and to replace broken objects and torn clothing: ?ending is better than mending.? Their base instincts are also managed by tactile motion pictures known as ?feelies? which always feature a simple plot and a large amount of sexual activity; sexua
l promiscuity with a number of different partners is also encouraged even from a very young age, long-term relationships being frowned upon due to the danger of family ideas developing. The existence of the drug soma also ensures the happiness of the population as it can provide an escape to a fantasy world for a set amount of time with no health risks; the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning describes it as ?all the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.? Soma allows an escape at times when emotions may begin to surface, or when the user is alone and prone to contemplation.

The ultimate goal of the governing body is the creation and maintenance of stability. While Orwell?s novel could be seen as a comparison to totalitarian Russia and Nazi Germany leading to forced slavery for a society, Huxley is much more concerned with a society attempting to achieve efficiency at all costs, and the dangers of genetic experimentation to achieve those ends. In his introduction, Huxley explains, ?The theme of Brave New World is not the advancement of science as such; it is the advancement of science as it affects human individuals.?

While the society created in Brave New World is content to live out the shallow consumer lifestyle created by the government, free of the oppression found in Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is no less a nightmarish vision of the future. Occurring at a later date than Orwell?s novel, it depicts a time when the threat of opposition has been all but eliminated by absolute control over the genetics and thought processes of everyone, to the extent that such ?thoughtcrime? as existed in Orwell?s novel will never be available to their minds. The government of Brave New World use sex to their advantage in keeping the population in a constant state of happiness in pursuit of hedonism, even e
ncouraging ?erotic play? in children, although conditioning has ensured that love and attachment are no longer associated with the physical act.


ONE-DIMENSIONAL CARICATURES


The protagonist of the novel is John ?the Savage,? a man born outside the Dystopia to residents of the World State; the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning did not attempt to rescue his then-partner Linda when they were separated in the wilderness. Brought up in a religious society and exposed to such works as Shakespeare, John is appalled by what he sees in London. He feels love for Lenina but is disgusted by her desire to ?have? him in emotionless sex, and when crowds of intrigued children are brought in to view his mother?s corpse to expose them to death, he loses his patience and attempts to start a revolution. The population are not swayed by this, and see it as another interesting event, eventually tracking John down and forcing him to partake in an orgy. The following day, unable to cope with ?paradise? and his conflicting feelings for Lenina, he hangs himself; Huxley potently illustrates the hopelessness of life in the Brave New World.

The other major character is Bernard Marx, a product of the conditioned society who was subject to a rare human error while being created, leading to his stature and appearance deviating from the norm. As such, he begins to question the lifestyle that he sees around him, confiding in his like-minded friend Helmholtz Watson. Bernard is an Alpha, the most privileged and intelligent social class, and his decision to expose Lenina to the alternate lifestyle experienced by residents of the Reservation is intended to show her that their own lifestyle should be subject to change. However, Bernard?s sudden rise to fame and adoration upon returning from the Savage Reservati
on with John leads him to forget his original intentions and enjoy the opportunity to have any woman he desires. He is caught off guard when John starts to rebel and eventually exiled to work in Iceland for his part in the disturbance.

Although a less prominent female character, Lenina Crowne is the perfect example of the World State?s conditioning. She is an Alpha and adores sexual promiscuity, consumer sports and the feelies, but she is also prone to error and cannot cope with what she sees at the Savage Reservation. Lenina?s conditioned child-like mind and manners do not allow her to gain any deeper perceptions of life from her experience, and by the end of the novel she has not shown any progression. Lenina?s function seems primarily to demonstrate the extent of the society?s control through her inability to advance.

The other characters in Brave New World are not explored with any depth as Huxley writes from a distanced viewpoint. Although John?s progression and discovery are detailed, most of the conditioned members of the World State are portrayed as one-dimensional caricatures, reflecting their uncomplicated lives and lack of imaginative thought. Every character is either overtly against, or in favour of, the ideals of the World State. Brave New World takes an objective and distanced view of the events, using scientific terms to explain concepts.

A common theme of Dystopian literature is present in Huxley?s novel. The only threats existing threats towards the ?perfect? society is the protagonist characters attempting to gain their own freedom and salvation for their people, and this is dealt with by the leaders in a way that eliminates the ?X factor? without creating a martyr for their cause.


STYLE


I would recommend Brave New World to anyone who e
njoys reading science fiction classics as it is often underrated. It is certainly very dark and overlong in places, but has surprisingly aged very little: the use of personal helicopters, the lack of computers and the overlooking of nuclear power are the only things that date this book, but the themes are still and disturbing today. Since Huxley wrote this novel, the world has been through another World War and the threat of Cold War for decades, although thankfully there do not yet seem to be any serious repercussions of Ford?s production methods, apart from a low quality of life for many in poor countries. The book is also very manageable at around 200 pages, and is one that picks up towards the end.

Brave New World is written as a political satire and a view of the future, presented as a distanced account of events. Beginning with a lengthy introduction by one of the characters to the godless, ?perfect? society, the main characters and plot are only introduced in the third chapter and are essentially used as Huxley?s example of life in his futuristic world.

Summary: