New Place Essay, Research Paper
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was born to an English family. He was a brilliant social
satirist. He wrote books about architecture, science, music, philosophy, history, and religion. This is a book of genetics in
the future about 2535 A.D.. It takes place in a utopian society where people are mass-produced, then conditioned to do
predetermined work. There are no families or marriages. The theme is freedom and how people want it, they want
poetry, danger, good and bad things. They want what is theirs. The book is written in a technological way.
In A.F. 632, there is a World Society. A.F. 632 stands for six hundred thirty-two years after Ford released the T-Model
automobile. It is around 2535 A.D.. Ford is like a God. His book My Life and Work is turned into the new bible.
People are born in batches of 96. One egg gives live to 96 identical children through the Bodanovsky process. When
babies are born, they are classified in a caste system made up of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Everyone
consumes grams of soma, to fight depression. The cinema is replaced with a form of entertainment called Feelie, a
movie that stimulates the sense of sight, hearing, and touch. Community, Identity, Stability is the motto of this World
State. Bernard Marx is intelligent, but an error in the Predestination Centre he stayed small and weak. Because of that
he s an outcast, and is often left alone. Although there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard feels that
something is missing. He has his own vision of life.
Bernard goes to a Savage Reservation with Lenina, an Alpha-plus psychologist. They meet Linda and her son, John.
They find out that The D.H.C., Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning is the father of John. Bernard learns that the D.H.C.
is about to exile him for his uncivilized behavior when he and Lenina return to civilization. “..He [Bernard] has proved
himself an enemy of society, a subverter, … of all order and stability, a conspirator against civilization itself.” Bernard
calls John and Linda from the next room, and they call upon the director as son and wife. Bernard is saved from being
exiled. Bernard becomes popular because he is connected with John, the savage. Bernard s friend Helmholtz becomes
friends with John and they share literature with each other. John has dreamed of going to the civilized world, but he
realizes that he doesn t like it anymore. Linda dies, which makes him even more furious. He gives a lecture about
freedom during soma distribution. Mustapha Mond sends Bernard and Helmholtz into exile for uncivilized behavior .
John is kept back for tests. John runs away to an old lighthouse and purifies himself and practices religion. Civilians
come upon John during his self-torture and he becomes the craze of the civilization. A movie is released with footage of
John whipping himself, the public want to see him hurt himself. They get so caught up in the moment, that they start
hitting each other. He awakens the next day and sees no reason to live so he commits suicide.
This book s theme is freedom. In a world that has no individuality, we would think we want it, but in that world they are
trained to be happy with what they have. Certain things are censored. There is no marriage, no violence, no sadness.
But the people don t realize it. What they don t know can t hurt them. John realized it because he came from the savage
reservation. He argued long and hard with Mustapha Mond and the Controller.
But I like the inconveniences.
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 freedom, I want goodness. I want sin .
In fact, said Mustapha Mond, you re claiming the right to be unhappy.
Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and important; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too
little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live inconstant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow; the right to
catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pain of every kind. There was a long silence.
I claim them all, said the Savage [John] at last.
They thought that people would be happy if they didn t have problems. People didn t have to worry about their future or
marriage. They would just work and be happy. But that s just what makes us unique. We can t just take a drug that
makes us happy to keep us inline. But freedom cost John his life.
Aldous Huxley s style is good. He uses descriptive words when they are needed. They give you the illusion of being in a
futuristic world. The beginning is filled with technological information mixed in with the description of the world. First
we meet the D.H.C. then we meet Bernard and Lenina two chapters later. The author uses this to give us a backround of
this brave new world. The author makes the characters use Ford instead of God . I thought that was funny, to see
how much they use it. The characters say phrases like Ford, I m late! , and Thank Ford . They even sing Ford in
their hymms and songs.
I thought this was a good book. It was descriptive of the new world. And we must learn that for a Utopia, we would have
to sacrifice our freedom, poetry, religion, and dreams. Pain and Attitude are the beautiful things that make one truly
human. It was disturbing that John had to die in the end but that s life. He wanted freedom and he got the harsh reality.
The government can t make people happy with wonder drugs that fight depression. People want freedom but they still
want a perfect world. But you can t have both.