First of all, I am very happy that I ended up choosing Brave New World! My dad was actually the one who recommended that I read it, and I love it. It is right up my alley in that it has to do with science. I also like the futuristic twist it has to it. When I started reading it, it immediately reminded me of the movie ‘the Island’ with Scarlett Johannsen. The two are very similar. (I was thinking that the movie could have possibly been based off of Brave New World)
It was interesting reading how the characters in the story are not taught about the past, think that being in multiple relationships at one time is normal, and think that a family is a weird concept—such concepts that in the present are portrayed in such different ways. It makes me think of when my parents talk about how they didn’t have such advanced computers or ipods when they were growing up and wondering if the next generation will say how old fashioned both of these are.
One big assertion I made while reading Brave New World is that what if something like the situation presented in the book ended up happening and fell into the wrong person’s hands. For example, what if a horrible leader came to rise, who used the brainwashing and embryo system to create his own army who only answered to him doing his dirty work? As I read, this question keeps coming up in my mind. Although in the book, the hyponaedia is used for only trivial purposes, what would happen if a madman used it to take out a certain race, or people of one stature, etc. I’ll do more research on this, but this book must have been, in my mind, pretty controversial when it first came out, which as of now I think would be an interesting topic to do my paper on. It seems extremely advanced for having been published in the early 1930s.
I think that Adolf Huxley, through what I have read so far, has a very idealistic view on the world. He has everyone taking pills called “soma” which make everyone happy instantly, all the time. He likes the idea of everyone being free and helping out eachother, with the quote, “everyone belongs to everyone,” coming up many times in the novel. He keeps the factory, which is the center of the character’s lives, spotlessly clean and looks down on things that are dirty. He has created in his mind, his own utopia, making a distinct social ladder, where everyone is happy where they are and has everyone in their particular status be the exact same.
1 comment:
Sue--I haven't seen the Island, but it's entirely possible it was influenced by the novel, since the novel is certainly a famous one.
My question for you as you move forward is to what extent Huxley is creating an idealistic Utopia. As you gather more information, I think you'll be able to decide for yourself whether he sees the Brave New World as an improvement on 20th century life or as something to be avoided.
Good start--keep reading, and hit JStor for research.
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