Review of 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley
BY JULIE CHEN
BY JULIE CHEN
I felt perpetually uncomfortable while reading Brave New World.
After spending hours trying to fathom why I was feeling a little disturbed, I've narrowed it down to this: that although the society of Brave New World is absurdly corrupted and perverted, depending on your perspective it could easily be considered an utopia.
After spending hours trying to fathom why I was feeling a little disturbed, I've narrowed it down to this: that although the society of Brave New World is absurdly corrupted and perverted, depending on your perspective it could easily be considered an utopia.
Now isn't that slippery.
We’re all used to novels in this genre (yes, I'm referring to the over-popularized 1984 and Fahrenheit
451) being associated with domineering governments and emotionally
desensitized people. But, it's important to note that to be compliant in no way signifies happiness. That appears not to be the case in Brave New World, as the degree to which the citizens are content
with their trivial pursuits and mechanized lifestyles is, mildly put, uncanny. To realize that violence and military
force are not the only ways governments can keep citizens meek and obedient probably comes as quite a shock for those of us living in a world where only brute force seems to be denounced on our news channels.
Looking back on all the tyrannical governments that have
ever existed in history, there’s always been a watershed moments where the people finally decide they’ve had enough. And then, as they say, the rest
is history. We’ve gotten so accustomed to that pattern that we
have begun to take the cycle of oppression and rebellion for granted.
But that was before humans began playing with the fire that
is science. Think about how many limitations of nature we have already defied with all
the technology that exists today. Cavemen did not fly. No animal has ever
dreamed of traveling at the speed of sound either.
That brings us to our final question. We’ve become so
dependent on the power of anger and discontent to spark a revolution, but what if those stimulants were removed
through science? What if we were being subconsciously manipulated by the
technology to feel perpetually content ? As a matter of fact, why don't we just rid all our babies of the 'unhappy gene' in a lab? In Brave New World,
that is exactly what happens. And I do not find it ridiculous that we tend to
dismiss novels such as these as mere contrivances of a pessimistic mind. But
look around at all the flashing lights and robotic mechanisms that are now able
to supply us with the immediate satisfaction our ancestors had to arduously
pursue. Feel yourself bundled up in the warm embrace of Internet signals. Try
calculating your average attention span.
Our worlds are so dependent on technology — pills, movies, phones, planes, the apple pie that's baking in your oven — but we don't realize that how much we are actually overwhelmed and distracted by it. Our days our routine, our thoughts are superficial. And now, think about this: Is Brave New World really that
far from our current —
Oh look, Glee just came on. I'll be right back.
