Brave New World Essay: The Life of the Future

Imagine a world in which life appears in a test tube. Over the course of several months, future social units (they can hardly be called children) develop in an incubator. There is no equality between them. The fate of each unit is determined even before its birth and is formed only from state needs. For example, the state needs astronauts. Then it gives the command to raise people who are already adapted for future space flights. This feature is possible thanks to chemical intervention in the embryo's development, due to which each individual is born with certain qualities. These or those qualities depend on the caste in which the embryo is determined (we will talk about them a little later)

Division of society in the novel

The population in Brave New World is divided into five castes: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon. The first one, alphas, is the most developed and the smallest. Alphas in Brave New World occupy the most highly qualified positions: managers, directors, doctors, teachers. The most intellectually developed of all castes and always wear gray clothes. Slightly higher than units from other castes.

Betas in this pyramid are on the next rung after alphas. The intellectual level is slightly lower, respectively, and they occupy positions of deputies, senior assistants, nurses, and others. They wear bright red clothes.

The gammas and deltas in the novel Brave New World are two castes that are not very different in their mental development. They wear green and khaki, respectively (even clothes of similar shades). As a rule, they are engaged in uncomplicated but hard work (in short, ordinary workers).

Well, then we got to the very last caste on which this whole system is based. Huxley himself describes the Epsilons as "ape-like half-cretins." These are cattle who cannot read, write, and even less count. Epsilons can only be found in mines or on some rigid conveyors.

After describing the world and getting to know the characters, namely Bernard and Lina, some movement finally begins. Bernard Marks goes to the Indian Reservation for the weekend and, of course, takes Lenina with him. There they meet John, and from the conversation, they find out one crucial detail: John is the son of the director of the educational center, where our two travelers just work. Knowing this, Bernard decided to take John to London with him.

Arriving in London, John was amazed. He presented this wonderful world to others than it really is. This is what the author's main idea is based on to show this Brave New World to a real person, and then, in this contrast, draw "beautiful" images of dystopia to the reader. Huxley endowed the heroes of his novel with names that refer the reader to individuals who, in one way or another, influenced the science, economy, and technology of the world during the author's time.

Main Heroes

In the novel, there are three characters around whom the plot revolves. Let's start with the very first. Bernard Marx is an alpha plus, unlike his castmates. He is almost as tall as a delta, very withdrawn, spends most of his free time alone, thinking about being, which is why he does not have the team's best reputation.

Its appearance is rumored to be related to an incident that occurred during its development in a bottle. Someone was mistaken, thinking that he was a gamma, and poured alcohol into his blood substitute. By position - a specialist in hypnopedia (teaching method during sleep). Bernard is sympathetic to only one girl named Lenina. Lenina Crown is a beta who works as a nurse on a human production line. Crown is a typical and naive beta girl, except for one thing: she has only one male relationship. This detail raises questions from both her friends and higher organs because this is not accepted.

The last hero in the novel is a guy named John, or as he is called in most of the text, "The Savage." Why did he get such a nickname? The fact is that John is a person who, from the moment of his natural birth, lives on the so-called reservation. This zone is simply unprofitable for the state to huddle up because its population is negligible, and the costs will be colossal. The Savage is an ordinary young man, somewhat similar to the regular people that live nowadays.

The Plot

While the general world described in the novel is fantastic in its idea, the plot itself may be considered the weakest point of the Brave New World. The fact is that Huxley focused all his efforts on describing the New World itself, rather than any actions. Because of this, the plot in the novel is rather banal, and at times tedious.

So, the novel's main character was named Lenina Crowne, which refers us to Vladimir Ulyanovich. The name of her lover, Bernard Marx, refers us to the philosopher Karl Marx (there is another version about the Irish playwright Bernard Shaw). Lenina's friends have names - Fanny Crown and Polly Trotskaya. The first is known for her attempt on Lenin (Fanny Kaplan). The second name refers us to the revolutionary Leon Trotsky. There are many other reference names in the novel: Darwin Bonaparte, Mustafa Mond, Joanna Diesel, Henry Foster, Primo Mellon (I did not mention all of them, there are many more).

The problem of Standardizing Society

In the novel, the whole of society is adjusted to a certain human standard. This person does not create anything, but he actively consumes. Some sincere feelings and emotions are alien to him. He does not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will not bring anything new. Everything will be as stable and calm as today. The life of a person from the New World seems to be spinning in a circle: work, catfish, entertainment, catfish, work, catfish. People there do not want to change anything. It would be correct to say that they do not even know that there are any alternative options for existence. Although even with the realization of the whole reality, their further actions remain a big question.

The novel says that under these conditions, it is possible to reduce an already small working day from 6-7 hours to 3. This is not necessary because there was already such an experience. People conducted an experiment in which they realized a 3-hour working day. Members of all castes simply did not know what to do in their extra free time (yes, yes). Moreover, people held demonstrations and various rallies because of their idleness. So it makes sense for the state to create new problems for itself if they have already raised a population that suits everything. Of course, at least some general idea needs to be given - in order to do business with understanding - but give only in a minimal dose; otherwise, they will not make good and happy members of society.

Is Everything that Bad about Aldous Huxley's Brave New World?

Perhaps the main question that Huxley asks his reader with his book: What is wrong with this world? After all, people are well fed, they no longer age, they do not die in wars, and in general, they are happy. They get everything they need without much effort. Moreover, there can be many opinions on this issue because everyone sees the pros and cons of the Wonderful World. There will be people who will say, "Look, actually Huxley's world is not that bad," but at the same time, other people, for the most part, will condemn the New World. Th quite normal.

For this reason, it is impossible to say unequivocally: "The new world is terrible" or "The new world is beautiful." This was precisely the author's task: to make society talk about this problem. After all, he raised an important question: "And what can such a desired utopia lead to?"

Where there is complete satisfaction, there is no longer excitement.

 

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