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Brave New World Theme Analysis Essay

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"'God isn't compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness.'" So says Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. In doing so, he highlights a major theme in this story of a Utopian society. Although the people in this modernized world enjoy no disease, effects of old age, war, poverty, social unrest, or any other infirmities or discomforts, Huxley asks 'is the price they pay really worth the benefits?' This novel shows that when you must give up religion, high art, true science, and other foundations of modern life in place of a sort of unending happiness, it is not worth the sacrifice.

True, the citizens of this "brave new world" do enjoy many …show more content…

One might be led to believe that this society is a perfect place to live, since all the inhabitants are eternally happy. There are no wars, pain, or suffering, all definite pluses, yet readers must not judge too quickly.

Everything comes at a price, and the price that is paid for the new order is sadly high, costing the Utopians the benefits of high art, true religion, real science, and family life, which all have been removed to promote stability. "'Othello's better than those feelies.' 'Of course it is…But that's the price we have to pay for stability. You've got to choose between happiness and what people used to call high art. We've sacrificed the high art. We have the feelies and the scent organ instead.' 'But they don't mean anything,'" (Huxley 226) This conversation shows one of the tradeoffs made. Stories like Othello are inspired by strong emotions, and Utopia has done away with them. Now, there is nothing to write about, and if something was written along the lines of Othello it might cause people to think, causing instability. The movies people see are idiotic and plotless, based solely on sensations. Religion as we know it has been done away with also, as Mustapha Mond showed by his comments quoted at the beginning of this paper. Religion usually involves self-denial, and that is contrary to everything the new society is based on. With instant gratification

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