Criticism of Practical Application of Utopia in "Brave New World"
Debra Ackerman Mrs. Eileen Waite
Criticism of Practical Application of Utopia in Brave New World Aldous
Huxley's Brave New World illustrates the loss of morality when established standards are replaced by amoral criteria. In his novel, Huxley criticizes the practical applications of Utopia in actual society. Huxley's depiction of love, science, and religion support the ineffectiveness of implementing Utopia in everyday life.
In Brave New World, Huxley shows contempt for the human emotion of love.
The people that make up his imaginary society have no conception of love or any other passion, and actually scorn the idea. Huxley believes that along with
passion
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Not only are people born, or in this sense created, by scientific means, but they are also conditioned to think and live a certain way through science.
Even before babies are born, they are treated to a specific amount of oxygen, or a specific temperature in order for them to be conditioned to fit into a certain caste. In the novel, Henry Foster explains this process to the students saying:
We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers, or future . . .
Directors of Hatcheries. (12)
In Brave New World, science and technology are used not to help society, but to control society. From the time that the embryos are in each bottle to the time of death for each person, science is acting as a controller, ruling over every individual life. Although their world is based on science and technology, the leaders of
Utopia know that "science is dangerous; [they] have to keep it most carefully chained and muzzled" (231). In a world where "Community, Identity, and
Stability" is the main objective, scientific advancement is unacceptable. As the World Controller explains, science is ". . . another item in the cost of stability . . . incompatible with happiness" (231). Huxley knows that along with science comes change and in his Utopia, no one can afford change. By sacrificing change, the controllers of the brave new world are maintaining stability. In our society, man controls
Utopia, according to Google, is defined as an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The biggest concept to understand as a person analyzing literature is that a utopia cannot ever exist, there is always going to be flaws and they will often be destructive. In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses the utopian society archetype to show that the citizens give up their identity and give into conformity. Through this, Huxley reveals that in any society we assimilate to the social norm of society to be happy, thus compromising our identity for happiness.
Although comparing one society to another does not require them to be different in government or human behavior, it does necessarily weight one’s faults against its victories to render it better or worse than the other. This comparative structure, found between Thomas More’s two books of Utopia, poses the country of Utopia opposite the broader communities of world civilization. Despite the comparison of Utopia as distinct from and morally better than widespread society, in truth Utopia is, at best, an extension.
Throughout history, many utopian societies have been established in hopes of creating a protected and uniform environment. In order to maintain a perfectly equal and errorless environment, some basic human rights are often violated. Many of the utopian principles put in place are based on the fear that the citizens will gain knowledge and notice the absence of their basic human rights. Unfortunately, once the citizens figure out that the government has infringed on their civil liberties they become disillusioned and want to revolt. This ultimately causes dissention and unhappiness throughout the utopia, which defeats the sole intention the leaders had when creating it. To avoid the rebellion, leaders of utopian experiments infringe on
It is astounding how two pieces of literature can be similar but different at the same time, just by how the authors choose to use different literary devices. Two novels, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, portray these differentiated attributes because of the way the two authors vary in these literary techniques. Brave New World portrays a futuristic society in which people are artificially made and their jobs are pre-selected before they are created. All of the emotions and desires of man have been inhibited in these beings to create a so-called “utopian society” in which everyone lives and works harmoniously. The
From reproductive rights, morality, and drugs, Huxley develops a futuristic approach to mankind. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley serves as a cautionary tale about contemporary American culture by illustrating the technological and scientific advancements within a society to establish power and the affects it may have on mankind.
While in some extreme situations it can be useful to gain some semblance of unity and organization, totalitarian societies damage one 's individuality and feeling of self-worth; defining people without ever allowing them to make their own decisions. This can potentially cause one to feel ousted or distress. Totalitarianism creates no outlet for personal growth, and as seen in Brave New World. Totalitarian societies strip people of their basic human right, free will. Totalitarian governments impair the success of individuals, ultimately failing society.
The characters in "Brave New World" are all conditioned in their ways. Even John himself has been conditioned. "Brave New World" is set in a future London after horrible wars, the aftermath of which leads the government to condition everyone and everything. Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson, and Lenina Crowne have all been conditioned from the time they were in the tube to their current everyday lives. Conditioning never really stops; it just takes different forms. John how was raised by his mother on an Indian reservation in New Mexico, yet he was cast as an outsider because of his DNA. John struggles to be himself in both worlds, he was treated as an outcast because of his DNA and that he was a savage.
The first discovery and use of ectogenesis was believed to have been coined in 1923 by J.B.S. Haldane (Schillace, Brandy.). He predicted by 2074 only 30 percent of births would be human births leaving the other 70 percent to be by ectogenesis. The term “ectogenesis” is the development of embryos in artificial conditions outside the uterus. Research focuses variously on helping premature babies to survive. While the concept of artificial wombs may seem science fiction, the idea of creating a human being outside of a woman’s body is hardly novel, l but more or less coming true. With the development of ectogenesis the questions of, ¨is this is ethical?¨ and ¨should be doing this?¨ If a fetus is recognized as a person, and transferring the fetus from a woman's womb to an artificial uterus is possible, the choice to terminate a pregnancy may not necessitate the termination of the fetus (Zorn, Eric.). They also have concerns that growing a baby outside of the womb may take away from some of the bonds made with mother and child which researchers have found to be helpful in the baby's growth and
In our lives today, we take advantage of all the luxuries that are presented daily. Freedom alone is one of the greatest luxuries we possess as an American nation. In Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs and Utopia by Thomas Moore, we are presented two life styles, which some might consider very similar in various ways. Both authors focus on a peaceful living lifestyle, to better the people of the nation. Although some of their specific details are different, I believe that Jacobs would definitely approve of the features that More develops in Utopia.
such horribly bad form to go on and on like this with one man" (40). In
Utopia- good place, or in other words, no place. Thomas More, in his work Utopia, describes a nation in a parallel universe free from greed, pride, immorality, poverty, and crime; told as a narrative of a well-traveled explorer Hythloday to Moore himself, Hythloday speaks of a nation founded purely upon rationality, efficiency, and perfect morality. Thomas More’s work is no political or social theory, but rather a social critique and a commentary. In an age experiencing political and social struggle across every aspect of Western civilization along with the flooding of ancient and new ideas, Utopia is More’s way of discovering and exploring man’s and society’s natural structures and tendencies, and expressing his discontent towards them- this is shown in the narrative, as the dialogue of Hythloday and More represent his conflicted view between the ideal and the pragmatic. Acknowledging these flaws, More’s work critiques the utopian society from the perspectives of an imperfect man, but also vice versa.
Sir Thomas More writes, in his book Utopia, about a society that is perfect in practically ever sense. The people all work an equal amount and everything they need for survival is provided. Most importantly is that everyone living in this perfect society is happy and content with their everyday lives. In this society everybody supports everyone. The community is only as strong as its weakest link. For society to progress everyone must work together. Opponents of the Utopian system, however, feel that the strong should not have to look after the weak. Progress would be maximized if all the resources are spent on the people most qualified to help society. A Utopian society, as perfect as the one
Firchow, Peter Edgerly. "George Orwell's Dystopias: From Animal Farm to Nineteen Eighty-Four." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 11 Mar. 201
This novel takes place in the year 632 A.F. The government controls the population of Utopia, there are only test tube births and an artificial process for multiplying the embryos. Marriage is forbidden. There are ten World Controllers; these people control the government and all of their plans. In the very beginning there are students being given a guided party line tour through the London Hatcheries. Two employees that work there are Henry Foster and Lenina Crowne, they have been dating each other too much and are discouraged by the state. So Lenina’s best friend, Fanny, picks on her because of this. Lenina then meets Bernard Marx, and grows to like him so much that she agrees to go on a vacation with him to a New Mexican
Utopia is a brilliant novel written by Thomas More. The idea of a utopia seems impossible, how can anyone live in a perfect place when perfection is in the eyes of the beholder? The Utopia in this novel is nothing more than abundant of already established ideas therefore it can’t not truly be a Utopia.