Cultural Clash In my research for Brave New World, I came across literary criticism that unveiled fresh perspective of the work when it comes to the psychology of characters. The idea of a perfectly stable world versus a world of recklessness and savagery that shape every aspect of human morale and convictions held at society’s core beliefs; which through psychological analysis of characters and how their external influences can vindicate questionable actions displayed by those in the novel. The dichotomy of inherited and learned behavior in society, clashes with diffusions of culture ands impacts on instinctive culture, all accentuated by John the Savage and his intricately fervent relationships with other characters in the novel, …show more content…
World State conditioned a loss sense of human nature, while the Reserve preserved value in animalistic but instinctive humane tendencies, “Self-transcendence and loss of personality is only effective cure for a world suffering from idolatry, stupidity, and cruelty. In the ultimate reality, we can find true salvation.” (Birnbaum 3). The substantial distinction between the Reserve and World State, is the agricultural and mechanical ways of life. World State focuses on assembly lines, excessively on science as a basis for operating in daily life. John experiencing for the first time an introduction to post-industrial world compared to his pre-industrial upbringing, a distaste for the technological advances in reproducing humans, “Applied science he argues, has intensified standardized mediocrity and the loss of attention to intellectual and spiritual values” (Birnbaum 2). The damage done to embryos and void of familiar connections such as family, “If the word “industry” is a measure of how far cultural production has extended its reach throughout modern civilization” (Eagleton 1). Modern civilization emphasizes on technology and similarity among the entire state simply to keep everyone happy, on the contrary to John was vacant of substance and ignited ignorance. For John, books were valued writings of complexities of human emotions to even morals that he saw
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses tone to develop characters in the novel while simultaneously showing that every character is cast out at some point in their lives. This utopian future setting is developed throughout the whole first half of the novel.The entire culture is different, children are genetically bred and conditioned in so called Hatcheries. “ “Stability,” said the controller, “Stability. No civilization without social stability. No social stability without individual stability” (page 42) Each person supports a specific role in society, and if they break that role they are exiled. Readers get the chance to meet a few characters who question why they were even decanted or in John's case, Born.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley shows how scientific advances could and have destroyed human values. Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1932, and most of the technologies he examines in the book have, to some extent, turned into realities. He expresses the concern that society has been neglecting human-being distinction in the progression of worshipping technology. In the story there are no mothers or fathers and people are produced on a meeting line where they are classified before birth. They also use a drug called, soma, to control themselves which illustrate the lack of personal freedom. Everyone in the state world do whatever they were taught since they were growing. For example, one of the tasks they give people is sexuality which is
"'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.
During the 1930s, the times of World War II and the Great Depression, Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World. There were several issues going on in Huxley’s time that are still present in today's world . Huxley features some of these problems in his book, Brave New World. These problems include drug or medicine usage, women and gender inequality, and traditional marriage/homosexuality. Since this book was written during the times of the Great Depression and World War II, these factors also contributed to some of these issues. Since World War II and the Great Depression are over, these do not affect the problems today. Although some of these problems are still a problem in today's world and society, they are not as much of a problem as they were during Huxley's time.
1. The thesis of this essay in the author's words is "Travel is how we put a voice to the Other and step a little beyond our second hand images of the alien." In other words, the author is trying to tell us that travelling is necessary in order for us to not hold prejudices and experience the lifestyle of other cultures.
Mustapha Mond responds to John Savage’s protest, saying that John has a point, but that in this society, happiness is the greater good and great literature can only come from unhappiness.
|(you’re supposed to sleep with a bunch of people) and takes soma (stimulants (uppers)) and gets high. Also, no one has a mother or father because they were created from test |
Drugs, promiscuous sex, birth control, and total happiness are the core values of the World State in the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. In today’s society things like drug use and reckless sex are often seen as taboo, but in World State, these activities are glorified and even considered normal. Aldous Huxley attempts to address to readers the harsh realities and cruel ways of our society in an exaggerated form. His purpose in doing so is to open the eyes of society to what the world might come to if things like technology and humanity get out of hand. In the World State, the motto that people are conditioned to live by is “Community, Identity, and Stability”, all three of which are ironically twisted to encourage members of the society
Although the phrase of “every one belongs to every one else” (Huxley 43) is used by the society of the World State to show social conformity and unity, multiple cases of alienation and isolation are present among the main characters within the novel. In the World State, people live “where everyone is happy, but no one is free” (“Brave New World”). In the beginning of the novel, readers are introduced to Bernard Marx, who is conditioned to be an alpha, one of the highest rankings in the social ladder, but is alienated because of his size and anti-social approach to the civilized lifestyle lived out by the majority of his colleagues. Bernard’s characterization by Huxley sanctions the reader to enter into the controlling society of the World State. Bernard has “erratic attempts to conform to a society in which he feels essentially alienated” (Neilson). Correspondingly, John, the savage, believes in love and marriage, which are values instilled into him by the natives while he lived on the reservation.
DocViewer Page of 6 Zoom Pages DR DAVID SUTTON Lacks indentation. Quotes for minor works, italics for major. DR DAVID SUTTON Quotes in a topic sentence, especially ones that fail to contribute beyond what you could have said add no value. Alysia Richie Dr.Sutton AP Literature 4 10/11/2017 Research Paper 2 Aldous Huxley is an English author known for many of his wild descriptive and narrative style writings. He grew in a small village in England being the third son of an English writer Leonard Huxley.
Huxley's work, Brave New World, is a book about a society that is in the future. This book contains many strange things that are generally unheard of today. Yet we see that some of the ideas that are presented in this book were already present in the 20th century. The idea of having one superior race of people can easily be seen as something that Hitler was trying to accomplish during the Holocaust. Huxley presents the society in his book as being a greater civilization. A totalitarian type of leadership is also presented in his book. According to him, this would be the best and most effective type of government. Hitler also thought that a totalitarian government was best. We see several similarities between Hitler's Germany and Huxley's
Aldous Huxley wisely inserts many instances of distortion to the elements in Brave New World to successfully caution the world about its growing interest in technology.
Back in the 1930's when "Brave New World" was published, no body dreamt that world of science fiction would ever come into reality. Surely there must have been a time though when a machine that could wash clothes too, seemed like science fiction. That machine has come into reality though. With today's technology and already seeing how far we've advanced scientifically, who's to say we
Character development within novels with complex plot structures proves to be a difficult task necessitating the author to add their own inner thoughts and experiences to weave a more realistic story. The historical background of a writer helps glean on information about that person’s unconscious and subconscious processes that become apparent within an author’s literature. As the author develops their thoughts throughout a novel attempting to paint a clearer picture of their purpose, their own persona becomes a part of the literature. Psychoanalytic theory attempts to further this claim by taking information from one’s childhood, inner taboo thoughts and hidden motivations, and synthesizing them for a better picture of the author’s
The citizens of the world states were constructed in the lab and were made to serve one purpose, to create a stable and harmonious society. In brave new world, the citizens of the word state take soma, and are essential high with an unfertile state of open-mindedness. When john broke into the hospital and tried freeing the people from slavery” by destroying their soma, the people were furious with John. This reaction to the destruction of soma showed that the people have grown a dependence and addiction the pleasure of soma. In the conversation afterward, Mustapha Mond argues that individual freedoms must be removed for the good of society. Although John tried to free the citizens of the world state by destroying their soma, nevertheless, Mustapha