As you read it, you become conditioned–like its characters–to compare the world that is Huxley’s fictional invention to the world you live in. Some part of you thinks it does.Īnd that’s the genius of Brave New World. It’s actually thrilling to watch the events of Brave New World unfold–even if you don’t care for its characters–simply because the worlds that clash inside the novel seem so over-the-top and hyperbolic that you don’t believe anything like this could ever happen. But I’m not even spoiling the story by saying this. It’s a crushing defeat for the protagonist, and I love it so much. Pensive hipster in static, soulless dystopia, in his quest for fulfillment, LOSES and ends up RUINING people’s lives. They encourage the taking of soma, which is a highly addictive hallucinogenic, and they encourage participation in “Solidarity Services,” which is fancy-talk for an orgy.Īnyway, Bernard’s story starts off pretty basic. They encourage consumption of goods, which keeps the economy going. The World State conditions the population to live life uninhibited, which keeps the people in a state of constant, material happiness. I won’t go too deep into the details here needless to say, the government controls everything–by controlling nothing. Humans are “born” into a rigid caste system, as either an Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon. Fetuses are grown in test tubes–or, decanted–and are influenced chemically to become what society requires at the time. You see, in Brave New World, there is heavy population control and, at the same time, no control at all. Regarding its narrative, Brave New World tells the story of Bernard Marx, an Alpha-Plus member of the World State–Alpha-Plus meaning upper upper-class. (Well, this and the orgies.) For a relatively “sciency” book, it’s got a certain poetic cadence to it–both in prose and plot. It’s moments like these that reaffirm my fond memories of Alduous Huxley’s dystopian science fiction novel Brave New World. And then, “He added, in a lower tone, “I ate my own wickedness.” “Did you eat something that didn’t agree with you?” asked Bernard.
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