Brave New World
Author and Theme Information
Aldous Huxley wrote the novel in 1931 before WWII. It is ironic because he created a world surrounded by a controlling government. It relates to the Soviet Union and Italy with their controlling mid 1900 governments. There is a lot of common ground between Brave New World and George Orwell's novel 1984. Orwell wrote his novel after WWII when Huxley wrote it before. Huxley uses satire and extreme ideas throughout his book to display negatives in society. It is a dystopian novel with major themes that take a new meaning once WWII comes to a close. Sex, freedoms of women,totalitarianism and technology were all apart of the extremes of the book.
Plot Summary
The novel takes place in a World State. This state is dominated by the government and is divided among castes. Each civilian is born into a group; there is no way to advance through the castes through life. The civilians are brainwashed to thing the government is good. There emotions are controlled through propaganda and "soma" pills (pills that make you happy and unaware of ones true emotions). The government takes out the aspect of God and learning. The citizens are taught to worship Henry Ford. This is because he was a master of efficiency and economy. The main protagonist is named "John". He lives outside the World State. Bernard finds John and takes him back to the World State. At first his intentions are unknown, however the true goal behind Bernard's actions are later revealed. Read Brave New World to find out the outcome.