Brave New World is about the meaning of freedom. Because of the lack of freedom, every one is manipulated and forced into thinking they have freedom, even though it is nonexistent. A group of students are visiting the England Hatchery and are given a tour of the fertilizing room. They are shown the many areas of the hatchery by the D.H.C. including the embryo decanting room where they see how the embryo is manipulated in to a cast level by use of substances such as hormones, shots, and oxygen. They then went to a room where babies were conditioned to not like flowers and books by use of an electric floor. The are then shown a group of kids being taught “class consciences”. The tour group then goes outside to see the children playing when the see Mustapha Mond, who then tells them about the history of the world before how it was now. Lenina and Fanny talk how Lenina needs to see other men while Henry and another man talk about her in front of Bernard how hates them. Lenina then tells Bernard later that she would like to go the reservation. Bernard then goes to see his friend Helmholtz and Lenina goes to a club with Henry and then to his apartment.
At the reservation Lenina and Bernard witness old people and a ritual that involves whipping a young boy. They then meet John and his mom, Linda who is from the civilized world, and Lenina takes a soma holiday after getting back to their rest house. Bernard then leaves to talk with Mustapha. John thinks they left but finds that they didn’t, then breaks in and restrains himself from touching Lenina, whom he likes. Bernard then takes Linda and John back with him and Lenina. He then learns that he was fired and gets his job back by publicly humiliating the director, by having John and Linda come in. John came in and said “My Father”.
Bernard became Mr. popular and parties all night with John. John decided that the civilized world wasn’t all that great and refused to go. Bernard was ditched and became lonely. He then brought john to meet Helmholtz. And they became fast friends, but while they were talking Helmholtz started to laugh at the thought of mothers. Later Lenina tried to get John to have her by going to Helmholtz’s apartment, but her plan fails and she is forced into the bathroom. John then gets a call and leaves to see his mom before she died he then caused a riot by flinging the soma tubes out the window. Bernard and Helmholtz then get a call about the riot and race over to help. Police with soma vapor stop the riot and haul the three friends to Mustapha’s office for their sentenced the to Alphas are sent to an island but John was to be kept in England to continue the experiment. They discuss religion and history. John bids Helmholtz and Bernard good-bye. He then leaves to be by himself and moves to a lighthouse. He attempts to live in piece but is discovered by a delta group in a truck and witness him whip himself and then reporters and citicens decend on him. Lenina shows up and he whips her but then whips himself. He wakes up and hangs himself and the reporters find him hanging there but he got what he wanted, to be alone.
What I liked:
In Brave New World there are no wars between countries, as there is one nation with 10 states that each have a single controller for their state. There is also no world hunger. Every one believes they are happy and free to do as they wish.
The technology is more advanced than ours. The lower caste all traveled by a large monorail system. The alpha caste traveled daily by personal helicopters and by rocket for vacations.
What I disliked:
People were not given a choice as their lives were mapped out completely from birth to death. They were not able to move between the caste systems or choose what they want to be.
People think they are free, happy, and can do whatever they want, but in reality they are manipulated and controlled by the 10 world controllers and hatchery directors. The way the caste system is created is inhumane and not right by our standards.
I didn’t like that people thought they were living in a utopia, because they really weren’t. In reality, progress and science had stopped; there were no personal choices or freedom allowed; so it is not a true utopia.
Review
This book was written in 1932 in the midst of the Great Depression and while the world was still trying to recover from the slaughter of World War I. The misery in Europe made it possible for dictators like Hitler and Mussolini to take control and Russia was under the rule of Stalin and the communists. In this situation, Huxley’s vision wasn’t much of a stretch.
After reading the first two chapters, my initial reaction was that this is a very strange book. After finishing it, I still find that it a very disturbing book, because it is one that makes you think that this could be a direction that our world is headed. We are currently losing many freedoms in America, “the land of the free.”
In my opinion this book is important because readers will find similarities between this world and today’s world, and make people suspicious of our governments, laws, regulations, and policies. That seems to be moving our lives in this unhappy direction.
