Brave New World

This Utopian/dystopian future offers soma and other carnal pleasures, while manipulating the people into mind-numbing dependence. Huxley explores the evils of a seemingly satisfied and successful society, because that stability is only derived from the loss of freedom and personal responsibility. Part of what has made this book so controversial is the very thing that has made it so successful. We want to believe that technology has the power to save us, but Huxley shows the dangers as well.John claims the "right to be unhappy." Mustapha says it's also "the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what might happen tomorrow..."By getting rid of all of the most unpleasant things, the society also rid itself of many of the true pleasures in life. There's no real passion. Remembering Shakespeare, John says:"You got rid of them. Yes, that's just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them... But you don't do either."These men have realized that fear and intimidation have only limited power; after all, these tactics simply build up resentment in the minds of the oppressed. Subconscious persuasion and mind-altering drugs, on the other hand, appear to have no side effects. Add to this the method of genetic engineering, and soon almost all "pre-Ford" problems have been wiped out permanently.The caste system of this brave new world is equally ingenious. Free from the burdens and tensions of a capitalistic system which separates people into social classes by natural selection, this dictatorship government is only required to determine the correct number of Alphas, Betas, etc., all the way down the totem pole. There is no class warfare because greed, the basic ingredient of capitalism, has been eliminated. Even Deltas and Epsilons are content to do their manual labor. This contentment arises both from the genetic engineering and the extensive conditioning each individual goes through in childhood.Freedom (as well as art and religion which are results of freedom) in this society has been sacrificed for what Mustapha calls happiness. Indeed almost all of Huxley's characters, save Bernard and John, are content to take their soma ration, go to the feelies (the superficial substitute for actual life), and live their mindless, grey lives. The overwhelming color throughout Brave New World is grey. Everything and everyone seems dull to the reader, except perhaps the Savage, who is the only bright color in the novel. This grey happiness is the ultimate goal of the World Controllers like Mustapha.Yet Mustapha has incorrectly associated lack of pain with happiness. Only the Savage knows that true happiness comes from the knowledge that one has value. He alludes to this when he describes his childhood in the Reservation where the only time he was happy was after he had completed a project with his own two hands. This, not soma, gave him the self-confidence to find happiness. The Savage knows his own value is as an individual, not a member of a collective.Other characters in Brave New World, however, have no concept of self-worth. This results in their inability to find the happiness known to the Savage and the rest of the pre-Ford world which lives in the Reservation. True happiness is a consequence of freedom, not slavery. No slave can experience happiness until he is free. Yes, any slave can experience the contentment of a full belly and a full supply of instant gratification, but this doesn't lead to happiness.Bernard suffers throughout the book, being caught between both worlds. Although he has been conditioned to accept his servitude, he is constantly longing for freedom. He sees this freedom in the Savage, and envies him for possessing the inner happiness- genuine happiness- which Bernard's society outlaws. Huxley uses Bernard to exemplify this struggle between freedom and slavery. Huxley argues that a genuine, free life requires suffering and pain. Men without anguish are men without souls. Huxley's future describes a world without pain and a world without soul.

Came perfect, as described. Purchase for college . Great book

Good book. However, the binding is glued and the paper cover easily fades.Worse than that, though, is that there are numerous typos/missing words. One that I remember is when the mezcal was "split" when it should have been "spilt."I was still able to enjoy the story, but this edition is not the quality keeper I hoped it would be.

Good quality, fast delivery

I somehow made it to age 43 before reading this book. I was pretty excited to finally see what all the fuss was about.Well. I must be missing something. Sorry to say it. A lot of the ideas and imagery are interesting and powerful. But in the end, it is difficult to take away a coherent message, other than societal nihilism. We are presented with a hedonist, collectivist, consumerist dystopia and are led to abhor it. Rightly so. But then we meet this character John Savage, who articulates all the compelling critiques of this dystopia, and yet himself descends into violent madness in trying to live out his supposedly superior ideals. Does Huxley believe it is possible to find some middle way between the extremes of collectivism and solitude, hedonism and asceticism (literal self-flagellation!), docility and violence? If so, there is no character who exemplifies this, and therefore no hope presented, that I can discern. If that is the point, then I suppose it is made well.