Review of Huxley's novel Brave New World

Written by: Dina Šoštarec (FFOS)

Issue 1 (March 2018)

Huxley, Aldous (1991). Brave New World. Harlow: Longman.

In his dystopian novel, Huxley attempts to create a global society which could be a possible response to the events that took place in the 20th century. He does this by constructing a so-called World State which relies on extreme order as a remedy for chaos.

The World State’s motto and ideals are community, identity and stability. In order to achieve this stable community, an individual is deprived of his own identity for the sake of the group one. Throughout his work, Huxley enumerates a variety of methods to maintain stability, among which are hypnopedia (sleep-learning) and conditioning which starts even before one is born.

In the foreword which Huxley added in 1946, after World War II and after the fall of European totalitarian regimes which overwhelmingly resembled the community he described in the novel, he expresses his concerns about the future. The events that enticed Huxley to write Brave New World – mainly World War I, Wall Street Crash and effects of scientific developments on humankind – were no longer seen as the worst possible state the humanity could be in because the second quarter of the century proved to be even more brutal.

Brave New World tackles a number of complex philosophical ideas while still being humorous. The fact that it is written in a simple, everyday language also contributes to it being an easy-read.

This novel is an essential read for those who seek a better understanding of the past as well as the present. Huxley not only almost perfectly predicted the reality of 20th century, but also described mechanisms of power which no longer look far-fetched.