The two dystopian novels of the early 20th
Century that set the standard for dystopian novels, were Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell, and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It is
interesting that neither author was primarily known science fiction writer.
I read Brave New World when I was in High school. It was not
required reading. I just read it on my own to check a famous science fiction
book off my list. I don’t think I got much out of it. I know I didn’t get much
out of it, just the basic plot: A society where happiness is the only good.
Everyone has sex with everyone else. A “savage” makes an appearance and it
upsets the applecart. I doubt if I got much of the nuance or the humor. I
definitely would not have gotten the Shakespeare references. In fact, there are
a lot of references my 17-year-old self would not have gotten. I just finished
reading it again. With age comes more understanding.
The compelling insight into this “Utopian” society comes
from the outsider, in this case, the savage. John (the savage) was an accident.
His mother had found herself stranded in the wilderness and pregnant, and was
forced to give birth. Real birth. In a society where sex is as free and common
as blades of grass in a field, the thought of an actual mother giving actual birth
is considered pornographic. In fact, the word “mother” is not used in polite
society. John is introduced to this civilized society, and at first, he is a
novelty to the society as the society is a novelty to him. He becomes something
of a celebrity. But soon, he rebels against it. He complains that all good
literature has been banned. People are entertained by “feelies” (first there
were movies, then there were talkies, I guess the next great step in Huxley’s
mind was that there would be feelies). John says to The Controller. “Othello’s
good. Othello’s better than those feelies.”
“Of course, it is,” the Controller agreed. “But that’s the
price we have to pay for stability. You’ve got to choose between happiness and
what people used to call high art.” Stability is the goal of this society. The
Controller tells him, “The world’s stable now. People are happy; they get what
they want, and never want what they can’t get.”
To us, the civilized society of Brave New World is a
nightmare. Genetics are controlled. People are pigeonholed into predetermined
classes that determine what kinds of jobs they are allowed to do. They are
taught to distrust anyone from another class, and revere those of their own
class. They are conditioned what to think and punished for thinking or acting
outside the norm. There is no creativity, and no freedom of speech. Yet, they
are by outward appearances, happy.
This book had to be shocking for the time it was written
(1932). It was a world whose morals were turned upside down. Works of early
science fiction often suffer to a modern reader; the ideas and even the writing
styles are often dated. But this one holds up remarkably well. And of the two
big Dystopian novels of that time, this one and Nineteen-Eighty-Four, Brave
New World is much more fun to read.
Comments
Post a Comment