It seems like the thing to do is to consider Brave New World and 1984 as a pair. And I can certainly understand why, as both are set in a future that is wildly different, yet similarly terrifying.
Brave New World begins with an in-depth look at the selective breeding and conditioning that now moulds the human race. No more mothers, no more fathers, no more family units, no more chance to ‘rise above your station’. Now, humanity is one giant balanced equation. From the Alphas through to the Epsilons, humans are bred with certain features (both strengths and weaknesses), but we are all conditioned to love our lot in life, unquestioning. From birth, infants are fed subliminal messages while sleeping to ensure that they accept their allocated roles, contribute to the greater good, and never expect anything to change.
It’s like looking through today’s society through a funhouse mirror. Do you like inspirational quotes? Well how about you think and speak in nothing BUT inspirational quotes. Do you like games? Well how about you’re bred to willing spend all your free time enjoying nothing BUT games. Do you like feeling good? Well how about we feed feel-good hormones into your gum, into the air, into music players, so that you can feel good ALL THE TIME. Feeling a little glum? Have some Soma, the totally side-effect free drug of choice, and while away a few blissful hours in your blitzed out mind. Something showing some minimal signs of wear and tear? Chuck it out, ending is better than mending!! Do you like nice things? Excellent, fill your empty, artless life with STUFF. Nice stuff. Doesn’t that feel good? Aren’t you happy?
It seems to be an almost flawless answer to society. In Ford We Trust. Except for Bernard, who is an Alpha with a bit too much curiosity. He doesn’t even really enjoy Orgy Porgies! There’s speculation someone spilled alcohol into his fetal unit as a child. Nevertheless, Bernard wants to see what life outside this ‘utopia’ looks like, so he searches out a civilisation that exists outside the bounds of society. One young man, John (herein and forever after referred to as The Savage, not without a hint of irony), returns with Bernard and is the talk of the town. This strange man who reads Shakespeare and questions everything. How will introducing The Savage into a world of constrained order go? Just about as you’d expect.
Brave New World has been on my TBR pile for eons, so I’m really glad to cross this off. It wasn’t my favourite novel, I found it a bit hard to get into it and the writing clunky. It’s a fairly simple concept and the issues raised within are not explored with much depth, but still: I’m very glad to have read it. It is a classic for a reason.
3 grams out of 5.
