Brave New World Thematic Jounrnal
April 3rd 2012
Journal #1
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (pages 1-46)
The first 46 pages of the critically acclaimed Third Person Narrative Brave New World by Aldous Huxley have intrigued my curiosity and enveloped me into the plot very effectively. One of the many possible themes I am considering this novel to take on is that of the human condition, more specifically, our tendency to try to “better” every aspect of nature and society via technology and science. An example of this is the laboratory produced hallucinogenic/depressant drug they invented, named Soma, an overhead of a factory illustrates the affect of soma; he says “Take a holiday from reality whenever you like, and come back without so much as a headache or mythology”. (46). The book involves a dystopian world in which people are “manufactured” in test tubes and predisposed to their predetermined jobs/condition based on their genetic potential. The capability a person has in every aspect of life from sexual performance to intelligence is rated and they are grouped (in descending order) as Alpha,Beta, Gamma,Delta and Epsilon. They take part in recreational sex and “erotic play” (27) at a young age coupled with the aforementioned genetic breeding, and seem to be trying to create a utopian society without pain or struggle.
Huxley utilizes various literary devices like repetition, and allusion. An example of the alluding Huxley employs: ” Our Ford – or Our Freud, as, for some inscrutable reason, he chose to call himself whenever he spoke of psychological matters….” (33). The following is clearly an allusion to the famous Austrian Neurologist Sigmund Freud who was known for treating personality as a simple reaction to biochemistry. The main characters name is Bernard Marx which is an allusion to Germany socialist Karl Marx. Huxley uses the repetition literary device as well; “Oh no, I dont want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse.” repeated twice (22-23). These literary devices help me as the reader get a better feel for what type of themes the author is trying to get at. The author uses a very scientific(specifically biological) and well developed diction throughout the first 46 pages. In the beginning when a tour is being given of a breeding facility The Conductor uses a plethora of biological terms which really make me feel as though the scene is real. The Conductor explains a process; he says , “But a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds”(3)
I feel that this novel will have an abundance of themes as it deals with political, social, and ethical topics. One of the other themes I am watching develop is sexual relations for purely physical and biological pleasure.