Brave New World Essays (1252 words) - Brave New World,

Brave New World The author of Brave New World is Aldous Huxley. He was born in Surrey in England in 1894. He was educated at Eton, and later he attended college at Oxford where he earned a degree in English literature. For awhile he taught and was a critic of music and art . During the writing of this book he was experimenting with mind altering drugs. He specializes in fantasy and sci-fi books. In 1959 Aldous Huxley received a the Award of Merit for the novel from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He came to the U. S. in 1937 and was living in California at the time of his death on November 22, 1963. The purpose of this book was to share a prophecy he had about the future. The main theme of this book had to do with a utopian society. As all utopian societies do, this one was obviously flawed. The goal of this society was to have full control over all the citizens. The book begins with a tour around a laboratory where scientists are artificially creating babies in a process called decanting. Lenina, one of the main characters, is a woman who does not always understand the ways of the society in which she lives. She is instantly attracted to a fellow citizen named Bernard. Bernard is different than the other men Lenina usually dates. He is shorter than most men in his category, known as, ?Beta?. Some of his ideas that scare Lenina. She tries to suppress his inquiries by reminding him that all bothersome thoughts and feelings can go away with the help of Soma. Soma is a drug that seems to be similar to present day Prozac and other anti- depressants. The citizens of the society depend on Soma to get them through every day. The master of this society is a God-like character named Ford. He is not present in the story, but they base their lives around his teachings. The ritualistic times of worship include chanting and orgies. Relationships are frowned upon, or anything else that requires human emotion. The idea of love or passion seems to scare them the most because there is no scientific reasoning or ways to control it. Lenina is scolded for being with the same man for too long. Bernard often questions the wonder and joy of what it would be like to have an emotional connection with some like a spouse or a family. He reveals a dissatisfaction with the lifestyle in the Ford society. After some inner conflict Lenina decides to court Bernard and they spend some time together. They go on a trip to an Indian reservation where life remains untainted and natural. At first Bernard and Lenina think of it as an adventure until they witness a human sacrifice. Lenina realizes she and Bernard both left their soma back in their room. They are forced to suffer through the pain of real human emotion. Their reaction was even more intense due to the fact that their whole life was centered around their own happiness and they could not understand why someone would give up their life to help their community. Every action they took in live was purely for themselves and their own false sense of security. During the traumatizing ordeal the two outsiders come across a woman and her son who don not seem to belong. It turns out that the woman, Linda is really from the civilized land and was lost their during a vacation. Before the trip Linda was accidentally impregnated by one of her partners and had her son in the village. Linda's son, John, had a very strange upbringing. He was constantly told about life where his mother used to live. He was also taught the ways of the Indians he was surrounded with. He never quite gained the acceptance of the natives, nor his mother; because of this he turned to God. the God of Christianity. Although Christianity was not the practiced religion; the leaders believed it was important for the youth to know all aspects of spirituality. His mother taught him how to read. He read Shakespeare and identified with the characters and was able to express himself through the