Brave New World

Brave New World (in English: Brave New World ) is a Romance of Science-fiction, written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley. It appeared in 1932. Huxley only composed it in four months.

Twenty-five years later, Huxley publishes a test dedicated to this book, Retour to best of the worlds

The original title of the novel, Honest New World , comes from the Storm of William Shakespeare, act 5 scene 1. The French title, Brave New World , are drawn from a French sentence present at the beginning of the English original version of the book of Huxley, borrowed from Candide of Voltaire.

Summary of the intrigue

In the future, the Technologie allowed the Clonage (or the bokanovskification in the book) of the majority of the men. They are separate in various classes, of the intellectual elite to the class of the worker manuals. Any reference to the family, with the hearth is regarded as indecent, and the censure is exerted everywhere. The education - Endoctrinement (that they receive in the form of sentences repeated in loop during their sleep) - convinces to do their work of best than they can, and any sadness is treated by the pill of happiness, summoned it.

John, a “savage” raised in a primitive “reserve” of the New Mexico, will run up full whip against this company, following a visit of two characters " civilisés" in its reserve, which will bring back it downtown with them.

Analyzes

Brave New World describes a future company equipped with the following characteristics:
  • the company is divided into Sous-groupe S, of the Alpha S with the Epsilon S, according to their intellectual abilities and physics. The membership does not owe anything randomly: they are the chemical treatments imposed on the Embryon S which rather switch them in one of the sub-groups than another, influencing their development.
  • These sub-groups, which constitute castes, coexist with harmony and without animosity, each one being charmed to be in the group where it was placed. And due, of the hypnopedic methods (repetitions of oral lessons during the sleep) condition the behaviors of each one as of more the young age.
  • the reproduction is entirely artificial. Not only the concept of relationship does not correspond any more to one current reality, but its evocation is regarded as vulgar, even obscene. The Sexualité does not have any more an other function but entertaining.
  • the Conditionnement directs the tastes of the members of the company towards leisures requiring the purchase of equipment specialized instead of the appreciation of the free or cheap pastimes. They are conditioned, for example, not to like the flowers, with the reason that this taste does not generate enough economic activity. Huxley shows here the possible drifts of the Behaviorisme or Comportementalisme studied in particular by John Broadus Watson.
  • the leisures are omnipresent in the condition express train which they are in group. The unbounded sex is encouraged dice more early childhood, like an entertaining social relation like another.
  • summoned It is a perfect drug, without side effect, which is distributed by the administration. This drug prevents the inhabitants, who even stunned entertainments and feelings, could be unhappy. It acts on a mode Anxiolytique. It is moreover an imposed means of contraception.
  • On the plan religious, the mode is theocratic. However, the concepts of religion and theocracy are non-existent there and the same applies to all the other concepts associated with the religion, except the Hérésie, which can be punished of deportation, and the Sacrilège.

Huxley bases its Dystopie on the utopian aspect of a company-world deeply anaesthetized by the scientific progress and technique of year 600 after Ford. This novel pushes with its Paroxysme the designs on the Eugénisme which was then considered by the scientific community, and particularly by the geneticists and the biologists, like a science with whole share. It should besides be noted that the brother of Aldous Huxley was Julian Huxley, eminent geneticist in favor of the eugenism (named with the head of UNESCO in 1946). Brave New World denounces the misdeeds of the Utopia as a conceptualization false and fixing. The epigraph which introduces work nails with the pilori the Utopia and invites the intellectuals to avoid it to escape the ideological trap which it tightens.

“The Utopias appear as much more realizable than it formerly was believed. And we are currently in front of a question well differently distressing: how to avoid their final realization? … The Utopias are realizable. The life goes towards the Utopias. And perhaps a new century starts it, one century when the intellectuals and the cultivated class will dream with the means of avoiding the Utopias and of turning over to a nonutopian company, less perfect and more free ”.

This world which wants to be perfect evokes already that of the Fahrenheit 451 of Ray Bradbury or of an insupportable happiness of Ira Levin. However, Brave New World is more often attached to the general literature than with the Science-fiction, as besides 1984 of George Orwell with which it is often compared, two works presenting of the extremely different visions of the future. Here, freedom disappeared, the doubt disappeared but people are happy, each one is in its place and is delighted by its fate.

Brave New World was presented a long time like a pessimistic vision of the future of the Consumer society. It is not only one book of science fiction but also a metaphor of the current society.

That a system can methodically be given the responsability to crush what there the human one in the man was also described by Soljenitsyne in its part a small flame in the storm .

Characters

The majority of the characters have names of people known to have created or have wanted to share social, professional and political ideas:

One can also add John, the savage, like a representation of Christianity (sonority due to its first name). The fact that it is called “the savage” reinforces the idea that it is very different from this civilization, Christianity being “the reverse” of Communism-industrialisme.

For the principal characters:

  • physical Portrait
  • moral Portrait
  • Evolution during the history
  • Symbolic system - What does it represent?

There exist five socio-professional classes: Alphas, Bêtas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons. Alphas have the best physique and the intellectual tasks while Epsilons have only work considered degrading and a not very advantageous physique.

Bernard Marx: Alpha More

It is small and its beauty is lower in the majority of Alphas, in shift with the physique of this caste, the rumor claims that at the time of its “design” - out of test-tube, as very human - an error would have caused the alcohol injection in its blood, reserved treatment with the fetuses of the lower classes, which would justify its degraded physique.

From this physical shift was born an exclusion on behalf of the others: he is initially known by his reputation like asocial, having different manners. This physical shift could have been blurred by its conditioning, but it expresses a resistance there, precisely because of these differences which insulate it and prevent it to adopt the common vision mechanically.

Bernard suffers from his ugliness and his maladjustment. He tests by là-même a conscience of sound “me”, of his individuality, that the other individuals do not have.

At the beginning of the Bernard novel is detached from his medium and finds defects to him, like the poverty of the relations and freedoms. He is unhappy.

When it brings back John, who becomes a high-speed motorboat, the others are interested in him, then it changes behavior, and becomes like the different ones, being let flatter by the fame. One day, John refuses to leave to present itself to one evening prepared in his honor, Bernard then loses suddenly his ridiculous glory, becomes again like front, and joins again with his old friendships. At the end of the novel, after a rather pitiful phase of weakness where he flees moral engagement, he finds his individual identity with determination.

Bernard is the example even faults of this company, it is the maladjustment, the error, due to a bad proportioning at the time of sound Ectogénèse. The fact that it behaves normally when it becomes known proves that its deviance is due only to its bad integration at the company.

Lenina Crowne: Beta

  • It is very beautiful and has much charm, even at Alphas

  • Its conditioning is successful perfectly, it does not call into question the laws of this company, and is shown outraged when they are not applied, for example when John explains the marriage to him. However, it has relational tendencies except standards: it remained a long time with Henry Foster, without having other relations, and its attraction for Bernard Marx was not done with the criteria of its company, it is with him because he is small and weak, it wants of the “cajoler”, and is intrigued by its difference all while not including/understanding it.

  • It is attracted in the novel by three people: Henry, Bernard, then John, having each time a strange relation, however, his conditioning is too thorough so that it can leave the limits imposed by the company.

  • It is often tempted not to obey the laws of this world; what pushes it in this direction it is the love, regarded in this book as an instinct.

  • Lénina is regarded as a partner in conformity with the wishes of the company for the exercise of the sexual promiscuity (which is a world government bond). It is very “pneumatic”. The use of this word is an elaborate word game of the author, because the cabal and the gnosis describe as “tire” the individuals having a heart in contact with the divine source: the idea which comes behind this word is that the erotism is a mystical practice which amalgamates the individual with the “Great Whole” (tantrism). But the pneumatic term also makes think of rubber tires of a Ford T, thus the pneumatic girls are also improved inflatable dolls.

Helmholtz Watson: Alpha more

  • Beautiful and sportsman, it has all the physical criteria of Alpha, even higher than those of Alpha.

  • Autant on the physical level that moral, it is higher than this caste, which makes it very sociable, it is the success even, but however it is not liked in this world: if the conditioning of Bernard is missed because of a physical insufficiency, that of Helmholtz is because it is successful too much. Too much intelligent to appreciate the insipid values of this world, it has also the impression to be under-employed.

  • Helmholtz at the beginning of the history has an impression of vacuum in its work, but it does not know what. At the end, it helps John, perhaps just to help it, or perhaps it took party for the message of this last. In the office of Mustapha Menier, key organizer of the company, it criticizes his work, and knows what to criticize: lack of major feelings in this company.

  • It represents, just like Marx, the maladjustment, but also something again: intelligence, incompatible with this world.

  • Writer

Linda: old Beta

  • It deformed, is degraded by alcohol, old woman, very obese because it did not live in its medium, but in “concerning savages”. It must be 40 years old. Contrary to the members of this company, the ravages of time were not avoided by the scientific treatments; it presents the signs of old age.

  • It was conditioned perfectly, and did not change its manner of living at the Indians, which it returned it excluded. It could not return to London, because of her child, it is thus blocked in the reserve.

  • It has there no psychological evolution of its share; while returning to London, it does what any well conditioned Beta would have done: she takes drugs with summoned for the remainder of her days, until dying about it.

  • In spite of the shame which it tests to have a son, which had with its conditioning, it learns how to him to read and it likes it.

John, the “savage”

He is approximately 20 years old; he was born in a natural way, reprehensible fact in the future company, of the union of the director (Alpha) and Linda (Beta). He must have physical and psychic qualities rather important.

He was educated in an Indian village, and thus did not undergo the conditioning of the utopian company of the Meilleur of the worlds , but that of its culture of adoption, which is not less constraining besides (Huxley describes us its despair when an young woman which it likes Marie with another). He has favorable prejudices on London, but can judge this company of a different eye. He in addition knows many written works (Shakespeare) and proclamation of the feelings like certain values morals (Chasteté, relational fidelity, etc) often in opposition with the values of the company.

Idealizing London initially, he quickly discovers the collective alienation of this world. Its idea of London evolves/moves as he discovers all reality of it.

It is also attracted by Lenina, which wanted directly to have sexual relationships and anything else, like any individual and according to the rules of this company: everyone belongs to everyone . It is at this time that the savage, who did not undergo teaching hypnopedic modelling the spirit, considers poor and surface the human relations of this world. The discovery of the use of summoned which plunges its user in a conditioned sleep, reinforces what he thought of this world: no independence of mind, not handing-over in question and the idea of the permanent surface happiness imposed by summoned.

It symbolizes the point of view of the reader of 1931, that of its principles (freedom, passions, etc), in opposition to this normalized and smooth world.

John symbolizes also certain bad sides, rather extreme, of former companies: chastity pushed to the extreme, loss of control of oneself easy and access of violence (he whips Lenina because this one explains its desire to him), but also corresponded to a reality of topicality in 1930 during the publication of the book: “A woman is not supposed to express her desire directly, and if it is not virgin then its morality is doubtful ( impudent stumpet ). ” When Lenina makes John advances it enters in fury and striking by treating it of courtesan and trollop.

It represents to some extent Mister-All-the-World, it is the only being known as “normal” it does not consume summoned, it read books, it was born naturally, etc It is the opposite of Alphas, Bêtas, etc

One understands at the end of the book that John is entirely against this best worlds, moreover one group of man finds it hung in his hut, the book finishes on top.

Mustapha Menier: Alpha more

  • This Alpha is one of the most important men of the company. He is the world administrator of Western Europe. To the beginning of the novel, it gives the impression to be convinced by the system even if it shows a great knowledge of the former companies. However, with the wire of the text, the reader learns that he is not convinced but rather realistic. Indeed, it evokes the stability brought by the dictatorship in place in opposition with too permissive freedom of the old companies.

Masterpiece of the science fiction

This novel was classified among the masterpieces of the Science-fiction in the following reference books:

  • Annick Beguin, 100 principal titles of the science fiction , Cosmos 2000,1981;

  • Jacques Goimard and Claude Aziza, Encyclopedia of pocket of the science fiction. Guide reading , Presses Pocket, coll “Science fiction”, n°5237, 1986;
  • Denis Guiot, the Science fiction , Massin, coll “the world of… ”, 1987;
  • Lorris Murail, the Masters of the science fiction , Bordered, coll “Compact”, 1993;
  • Stan Barets, science-fictionnaire , Denoël, coll “Presence of the future”, 1994;
  • ideal Library of the webzine cosmic Cockroach.

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • the full text of the book

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