Brave New World

Brave New WorldAldous Huxley

The title is an allusion to Shakespeare’s

The Tempest

O, wonder!How many goodly creatures are there here!How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,That has such people in't!

Genre: Science fiction, dystopia

A dystopia is a society that seeks perfection through control and conditioning.

⋆The opposite of DYSTOPIA is UTOPIA, a perfect society.⋆Eden, Shangri-La, Eldorado are ⋆utopias.⋆Nazi Germany and the USSR = ⋆dystopias.

Satire and social commentaryA critique of the modern

Science fiction is set in the future, but it satirizes conditions in the present.

Human NatureWhat a piece of work is a man!

Are people just a conglameration of chemical reactions and responses to stimuli?Are we more than the sum of our parts?

Totalitarianism and communism

BNW as political literature

BNW is a prophetic warning against the dangers of societies that have a “one size fits all” solution for human beings.

ConsumerismBuy, Buy, Buy!

BNW questions the wisdom of consumerism and the illusion of instant gratification.

ProgressGetting better?

Modern thinkers have questioned the idea that the human race is progressing toward a better future.

TechnologyBetter living through chemicals!

Can science and technology save the human race?

ArtWhat is the function of art?

The World State has no art because it is unnecessary.Is art necessary? Do people NEED art?