Evaluate “Brave New World”
as an allegory.
Aldous
Leonard Huxley belongs to the category of prominent English satirical novelists
such as H. G. Wells, Graham Greene and George Orwell. He is primary a satirical
novelist and a majority of his novels are predominantly satirical. ‘Brave New
World’ is Huxley’s most popular novel. It presents a satirical picture of the
future based on the extreme advancement of science.
“In the brittle illusion of a well
ordered mechanical world, he
found no consolation and he
satirized such beliefs in the
novel ‘Brave New World.’. Sir Ifor
Evans
‘Brave New World’ in a persuasive and
satiric manner points out to the failure of modern civilization to be able to
preserve its humanity. It is a satire on the present as well as a fantastic
vision of future. A.C. Ward called it ‘a satiric fantasy’. Let’s discuss a novel
as a satire.
An attack on the present day tendency
of an over dependence on science and its discoveries.
Brave New World presents a utopian
vision of a future of world while launching an attack on the present day
tendency of an over dependence on science and its discoveries. There is an alarming tendency among human being to
make the best the latest advantage in the fields of scientific knowledge. The
rapid advances made by science and too much dependence on it have tended to rob
man of his humanity. In the name of social stability and security all emotional
life and feelings are being discarded. Their life is becoming mechanized and
standardized. Edward Albert remarks,
“The novel gives a satirical
picture of what he imagines
the world would be under
the rule of science. No disease,
no pain but no emotion and
worse, on spiritual life”. Edward Albert
A satiric vision of and commentary on
future
Like George Orwell’s novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ Brave New World contains a
satiric vision of and commentary on future. However a close look at the
novel shows that the satire in it is aimed at present. The negative and
pessimistic vision of future is presented by Huxley appears to be meant to be
satirical attack on he climax of the unchecked scientific advancement in the
modern age. They are already become a slave to science. “Brave New World”
presents an anti-vision of the future to launch to attack on the present. According
to George Woodcock,
“This novel is a fantasy of
the future and a satire on
the present. And in both
roles it carries conviction
because of the export and
convincing handing of detail
to create a plausible world. ’
The irony implicit in Huxley’s choice
of this title is
The irony implicit in Huxley’s choice
of this title is evident enough and his satire on the supposedly ‘Brave New world’ of the modern man
living in 632 after Ford, quite biting. The world presented by him is neither
brave nor new, but simply disgusting. He is satirizing the scientific progress
carried to an extreme. Like Miranda of Shakespeare’s play, the savage is also
ignorant of vices that this ‘The Brave New World’ and its inhabitants are heir
to.
An attack on totalitarianism and the
unchecked scientific advancement
‘Brave
New World’ is an attack on totalitarianism and the unchecked scientific
advancement made at the cost of the spiritual and moral or emotional aspect of
man’s life. Like that novel, it has its own didactic one. Huxley cautions man against the life in a
scientifically controlled world with its indoctrination conditioning, test-tube
babies, free sex, and suppression of historical truth.
The
institution of marriage has been rendering superfluous. There is a perfect
freedom in matters of sex. The term ‘chastity’ is merely a misnomer here. Bokanoveskian
Process and pregnancy substitutes are meant to satirize the advancement made by
biological sciences. The note on totalitarianism is being shown by the word of
Mustapha Mond,
“Now such
is process the
old men work,
the old men
copulate, the old men have
no time, no leisure from
pleasure, not a moment
to
sit down and think.”
A tone of mockery
A
tone of mockery pervades the whole of
the novel and ideas, characters and situations are ridiculed as soon as they appear
in it. At times Huxley mocks different ideas by adopting the view point of one
his character and ironically presenting it as his own. Literary indulgences like reading of
Shakespeare are treated with derision. The suppression of historical truth is
presented only to be satirized. Mustapha Mond is a campaign against the Past;
by the closing of museums and the blowing up of historical monument.
The modern nations about God and
religion
Huxley
mocks the modern nations about God and religion. In place of old
religious practice like church service, chanting of hymns and the celebration
of the Christmas, there are “Ford’s day
celebration, the community stings, and Soliditary services. The
religious books like ‘The Holy Bible’,
‘The imitation of Christ’ are regarded as pornographically. The
anti-religious picture of world is presented by Mond, Mond believes that ‘Religious sentiment is superfluous’ Mond
points out about God:
“God isn’t compatible with
machinery and scientific
medicine and human happiness.
You make your choice. Our
civilization has chosen machinery
and medicine and happiness.”
Conclusion
To summing up, ‘Brave New World’ is an imaginative
picture of the future world, which only mirrors the present world in a
distorted form. Huxley chiefly satirizes the science affecting human life, the
process of dehumanization and the antagonism between the two worlds of scientific
progress and imaginative vitalism. He adopted Swift like ironical manner to
express his disillusionment with modern civilization based on scientific
progress
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