I wonder if people who refer to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World as a cautionary tale-that is, those who aren't confusing it with George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four-could actually spell out what it is cautioning against.Įven more to the point, tell me what alternative it is presenting to help humankind avoid the fate described in this novel?
Olivia Chin’s reviews reflect her own opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.THE NOVEL | THE TEXT More than a catchphrase Article: “The Provocations of Lenina in Huxley’s Brave New World.”īrave New World is available at the library.Ĭontent note: sexual scenes, language, violence, brainwashing, substance abuse, ageism, classism, sexism.Readers who’ve read Freud will make connections with his psychology and the social conditioning present in the novel. Recommended for: Fans of science fiction, literary fiction, dystopian fiction. Still, Lenina plays an important role in the book, and I’d argue that she is the most interesting and sympathetic character due to how she is treated. While the many male characters in Brave New World are diving deep into their spiritual lives and discovering new ways of living, Lenina is portrayed as infantile and happy that way.
What Brave New World gets wrong: While Aldous Huxley was certainly a great writer and thinker, he was not the most progressive when it comes to his portrayals of women characters. Topics like scientific advancement, philosophy, religion, and biology are all explored in Brave New World. This book inspires lots of thought-provoking discussion even to this day and is often compared with George Orwell’s 1984. The word “mother” is explicit and laughable since mothers no longer exist. Relationships are forbidden, and there is no concept of love. No one in the “civilized” societies can have any alone time or is allowed to feel anything but happiness and comfort. What Brave New World gets right: Brave New World is a terrifying portrayal of what society could be like- and, in some ways, what it is like today. John struggles to enter the “civilized” society, and Bernard and Lenina get caught up in the ensuing chaos. This science fiction novel imagines a “utopia” where humans are not born but decanted in bottles, there are no families, and “everyone belongs to everyone else.” In the midst of this, two high class members of society, Bernard and Lenina, encounter someone known as a “savage” who has been raised outside of the new social norms (John).
For Banned Books Week in September/October, the library book club chose to read a literary classic that has often been challenged: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
0 kommentar(er)
