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arytaco 's review for:
Brave New World / Brave New World Revisited
by Aldous Huxley
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Brave New World is a science fiction fable by Aldous Huxley that blurs the line between utopia and dystopia. The future populations of humanity are artificially-engineered, parentless, promiscuous, perpetually pleasure-seeking, and unconcerned with intelligence or knowledge. Furthermore, they worship a meaningless religion and are addicted to Soma, a fictional drug that provides instantaneous gratification. As opposed to George Orwell’s Soviet allegory 1984, Huxley imagines the bleak future as not one constructed on discipline, but on pleasures and comfort so potent that citizens would not dream of rebelling. The ”over-organization” has created pleasure, yes, but also a society that lacks meaning or purpose. When a member of a far-flung native tribe attempts to join society, his knowledge of parenthood and Shakespeare ensures that he can fully recognize the shortcomings of this highly-mechanized brave new world.
Brave New World Revisited is perhaps even more enthralling, where Huxley abandons narrative fiction for nonfiction didacticism. Now blessed with the knowledge of hindsight—following the Second World War, Nazism, Soviet-apologists, etc.—Huxley remarks that what he predicted to occur in centuries has already begun in mere decades. Humanity’s descent into pleasure-seeking proclivities, a far more sophisticated form of oppression than in Orwell’s novel, is not his only concern, as he also discusses atomic weapons, propaganda, the mob mentality, and other sociological issues. 1984 may be the more intriguing piece of fiction, but Brave New World possesses an impending relevance far greater than that of its spiritual dystopian successor.
Brave New World Revisited is perhaps even more enthralling, where Huxley abandons narrative fiction for nonfiction didacticism. Now blessed with the knowledge of hindsight—following the Second World War, Nazism, Soviet-apologists, etc.—Huxley remarks that what he predicted to occur in centuries has already begun in mere decades. Humanity’s descent into pleasure-seeking proclivities, a far more sophisticated form of oppression than in Orwell’s novel, is not his only concern, as he also discusses atomic weapons, propaganda, the mob mentality, and other sociological issues. 1984 may be the more intriguing piece of fiction, but Brave New World possesses an impending relevance far greater than that of its spiritual dystopian successor.