Brave New World

Brave New World: summary

Set in London and New Mexico in AF 632, Brave New World is a cynical novel that depicts a future where efficiency, science, consumerism, and technology are all-encompassing. AF stands for After Ford, named after Henry Ford, the American inventor of both assembly-line mass production and the modern motor vehicle. He is widely revered, with the population saying ‘Thank Ford’ to show appreciation.

Fig. 1 - Ford's assembly line, 1913.

Huxley introduces a future controlled by the 'World State’. It is a future where the population is engineered and conditioned from embryotic stages, throughout childhood, and into adulthood. A rigid professional and social class system is artificially created at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre.

Each caste is named after a letter of the Greek alphabet. The pinnacle class of Alphas are created to lead. With a range of levels for professions in between, the lowest class, Elipsons, are created purely for manual labour.

Individuality is suppressed in the population by early psychological conditioning. Adults are kept positive with a calming, happiness-inducing drug called soma. Ultimately, universal happiness is a key objective of the World State, so any anti-social behaviour or signs of discontent are discouraged.

In addition, the population is encouraged to be what would generally be viewed as promiscuous. In Brave New World, ‘everybody belongs to everybody else’² rather than developing long term relationships or even families.

Literature and the study of history are banned and replaced by entertainment like ‘Obstacle Golf or the 'Feelies', an interactive sensory film experience. The educational views of the leadership in Brave New World are summed up in a quote by Mustapha Mond:

Huxley turns mainstream 1930s societal taboos inside out to create a nightmarish potential future. Against this backdrop, the novel follows two protagonists: Bernhard Marx is a slightly different Alpha-plus; John is a ‘savage’ born naturally on a reservation outside of the Hatchery. The clash of their two worlds leads to the less-than-happy ending of Brave New World and creates a space to consider the benefits and drawbacks of each.

Brave New World: themes and message

Huxley explores a variety of themes that still resonate today. Ranging from genetic engineering to mass-produced pharmaceuticals and consumerism, many of the issues he deals with in the future of Brave New World are our current reality.

Science and technology

In Brave New World, Huxley depicts a future where science has replaced or controlled all natural human emotions, thoughts, and bodily functions. Starting prior to birth, science is used to engineer certain human outcomes.

In the Hatchery, natural birth is redundant. Instead, embryos are conditioned en mass by exposure to various degrees of chemicals, hormones, and alcohol to create a caste system of people with just the right amount of intelligence and physical stature for their future profession.

In addition, families no longer exist. Children are raised by the World State and conditioned to ensure that they become unquestioning, pliable, and happy future citizens.

For adults, artificial versions of natural human functions are created and made compulsory. Examples include the ‘Violent Passion Surrogate’ and the ‘Pregnancy Substitute’. As heightened emotion is generally discouraged but considered necessary for human health, the population is required to attend monthly 'Violent Passion Surrogate’ experiences to compensate. As women no longer give birth, they are required to undergo 'Pregnancy Substitutes' to maintain their optimal health and happiness.

Technology and science are closely entwined in Brave New World. From entertainment like the 'Feelies' to the Hatchery, science and technology form the basis of the human experience.

Individuality

The World State in Brave New World suppresses individuality, as it is viewed as counterproductive to a happy and cohesive society. This engineering starts with the embryonic stage 'Bokanovsky’s Process' to ensure that all humans are biological clones of each other, and continues up to recited slogans such as 'everyone belongs to everyone else'. 'Solidarity Services are also used to reinforce the sense of community over the individual and people are sent off to the islands,

Huxley’s approach to community and the individual is more nuanced than an all-good or all-bad portrayal. John exerts his individuality by choice while Bernhard has no choice. His individuality is the result of faulty conditioning. Bernhard does not necessarily always choose individuality, as in when he tries to resist being sent to the islands. For him, it is ultimately more a burden of circumstance and not something he would necessarily sacrifice comfort for. John, on the other hand often chooses individuality despite the consequences.

Brave New World raises questions about the interplay between individuals, communities, and ruling powers, represented by the World State.

Brave New World: characters

Bernhard Marx

Bernhard Marx is one of the two main protagonists. He is a faulty Alpha-Plus psychologist, whose blood surrogate was contaminated with alcohol. This resulted in shortness, which sets him apart from other Alpha- Plus members of society.

His original quest for and belief in individuality doesn’t quite hold up when he becomes suddenly popular for his friendship with John. Despite some resistance, he ends up being sent to the islands.

John

John ‘the savage’ is the only person in the novel who has been born the natural way. He is the protagonist who features most frequently in the second half of the book.

Born on a New Mexico reserve to an Alpha Londoner mistakenly left behind by her lover, John does not belong in London or Malpais. He is an idealistic loner, absorbed in the world of Shakespeare and the most complex character in Brave New World. He lives out his ideals, often at great personal expense. John is a flawed hero due to his own form of conditioning that steers him towards self-loathing and violence.

Lenina

An 'awfully pneumatic' woman. On the surface she is an ideal member of a society geared towards consumerism, pleasure, and comfort. Despite appearances, Lenina is potentially more capable of seeing beyond conditioning than Bernhard is.

She rebels by having an almost long-term and exclusive relationship with Henry Foster. After returning to a more acceptable, nonexclusive approach, she rebels again by choosing relationships with outsiders Bernhard and John 'the Savage'.

A more complex and conflicted character than she originally appears, Lenina can be said to come the closest to actually experiencing some level of adult love.

Brave New World: quotes

Science and technology are a central themes in Brave New World. Huxley’s questions and views can be better understood by looking at some quotes from the novel.

This quote by the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning highlights both the precision of science and the replacement of natural human experiences with artificial ones. Just two degrees separate the scientific creation of a male and a female human.

Here Huxley draws attention to technology and its uses in replacing human functions. This quote describes the conveyor belt assembly line that transports the embryos in the Hatchery.

What is individuality? This is another theme within Brave New World that raises questions around the individual within the context of society.

Huxley depicts The Bokanov process as the ultimate scientific erasure of individuality at a cellular level. Each human is a clone of the other. It also ties into the theme of technology and mass production exemplified by Henry Ford. Here humans are made more efficiently, at a rate of 96:1.

1. Phillip Ball, In retrospect, Brave New World, Nature. (2013).

2. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Chatto&Windus, (1932).