Aldous Huxley
Brave New World (1932)
Author: Aldous Huxley
Genre: Science Fiction (Dystopia)
Plot Summary:
In the future there are no parents, humans are bred from different genetic strains and conditioned according to their class. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon all have different assigned roles in society. Alpha being the upper caste are the most intelligent humans with the most control and Epsilons being the least intelligent are laborers in factories. Bernard returns from a trip to a reservation with a savage named John and his mother, Linda. John is the son of the Director of Hatcheries, and Bernard has brought him as retribution to the Director. John questions the stability of this supposedly civilized society and challenges the class structures that its citizens blithely accept. SPOILER: John falls for Lenina, but is repulsed by her sexual forwardness. After this event and the death of his mother, he flees to live in the woods. He soon realizes there is no escape as people come to watch and heckle him, like an animal in the zoo.
Geographical Setting: England
Time Period: A.F. 632
Series: This book precedes the essay Brave New World Revisited and the utopian novel Island
Appeal Characteristics:
Story begins very descriptive and densley written, with heavy description of this futuristic world but picks up pace half way through. Short chapters help keep the story moving along. Written from a third-person omniscient perspective the character development is secondary to the general plot line. The frame of this book is bleak and foreboding, written as an expression of philosophical beliefs about the evolution of our culture.
Read-alikes: For readers that enjoy Huxley's writing style, but are looking for something a bit more optimistic I would suggest his final novel, Island. This hopeful counterpart is about a utopian society with themes mirroring many of the elements included in his previous works. As in Brave New World Huxley focuses on plot and conveying his philosophy, so character development is limited.
The novel 1984 by Georege Orwell has the same densely written style, and bleak framing. Like Brave New World the characters are secondary to the plot line. For readers that enjoy more character development I would suggest The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Like Brave New World this book is deeply philosophical, but written with a feminist point of view. The measured pacing is similar, as it includes a very detailed setting.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is an engrossing tale of dissent, focusing on similar themes of information and thought control. This book is written in a metaphorical style with a detailed setting. Although a young adult book The Giver , by Lois Lowry is an excellent book in the dystopian genre. Told from the point of view of a young boy, the frame is yet again a civilization focused on social control. The story line is open-ended similar to Brave New World .
Red Flags: The book contains some description of sexual life in this futuristic world, but nothing explicit.
|top|
|
