A Brave New World Book Review

 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a novel set in a future dystopian London, where the state is in full control of society. The tyranny manipulates the birth process, that is to say embryos are formed in a lab, not in a woman’s ovaries. Before birth a childs’ caste is already chosen. From infancy they are conditioned and programmed what to think and how to act. 

All for the sake of social stability. 

 

The story starts with Benard Marx, who is in the alpha caste, but is physically inferior in comparison to the rest of the men.This deformity makes him very insecure and isolated. He is disgusted with the others he works with. In this society “everyone belongs to everyone else,” that is to say there is no monotony and everyone is expected to have sex with whomever they please, though pregnancy is prevented by contraceptive conditioning. He looks down upon their behavior, because he is incapable of their status of promiscuity. Benard morally objects to society's way of life so that he can feel superior over the others to make up for his physical shortcomings. 

 

Benard’s only friend is Helmholtz, who is of muscular physique and astounding intellect, and a college professor. These two are friends only because they are the only ones who feel different from the rest in their caste. Otherwise, Benard is jealous of him, and Helmhotlz despises Bernard's constant self pity and simultaneous boasting. 

 

Another integral part of this society is soma, which is a drug that gives its user instant escape, and everyone is using it. This drug is distributed so that everyone is happy all the time, allowing great social stability. 

 

Benard finally gets with the beautiful girl everyone’s talking about, Lenina. Though on their date he is dissatisfied because he wanted to be alone with Lenina so that they could walk and talk in private, but that’s not what she wanted.