Brave New World

My reaction to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World was actually somewhat similar to my reaction to Feed.  It felt like a huge wakeup call.  It felt like a mixture of Feed and the aspects from Consumed, both of which the AP Lang class had to read.  The World Controllers control what goes on in their section of the world (though in Feed, I don’t think that there are Feed Controllers or at least ones that stand out) and the infantilization of adults was something that Benjamin R. Barber discussed in his book.

I found the way that they make the people slightly disturbing.  The fact that they are willing and able to split an embryo into 96 human beings is disturbing, though that could be because today’s society probably wouldn’t do that.  I couldn’t imagine if there 95 other people that look like me.  I also find the idea of words such as “mother” and “father” viewed as pornographic or bad words.  It just seems so absurd in this time that it seems unreal.

I think that a world like this one could be a good or a bad thing.  On one hand, the World Controllers make sure that everyone is happy with their place in society and that nothing bad happens.  On the other hand, no one can experience hard times in life that make us better people.  The society also shapes the people in the molds that the World Controllers have set for the people.  These people never have the chance to choose what they want out of life.

Despite the disturbing and crazy parts of the society in Brave New World, I found it a very eye-opening book.