The Critical Response to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World

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After writing an incredible novel that to some was quite controversial due to its antigovernment subject, Aldous Huxley became one of the greatest writers of his time with his novel Brave New World. Huxley’s background had a significant influence on his writings and to the subject of his marvelous novel. The period in which Brave New World was written, along with the historical and cultural conditions of the time, also had an immense affect on the work. As an illustrious writer with such a controversial novel, many had their own critical responses to this piece of literature.

Born on July 26, 1894, in Godalming, Surrey, Aldous Leonard Huxley grew up as part of a brilliantly educated family. As a result of being raised in a privileged family, he aspired to get a collegiate level education and set out to do so (Liukkonen). With such a high level of education that he received, throughout many years, Huxley became an accomplished writer; however, as a result of a multitude of hardships, like the involvement of drug substances including LSD and the death of his wife in 1955, it became apparent that the end of his career was forthcoming (Liukkonen). In 1963 on November 22, Aldous Huxley died in Los Angles, California (“Aldous”).

While much was going on in Huxley’s life, many other events were occurring in the world. In the late 1920s to the early 1930s, life in Europe was not easy (Predas). A worldwide outbreak of the influenza killed more than twenty-million people during the period between the two World Wars (Predas). With the death of so many people, the thousands that were lost during war and those lost due to the influenza epidemic, an incredible level of tension was rising among those in Europe and the rest of the world. Such ...

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...per and Jennifer

Allison Brostrom. Vol. 79. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994. Literature Resources from Gale.

Web. 11 Apr. 2011.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. Print.

Jones, William M.. “The Iago of Brave New World.” The Western Humanities Review XV

Summer, 1961: pp. 275-78. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Infotrac. York County

Public Library. Yorktown, VA. 6 Mar. 2011 .

Liukkonen, Petri. “Aldous (Leonard) Huxley (1894-1963).” 2008. 7 Mar. 2011

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Predas, Miriea Ferrandis. “Historical Background.” Miriea Ferrandis Predas. 21 Jan. 7 Mar. 2011

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Schmerl, Rudolf B.. “Fantasy as Technique.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. 3. Carolyn Riley.

United Kingdom: Gale Research International Limited, 1975. Pp. 255-56.

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