Psychological Criticism Of Brave New World

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Psychoanalysis of Brave New World
Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, is established upon the prominent and new ideas that were present during the twentieth century. One of them was Dr. Sigmund Feud’s theory of Psychoanalysis. This theory is very prevalent in the novel through its plot and characters. Huxley tries to portray a futuristic dystopian society that he has always feared, where science and psychology come together as one to control the human race from conception to death.
According to Freud’s theory, the personality is divided into three parts: id, ego and superego. The id encourages us to seek physical satisfaction, such as sex and food. In the novel, everyone tries to receive pleasure in a constant state of happiness. Everyone …show more content…

Every single need that is demanded is satisfied immediately and that is the first quality that develops in babies, whatever they demand is given to them right away. Next idea that develops is the ego. It prompts us to do the moral thing, not the one that feels the best. In the novel, sex is considered totally normal and children from young age are taught to be sexually active and take part in erotic plays, “Orgy Porgy, Ford and fun, Kiss the girls and make them one. Boys at one with girls at peace; Orgy- Porgy gives release.” (Huxley 84). These ideas condition the children to grow up with a mentality that considers sex as a socially moral and acceptable act to engage in. We also see how grown ups are expected to “Have somebody else from time to time” (Huxley 42), which is natural, and no one can really oppose that idea since it’s been placed in the minds of those individuals since birth. Here the Learning Theory of Bandura also comes in which states that humans are born with little instinct, most behaviour is learned during childhood and youth. This theory fits perfectly since we can see how children differentiate between the acceptable (sex) and unacceptable (not engaging) behaviour and tend to practice it to fit in their society. Then the …show more content…

In Oedipus in Dystopia: Freud and Lawrence in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Brad Buchanan talks about John’s possessive behaviour towards his mother, Linda. Since John was raised by a parent, unlike in the people in World State, John establishes the strong emotions such as love, hate and jealousy. Referring to Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, when Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, ends up marrying his uncle Claudius, it makes Hamlet very angry and jealous. The same concept is present here and can be seen when John is jealous of Popé, the man who slept with his mother. “He hated Popé more and more. A man can smile and smile and be a villain” (Huxley 156). This hate prompts John to kill Popé when he is drunk and asleep. That shows a strong connection to the Oedipus complex since we can see how John disliked it since it made him insecure and fear of being replaced by Popé in his mother’s life. Another way Oedipus complex is displayed in this novel is when Linda fails to show enough love and compassion towards John. she neglected him many times and sometimes even slapped him for calling her “mother”. So, it can be seen that John’s sexual desires were derived from unsatisfied and unsuccessful childhood relation with his

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