Control In Brave New World

Like many dystopian novels, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World depicts a world in which the government has sole power and control over everyone in society. Such totalitarian government is prevalent throughout history, most notably in the reign of Adolf Hitler. These historical timelines of absolute power often led to the destruction of the minds and bodies of countless groups of people. In Brave New World, this form of government uses genetic engineering, brainwashing, and personal restrictions as their source of control. Such power is so strong that even those being affected by it are not aware or refuse to accept their weak submission.

In Brave New World, the government uses to hand-pick certain human characteristics they believe are beneficial,

Two sources used for this control are the ideas of sex and drugs. Starting with the origin of life, the government has taken over by throwing out the concept of marital conception and replacing it with genetic engineering. Not only this, but the idea that in the past "the parents were the father and mother...are unpleasant facts" the government inserts into civilian minds (Huxley 24). Although the authorities highly frown upon conception, they greatly encourage sex. Feelies, sensual movies, are a favorite past time to many people in New World society. These odd films encourage promiscuous sexual activity and brainwash citizens by forming an addiction to sex, rather than an addiction to independent thinking. Whenever discouraging thoughts form in a person's mind, the World State encourages them to take tablets of soma. "Soma is an all-purpose, feel-good drug that fixes everything; a populace in a stupor is not inclined to be rebellious" (Izzo 1). The government distributes this narcotic, themselves, as a means to keep society in a continual daze of contentment, preventing any rebellion. These drugs, along with sexual propaganda, brainwash citizens into obsessing over unimportant, physical items, creating “[an] ideal state…in which there is a material democracy controlled by an aristocracy

Every moment, the World State expects people to spend most, if not all, time in social gatherings. When Fanny is speaking to Lenina in Brave New World, she mentions that Bernard "spends most of his time by himself – alone," with "horror in [her] voice" (Huxley 45). This practice of isolationism is an absurdity to normal society members. Such encouragement of social interaction and discouragement of alone time dissuades people from independent thinking and rebellion, ensuring the government's unshaken control. The totalitarian regime also prevents rebellion by confiscating all information that is against their authoritative control. At the end of the novel, Mustapha Mond, the World Controller, reveals collections of book in a safe in his office. When asked why he does not share such wonderful things with the public, Mustapha explains that "it's prohibited," (218) and that "[they] don’t want people to be attracted by old things...[they] want them to like the new ones" (Huxley 219). Controlling the information given to societal members is a major power-hold for the totalitarian regime, allowing them to regulate whatever they want in the stream of information entering the mind of each and every