Huxley and Shakespeare
"Do they read Shakespeare?" asked the Savage as they walked, on their way to the Bio-chemical Laboratories, past the School Library. "Certainly not," said the Head Mistress, blushing.
In Aldous Huxley's “Brave New World", allusions to William Shakespeare and his works emphasize the contrast between the ""Brave New World"" and the world in Shakespeare's time and even the current time period. Enhancing the work's meaning, the allusions and character's reactions to the allusions reveal the positive and negative aspects of our society today.
The main characters in "Brave New World", Lenina Crowne, Henry Foster, and Bernard Marx, live in a futuristic world where babies are mass produced in laboratories and raised to perform various functions in society. In order to assure community, stability, and identity, the basis of their world, these functions must be met and solitary amusements are discouraged. Inferring that reading Shakespeare is entertaining, people in the ""Brave New World"" have "feelies" to amuse themselves instead. To demonstrate the differenc...
The “Brave New World” is a dystrophic type of novel written by Aldous Huxley in 1931. The world described by Huxley is marginal, extraordinary and almost the exact opposite of our today’s world. It’s an ongoing life that is between the ideal and scary. It’s ideal because there is no sickness, poverty, or war in the brave new world. Everyone is happy and almost perfectly healthy. But on the other hand, it’s scary because in order to reach this ideal world described above, individuals have to sacrifice a lot of values that are significant and meaningful for them; such as family (motherhood, fatherhood etc), philosophy, culture, literature, religion, and freedom. So in a way, Huxley fictionalizes an “ironic utopian” world.
Woodcock, George. "Brave New World: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
The characters in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World represent certain political and social ideas. Huxley used what he saw in the world in which he lived to form his book. From what he saw, he imagined that life was heading in a direction of a utopian government control. Huxley did not imagine this as a good thing. He uses the characters of Brave New World to express his view of utopia being impossible and detrimental. One such character he uses to represent the idealogy behind this is Bernard Marx.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World portrays a society in which science has clearly taken over. This was an idea of what the future could hold for humankind. Is it true that Huxley’s prediction may be correct? Although there are many examples of Huxley’s theories in our society, there is reason to believe that his predictions will not hold true for the future of society.
Alduos Huxley, in his science fiction novel Brave New World written in 1932, presents a horrifying view of a possible future in which comfort and happiness replace hard work and incentive as society's priorities. Mustapha Mond and John the Savage are the symbolic characters in the book with clashing views. Taking place in a London of the future, the people of Utopia mindlessly enjoy having no individuality. In Brave New World, Huxley's distortion of religion, human relationships and psychological training are very effective and contrast sharply with the literary realism found in the Savage Reservation. Huxley uses Brave New World to send out a message to the general public warning our society not to be so bent on the happiness and comfort that comes with scientific advancements.
One major issue that helps maintain social stability in Brave New World is sex. It is thought of as normal for people to be completely open with their sexual nature. It is typical for children to run around naked during recess playing games that are sexual and sometimes homosexual in nature. Every adult is encouraged to sleep with as many different partners as possible. This outlook on sexual nature is quite different from actual accepted views. Today, sex is most widely accepted as a private, romantic event that should take place between monogamous couples. Because sex is a natural need of the human body, people of Huxley’s society feel pleased by being open with their sexuality. Indulging in their sexual pleasures eases their minds and keeps them from questioning the level of freedom they have.
The Controller makes it clear that, “You can’t make tragedies without social instability.” Social Instability exemplifies everything that corrupts a society. Besides, the world of Othello is completely different from the Brave New World. Huxley’s use of Shakespeare is a symbol for all of the art that has been rejected. Using an author with the type of art like Shakespeare allows readers to get an example of high art that the people of the Brave New World are not being exposed to. Huxley’s use of Shakespeare can also be recognized as allusion. The allusion to Shakespeare that the Savage brings reveals the life of tragedy and instability that the Brave New World rejects. People of the brave new world have never known what it is like to suffer. With all of the advances in science and values, people are now able to live a happy life. People aren’t bothered with little things like sickness, old age, and monogamy. Not having family members to form emotional bonds with consequently makes life less bothersome. Ordinarily one would expect these natural occurrences to just come with any life, but here these are what make life undesirable. This
In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New world and William Shakespeare's King Lear, the reader will find that both works use similar motifs that mirror each other to increase further the similarities and
Art is like a fractured mirror that reflects the society in which it was created. This reflection is a mosaic of images constructed by the artist’s own perceptions which in turn are determined by the values and attitudes, especially the fears and insecurities in his or her own contemporary society. The responder also has to acknowledge his or her own door of perception, as this would affect their interpretation of the art. This is especially evident in texts like Brave New World which are designed specifically as probes into the aspects of society that the writer desires to explore. Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World during the late ‘20s and early ‘30s; in the middle of the Great Depression and at the eve of the Second World War. World War One was still fresh in everyone’s memories and so was the Bolshevik revolution of Russia, which threatened to spread throughout Europe and the world. On the other side of the Atlantic the ”New World” was undergoing a revitalisation of industry with Henry Ford and other leading capitalists implementing the concept of mass production and attempting to create the ideal consumer society. There was also a form of cultural renaissance in the central European countries where the avaunt-garde was embraced rigorously in art and architecture. And in science, especially in the biological field, great breakthroughs, the likes of which the world hadn’t witnessed since the days of Newton were being accomplished. In short it was a period of great social change and instability. Such instability eventually leads to fears and insecurities, most of which tend revolve around the future of society and the future of the individual.
There were quite a few changes made from Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World to turn it into a “made for TV” movie. The first major change most people noticed was Bernard Marx’s attitude. In the book he was very shy and timid toward the opposite sex, he was also very cynical about their utopian lifestyle. In the movie Bernard was a regular Casanova. He had no shyness towards anyone. A second major deviation the movie made form the book was when Bernard exposed the existing director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, Bernard himself was moved up to this position. In the book the author doesn’t even mention who takes over the position. The biggest change between the two was Lenina, Bernard’s girlfriend becomes pregnant and has the baby. The screenwriters must have made this up because the author doesn’t even mention it. The differences between the book and the movie both helped it and hurt it.
"Brave New World by Aldous Huxley : Barron's Notes." Brave New World by Aldous Huxley:
In the novel, Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, the author uses character development to contrast the two different societies present in the novel.He shows the importance of morality, or an increase in wisdom in the character of humankind. The author contrasts a society full of static and flat characters and another society full of round characters. In order to show the importance of life experiences in changing the character of individuals in the society.
Thomas More’s Utopia and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World , are novels about societies that differ from our own. Though the two authors have chosen different approaches to create an alternate society, both books have similarities which represent the visions of men who were moved to great indignation by the societies in which they lived. Both novels have transcended contemporary problems in society , they both have a structured, work based civilization and both have separated themselves from the ways of past society. It is important when reading these novels to focus on the differences as well as the similarities. The two novels differ in their views of love, religion, and the way to eliminate social classes. These differences seem to suggest that if we do not come closer to More’s goal in Utopia, we will end up in a society much like that of Huxley’s Brave New World.
History has also proven the Cinderella complex was quite prevalent then as well (The New York Times, 1981, p. 1). Women were not independent of their families and husbands largely before the 1970s (The New York Times, 1981, p. 1). Many did not work jobs, thus they did not have money of their own and held “restrictive roles” (The New York Times, 1981, p. 1). I believe the “Cinderella Syndrome” is something women should certainly veer away from. That does not mean rid of their kind, mother-like, and genuine characteristics, but women must have their own independence, in addition to a partnership with their spouse. Women are not helpless without the support of men, we are capable beings as well. The woman should not have to do everything in the house, everyone who is capable should help with household duties, after all she works just like everyone does. Furthermore, a woman has to know she loved for who she is, not for what she does. To a degree, I agree with Saxton’s view, there is not such thing a happily ever after on earth. We live in a broken world; couples will fight, hurt each other, and superficially love one
Huxley's Brave New World is a sarcastic vision of a future that is bleak and unwelcoming. The science fiction novel is dystopian in tone and subject matter. The title is drawn from the Shakespearean play The Tempest but instead of referring to a peaceful island paradise it now describes a nightmarish place of stultifying uniformity and overbearing control. Paradox and irony are the major tools used throughout the novel to highlight the negative impact of excessive scientific and technological progress on man and his relationship with the natural world.