Brave New World - Dystopia
A Society at its Worst
Dystopian novels have become more common over the last century; each ranging from one extreme society to the next. A dystopia, “A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control,”[1] through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, criticizes about current trends, societal norms, or political systems. The society in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is divided in a caste system, in which humans are not individuals, do not have the opportunity to be individuals, and never experience true happiness. These characteristics of the reading point towards a well-structured society; a society where the government controls the people to create “perfection”, robbing them of their freedoms, in other words Brave New World is, with no doubt, written in a dystopian mindset.
A dystopian environment contains division(s), or a caste system. “A hierarchal society where divisions between the upper, middle and lower class are definite and unbending (caste system).[2]“ In the novel, the society is broken up into 5 divisions since birth; Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon.
Eight minutes of hard X-rays being about as much as an egg can stand. A few died; of the rest, the least susceptible divided in 2; most put out 4 buds, some 8… 2, 4, 8, the buds in their turn budded and having budded were dosed almost to death with alcohol. (Page 4, Chapter 1)
This quote taken from the novel describes the Bokanovsky process in which 3 of the 5 divisions, the Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons undergo a shock treatment in the egg stage which divides the eggs in ninety six embryos, weakening them. Furthermore; after that, they may be put into other conditioning processes to ensure they perform according to their classes before fully developing into human beings. This unfair process, or unfair division rather;
Dystopian novels have become more common over the last century; each ranging from one extreme society to the next. A dystopia, “A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control,”[1] through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, criticizes about current trends, societal norms, or political systems. The society in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is divided in a caste system, in which humans are not individuals, do not have the opportunity to be individuals, and never experience true happiness. These characteristics of the reading point towards a well-structured society; a society where the government controls the people to create “perfection”, robbing them of their freedoms, in other words Brave New World is, with no doubt, written in a dystopian mindset.
A dystopian environment contains division(s), or a caste system. “A hierarchal society where divisions between the upper, middle and lower class are definite and unbending (caste system).[2]“ In the novel, the society is broken up into 5 divisions since birth; Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon.
Eight minutes of hard X-rays being about as much as an egg can stand. A few died; of the rest, the least susceptible divided in 2; most put out 4 buds, some 8… 2, 4, 8, the buds in their turn budded and having budded were dosed almost to death with alcohol. (Page 4, Chapter 1)
This quote taken from the novel describes the Bokanovsky process in which 3 of the 5 divisions, the Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons undergo a shock treatment in the egg stage which divides the eggs in ninety six embryos, weakening them. Furthermore; after that, they may be put into other conditioning processes to ensure they perform according to their classes before fully developing into human beings. This unfair process, or unfair division rather;
Cited: "Dystopia - George Orwell Links." Dystopia - George Orwell Links. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. NCTE/ IRA. "Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics." Dystopias. NCTE/ Marcopolo, 2006. Web. Schermer, M. H. N. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 08 May 2007. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. ----------------------- [1] “Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics.” Read, write, think. NCTE/ IRA, Viewed January 27th, 2013. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson926/DefinitionCharacteristics.pdf [2] “Dystopia.” Orwell Articles. Doublethink, Viewed January 28th, 2013. http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/col-dystopia.htm [3] “Dystopia.” Orwell Articles. Doublethink, Viewed January 28th, 2013. http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/col-dystopia.htm [4] Schermer, M. H. N. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 08 May 2007. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.