Utopian Deception
Utopian Deceptions
Throughout British literature it is evident that a common theme is in fact the idea of an attempted utopian society turning dystopian. The preoccupation with this idea is understandable due to its potential variety and incredible amount of intrigue. A utopia is a society in which the citizens are completely taken care of and fulfilled. While a perfect society is something everyone can hope for it is clearly unobtainable as seen in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and in the Branch Davidian Cult in Waco Texas. These potentially utopic societies are quickly disfigured and become dystopias. Dystopias are societies in which the government, in an attempt to create a utopia, form an over controlling polarized society in which the inhabitants are generally unhappy or ignorant. The novel Brave New World and the Branch Davidian Cult exemplify the pursuit of a utopian society and its transformation into a dystopia. Brave New World begins in the hatcheries of London as the Director talks to his students about the wonders of genetic mutation and human creation. In Aldous Huxley’s futuristic London humans are created to become superhuman or, directly opposite, sub human. In describing the process in which humans are born in this utopia Huxley says, “Solved by standard Gammas, unvarying Deltas, and uniform Epsilons. Millions of identical twins” (Huxley 7). Everyone in future London is predisposed to their own social position, determining their job and socioeconomic status. In this portion of the novel the reader experiences the visit of the Controller Mustapha Mond. The controller begins to explain to the students the wonders of the utopic London and clearly depicts to the reader why the society is flawless, “All the physiological stigmata of old age have been abolished. And along with them of course the old man’s peculiarities. Characters remain constant throughout a whole lifetime” (Huxley 55). The ailments of the old are eradicated and the fear of
Throughout British literature it is evident that a common theme is in fact the idea of an attempted utopian society turning dystopian. The preoccupation with this idea is understandable due to its potential variety and incredible amount of intrigue. A utopia is a society in which the citizens are completely taken care of and fulfilled. While a perfect society is something everyone can hope for it is clearly unobtainable as seen in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and in the Branch Davidian Cult in Waco Texas. These potentially utopic societies are quickly disfigured and become dystopias. Dystopias are societies in which the government, in an attempt to create a utopia, form an over controlling polarized society in which the inhabitants are generally unhappy or ignorant. The novel Brave New World and the Branch Davidian Cult exemplify the pursuit of a utopian society and its transformation into a dystopia. Brave New World begins in the hatcheries of London as the Director talks to his students about the wonders of genetic mutation and human creation. In Aldous Huxley’s futuristic London humans are created to become superhuman or, directly opposite, sub human. In describing the process in which humans are born in this utopia Huxley says, “Solved by standard Gammas, unvarying Deltas, and uniform Epsilons. Millions of identical twins” (Huxley 7). Everyone in future London is predisposed to their own social position, determining their job and socioeconomic status. In this portion of the novel the reader experiences the visit of the Controller Mustapha Mond. The controller begins to explain to the students the wonders of the utopic London and clearly depicts to the reader why the society is flawless, “All the physiological stigmata of old age have been abolished. And along with them of course the old man’s peculiarities. Characters remain constant throughout a whole lifetime” (Huxley 55). The ailments of the old are eradicated and the fear of